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Informa
Comprehensive
Aural Skills
A Flexible Approach to Rhythm,
Melody, and Harmony
Second Edition

How to use these exercises

Comprehensive Aural Skills is a complete suite of material for both performance and dictation, covering the wide range of sight singing and ear training skills required for undergraduate courses of study. It provides a series of instructional modules on rhythm, melody, and harmony, and blends musical examples from the common-practice repertory with original examples composed to specifically address particular skills and concepts. Each module includes material for classroom performance, self-directed study, and homework assignments. This modular organization allows instructors to customize the material to their course, tailoring the curriculum to their students’ needs.

The website contains new and improved audio examples for dictation practice in tandem with the book. These recordings are provided either for in-class use or to enable independent work outside of class. Rather than provide you with less-than-satisfactory MIDI recordings, the streaming audio for Comprehensive Aural Skills consists entirely of live performances by professional musicians in a studio environment.

This site also includes a wealth of supplemental material for class use and assignment, including:

  • For students: Homework assignments and additional dictation and performance exercises
  • For instructors: Quiz and test materials, answer keys, and a Teacher’s Guide to the book
Please note that the Instructor content for this book is housed on our Instructor Resources Hub. Instructors will need to register for separate Instructor and Student logins in order to access both the Instructor and Student resources for this book. Follow the individual directions under Instructor and Student tabs in the menu to set up access to each section.

Book Cover

Book Information Complimentary Exam Copy

A complete suite of aural skills material

Comprehensive Aural Skills is a combined sight singing and ear training textbook, audio, and companion website package.

Fully modular, customizable organization

Instructors can choose freely from the set of exercises in the book and supplemental material on the companion website to appropriately tailor the curriculum based on their students’ needs.

Engaging and idiomatic musical examples

Examples are selected and composed specifically for the didactic context of an aural skills classroom.

Dictation exercises for practice and assignment

Practice exercises include an answer key so students can work independently and receive immediate feedback, while homework assignments are given without a key.

Audio examples for dictation

The website hosts live recordings of acoustic instruments performed by professional musicians for each dictation exercise and homework assignment.

Supplemental materials for instructors

A wealth of material for class use and assignment can be found on the companion website.

Teachers’ guide

The guide includes answers for every homework assignment, brief commentary on each module’s content, tips for integrating written theory, and strategies on how to effectively teach new concepts and skills.