Speed Drills
Most chapters in this text have speed drills to reinforce some of the components relating to the specific topics covered within the chapter. These exercises are supplementary to the regular assignments that you may complete, and are intended to help your solidify your ability to identify certain basic elements quickly and accurately. There are five “rounds” of drills, each round comprising three speed levels: regular, fast, and lightning. For all the drills, you will hear several scales, intervals, triads, or other chords one time only and you will try to identify each accurately. At regular speed levels, you will have ample time to process each example and use whatever method you need for its identification (melodic association, scale-degree patterns, and so forth). At the fast level, the same methodology can still apply, though you must be quick indeed to make the associations. At the lightning level, you must simply respond to the sounds on instinct, since there is not enough time between hearings to reliably make the necessary associations for identification. This is a challenging exercise to be sure, but one which really pushes the development of your inner ear. Be sure to read the requirements for each drill so you know how to respond as quickly and accurately as possible.