EarMaster USER’S GUIDE Ear training and sight-singing software © Copyright 2012 EarMaster ApS ®
User’s guide EarMaster 6 This user’s guide is an introduction to the main functionalities available in EarMaster. You will find more details in the online help inside EarMaster. Copyright © 2012 EarMaster ApS, Egå Havvej 21, DK-8250 Egå, Denmark Support and troubleshooting If you need help on how to use or install EarMaster, please visit: http://www.earmaster.com/support This document is protected by copyright law. It may only be reproduced and distributed in full without any edits or changes of any kind.
Table of Contents Table of Contents ........................................................................................... 3 Welcome to EarMaster 6 ................................................................................... 4 Installation Guide............................................................................................ 4 System Requirement ........................................................................................ 5 Chapter I - Getting Started ......................
Welcome to EarMaster 6 Congratulations! If you are reading this, you got your hands on the most user-friendly, motivating, and efficient software title for ear training and sight-reading.
System Requirement Minimum requirements: Windows 8, 7, Vista or XP (32- & 64- bit versions supported) Mac OSX 10.5 or newer (Intel only) Internet connection for online activation 1024x768 minimum screen resolution Soundcard Recommended: Soundcard with audio input (for microphone/instrument input) 2 GHz processor 2 GB Ram Microphone MIDI controller (Keyboard, percussion pad, etc.
How Course files work What is a Course in EarMaster? A course is a set of lessons compiled into a single file. EarMaster courses can be organized in two ways: - They can be a set of modules and/or lessons for a selection of separate activities, like the EarMaster Standard Course and Jazz Course. - Or they can be a set of modules and/or lessons mixing different activities. Modules Modules are an intermediary cluster of lessons within a course.
time discriminating Perfect 5th from Perfect 4th intervals, you could create a customized exercise including only those two intervals. Open course... Click on the folder icon to open an EarMaster Course file created by your teacher or downloaded from the EarMaster website. Activity After selecting a training mode, you can select the activity that you would like to train with. There are 14 activities available in EarMaster 6 (see illustration).
4. Visual interfaces (staff, piano, guitar, solfege keyboard, etc.): the interfaces displayed depend on the current activity and answer input methods you have selected in the Answer Input menu. Exercise settings In the Exercise settings menu, you will find a list of settings for the activity currently in use. These settings control how the activity is working. The content of the Exercise Settings menu changes for each activity.
Auto "Evaluate answer" Set EarMaster to evaluate your answer automatically when the selected conditions are met. Play lead-in Plays a lead-in bar with the metronome before playing the question or playing your answer. Hear with metronome Activates the metronome while playing a rhythm or a melody with rhythm. Record with metronome Activates the metronome while clapping a rhythm or playing a melody. If it is not checked, you still must clap or play in the correct tempo, but you can begin anytime you want.
Note articulation Specify what type of articulation should be used to play tones: Legato, staccato, or sustained Metronome clicks Specify which metronome beats should be audible: first beat, compound, or all beats. Answer input The activities included in EarMaster can be used in multiple ways. To answer the questions of a lesson, you may use several input methods available from the Answer Input menu: Staff - To enter a tone, press the left mouse button.
MIDI-in With an external MIDI keyboard (or any other MIDI instrument) you can input tones very quickly and conveniently. - To enter your answer, press all the tones you want to enter simultaneously on the keyboard and then simply release the keys. This will insert them on the staff/guitar/piano. - To change your answer, press all the tones of your new answer. This will overwrite your previous answer.
Chapter II - Setup and configuration Preferences You will find the Preferences of EarMaster under the Tools menu (on Windows) or under the EarMaster Pro 6 menu (on Mac OS). The Preferences let you modify the general settings of the program, such as the audio/MIDI options, the language of the interface, or the remote control settings. The Preferences window is divided into 5 tabs.
MIDI Input Setup MIDI controllers such as MIDI keyboards, guitars or drum pads, can be used to answer questions in EarMaster by playing chords, intervals, scales, rhythms or melodies on them. Most newer MIDI controllers are plugged directly into the computer via USB, but some are plugged to the MIDI connections of a MIDI interface. To use a MIDI controller in EarMaster, please follow these guidelines: 1. 2. 3. Plug a MIDI controller into your computer via USB or into a MIDI interface.
Chapter III - Using the Activities Interval Comparison EarMaster plays two intervals: Interval A and interval B. You will have to point out which one was the larger of the two. An interval is the tonal distance between two notes. The size of an interval is therefore measured by the distance between those two notes. Finding out the larger of two intervals is identifying the interval where the distance between its two tones is the biggest.
Notice that this activity may also be used to test your absolute pitch skills by deactivating the "Play tonic of the key" option in Customized training mode. Note: This exercise is quite challenging and involves your skills at identifying and transcribing intervals, scales and rhythms. But it is really worth it, as practicing with the melodic dictation will help you pick up songs by ear more easily.
Rhythm Imitation EarMaster plays a rhythm and asks you to clap it back following the beat of the metronome. To answer the questions, you can clap your hands in front of a microphone, tap the rhythm on the space bar of your computer keyboard, or play it on a MIDI instrument. See the section on Answer Input options for more details. You may wait any number of bars before clapping your answer.
Chapter IV - Tips Using Songs to Memorize Intervals A common way to recognize intervals is to associate them with reference songs that you know well. For example, the song Amazing Grace begins with a perfect fourth. So when you hear an interval that sounds like the beginning of Amazing Grace, you can easily identify it as a perfect fourth.
What are the Benefits of Ear Training? Ear training is the process of connecting music theory (notes, intervals, chords, scales, melodies, etc.) with the sounds we hear. In other words, studying ear training is building a bridge between the language of music and the sounds that are designated by that language. The more we train our ear to recognize this connection, the better we get at playing music, because we learn to understand what we play and to anticipate musical structures.
Chapter V - FAQ & Troubleshooting Here are the most common questions received by our support staff. If you are experiencing a problem in EarMaster, please make sure that the answer to your question is not already addressed here before contacting us. EarMaster is crashing when a sound is about to be played. What can I do? Try to reboot your computer. The sound playback may cause the program to crash on systems that haven't been rebooted in a long time.
Chapter VI - Keyboard Shortcuts Exercise control Windows OSX Function F5 or Alt+N F6 or Alt+P F7 F8 F9 or Alt+S Ctrl+F7 Ctrl+Z or Delete Ctrl or Insert F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 CMD+F7 CMD+Z or Delete Ctrl New question Play/repeat question Third button Fourth button Stop Play tonic of key Undo Insert the tone played/sung in the microphone Options and functions Windows OSX Function F1 F3 Ctrl+R Ctrl+H F1 CMD+F3 CMD+R SHIFT+CMD+H Help on current subject Customized exercise setup Statistics and Results High sc
Note input Windows OSX Function NUM 6 NUM 5 NUM 4 NUM 3 NUM 2 NUM 1 NUM 0 . * / NUM 7 NUM 8 NUM 9 NUM 6 NUM 5 NUM 4 NUM 3 NUM 2 NUM 1 NUM 0 . * / NUM 7 NUM 8 NUM 9 Eraser Whole note (semibreve) Half note (minim) Quarter note (crotchet) Eights note (quaver) Sixteenth note (semiquaver) 32nd note (demisemiquaver) Rest toggle Dotted toggle Triplet toggle Tied toggle Flat Natural Sharp CTRL+1 CTRL+2 CTRL+1 CTRL+2 Unison Second above ...
Chapter VII - LICENSE AGREEMENT License agreement for EarMaster software IMPORTANT: This EarMaster License Agreement is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or a single entity) and EarMaster ApS for the EarMaster software product identified in your license, which includes computer software and may include associated media, printed materials, and ”online” or electronic documentation hereafter called the (”SOFTWARE PRODUCT”).
Credits EarMaster 6 was developed by EarMaster ApS Lead developer and project manager: Hans Lavdal Jakobsen Developers: Martijn Bosma, Utku Uzmen, Duncan Parsons, Piotr Karasinski, Bent Olsen, Piotr Platek Graphic design and text: Quentin Nicollet EarMaster courses: Jeppe Christensen Jazz font by Nor Eddine Bahha (also for Finale and Sibelius: norfonts.
EarMaster on the web www.earmaster.
