Steps To Harmonic Dictation

Steps to Harmonic Dictation is a website to help both students and instructors. Having taught aural training for almost two decades, I found that of all the different areas in aural training (singing, rhythmic performance, rhythmic dictation, melodic dictation, and harmonic dictation), harmonic dictation is the most challenging for students.

There are several reasons why harmonic dictation is so challenging for students:

  1. Dictation is often a new process for students. Writing a single line of music that a student hears can be stressful; writing multiple voices compounds the difficulty.

  2. Harmonic listening is new for students. With the exception of pianists and guitarists, most students enter the major as vocalists or single-line instruments. Hearing verticalities is a foreign concept for many students.

  3. It is difficult to practice harmonic dictation. Most websites and apps focus on rhythmic or melodic (single-line) dictation. When students are able to find harmonic dictation practice exercises, the recordings are often computer-generated, or do not emphasize outer voices, making it extremely difficult for students to dictate individual voices.

Steps to Harmonic Dictation allows students to listen to a harmonic progression four different ways:

  1. Without emphasis: The progression is heard at a normal tempo, without any emphasis on any voice.

  2. Soprano emphasis: The progression is heard at a normal tempo, with the soprano emphasized.

  3. Bass emphasis: The progression is heard at a normal tempo, with the bass emphasized.

  4. Slowly for quality: The progression is heard at a slow tempo with ambiguous chords being held out extra long. The purpose is so students can hear the quality and decide what the Roman numeral is.

How to use Steps to Harmonic Dictation

  1. Listen to “Without Emphasis” first. Try to write down something: how many chords did you hear? Does it begin and/or end on I/i? Did you get the rhythm?

  2. Listen to “Soprano Emphasis” or “Bass Emphasis” next, based on which is your stronger voice. Listen to it as many times as it takes.

  3. Listen to the other voice next. Listen to it as many times as it takes.

  4. If you can’t decide what the Roman numeral is, listen to “Slowly for Quality.” This may help you decide if the chord is V or V7, for example.

Steps to Harmonic Dictation can help instructors who are not pianists. Not all instructors are skilled pianists, and instructors can use these recordings in class.