After checking out www.goodear.com, a free ear training program available online, I decided to search out something that was a little more substantial. What I found is the aural theory program Auralia 4 ($99-$149), and its companion theory program Musition 4 (www.risingsoftware.com). This review will be of Auralia 4 only. I will give the software a learning curve of a 9 (well-designed interface), and its effectiveness as a teaching tool a 9 (integration of written and aural examples and lessons). On their website you can find a demo for both mac or pc. I downloaded the demo, so I'll base most of my review on this.
Overview: Auralia 4 has several types of aural exercises that can either be completed individually, or as courses designed to fit different types of syllabi (AP theory, jazz, band, solfeggio, or Auralia's companion programs from Musition). Each syllabus highlights different courses specific to each (for example, the band syllabus focuses on interval and chord recognition, scales, several rhythm courses, forms, tuning etc.) Each exercise or course is preceded with a lesson, of which includes musical examples that are always "clickable." Students may use a USB/MIDI device (to play back answers), a microphone (to sing answers), a solfeggio tree, or a mouse for multiple choice. There are assessments that track different users results, which can be printed, saved to pdf, or exported as a CSV file (spreadsheet). As an administrator, you can set up multiple classes and track users through the program.
Strengths: Auralia 4 is a very organized theory program with an attractive user interface. There is a wide variety of exercises that accommodate differing learning styles (visual/aural/tactile). The program has an attractive, interactive user interface that gives students the ability to answer questions through performance. Courses are catered toward both beginner and advanced students and are highly customizable for particular classes or individual students.
Improvements: "Beginner" does not mean absolute beginner. They do assume that the student knows basic notation, thus making the program only beneficial for some elementary and older students. Auralia 4 operates with multiple windows. Sometimes these windows become cluttered or become covered. When demoing an absolute pitch exercise, I tried to close out of this and was unable to back out (I had to restart the entire program). Also, I like that Auralia 4 will compare your answer to the correct one if you get it wrong, however you are not able to hear the difference. Thus, a teachable moment is sort of lost at that point. Clicking can get a little old, and I would like the option of navigating the program with a keyboard.
Implementation: Auralia 4 would work well in ensemble or theory courses. It could work well with general music students, but only after they have a firm grasp of basic notation concepts. Because of the way the score keeping is designed, it would be a great way to create homework to develop musicianship. These concepts could be implemented into warmup routines, or used to highlight concepts in the ensemble literature (like formal principals, or cadences). Auralia 4's Courses would line up very well with lessons taught in class, or they could be used to lesson plan.
Recommend? : Yes. This program is fresh, and the company likes hearing from its users. Auralia 4 seems like a good all around aural theory program that would be easily implemented into the curriculum. All and all, this program is much more interactive than the free software, due to the "clickability" of examples for listening, and the ability to plugin your own devices. Try the demo for yourself, and check out the embedded video from their website. I recommend using a USB divice such as M-Audio's KeyStudio (shop.avid.com).
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