I am currently studying for my Grade 8 piano as an adult and for various reasons cannot get aural lessons just now from a qualified piano teacher. I do work voluntary for my piano teacher just now and teach aural myself upto Grade 6.
Has anyone used Hofnote and/or give any advice on how to keep up with the aural side of the exams? Bearing in mind I work full-time, work 9hrs per week for my piano teacher and trying to keep up the practical and theory side of music.
Any advice/assistance given would be gratefully received.
Full Version: Aural Training - Grade 8 Piano
I've found hofnote really good (I improved from 12 in aural first time round to 16 the second time).
The only thing I could say against it is that the 'Quiz time' test D questions can be a bit dubious (It's difficult to quantify narrow range of notes/moderately narrow range/moderately large range/large range/very large range etc, so I almost always get that type of question wrong when, in reality, that is probably my strongest section of the aural.
Other than that, it's all really helpful. The naming the chords bit is probably harder than the real test (assuming you don't cheat by looking at the multiple choice answers rather than working it out for yourself) because it plays the chords in quick succession rather than stopping between each one for you to name them.
The only thing I could say against it is that the 'Quiz time' test D questions can be a bit dubious (It's difficult to quantify narrow range of notes/moderately narrow range/moderately large range/large range/very large range etc, so I almost always get that type of question wrong when, in reality, that is probably my strongest section of the aural.
Other than that, it's all really helpful. The naming the chords bit is probably harder than the real test (assuming you don't cheat by looking at the multiple choice answers rather than working it out for yourself) because it plays the chords in quick succession rather than stopping between each one for you to name them.
I had this problem a while ago and had never heard of Hofnote then.
What I used was a book called Aural Training In Practice by Ronald Smith, which has everything you need in it and is really good to practice from as it builds you up to the required standard.
Also, there's a book called "Aural Test Survival Book" which looks really helpful as well - I bought it the other day for one of my students. It tells you exactly how to go about making sure you can answer the test and explains hings you can do while the examiner is playing the extracts. It also has advice on remembering different chords changes and ways to work out modulations if you're finding it difficult, plus it gives you a list of things to think about when you answer the question about style, structure, texture, harmony, period, etc
What I used was a book called Aural Training In Practice by Ronald Smith, which has everything you need in it and is really good to practice from as it builds you up to the required standard.
Also, there's a book called "Aural Test Survival Book" which looks really helpful as well - I bought it the other day for one of my students. It tells you exactly how to go about making sure you can answer the test and explains hings you can do while the examiner is playing the extracts. It also has advice on remembering different chords changes and ways to work out modulations if you're finding it difficult, plus it gives you a list of things to think about when you answer the question about style, structure, texture, harmony, period, etc
You could try Aural Time (Grade 8) by David Turnbull published by Bosworth which comes with a CD
I didn't find hofnote very good, as it isn't realistic to how they would do it in the exam. It gives you multiple choices for the chords, and as said they are played in quick succession. Obviously it cannot tell you if you are right or wrong on the singing back melodies and the sight-singing, if I remember correctly it just asks you to tick which melody has just been played which is 100 times easier than singing for real. And the D section is just unrealistic.
So, in all honesty, I only found it useful for modulations and cadences.
I found it most effective to have a real teacher go through it with you, and I found it best when we went through aural as if it was an exam. It is also about learning to be confident in your answers, as this can help alot in your overall mark, this can't be helped by ticking boxes on a computer. But if this is not possible then hofnote is worth giving a go, and to be fair it is a lot cheaper than paying for real aural lessons every week!
So, in all honesty, I only found it useful for modulations and cadences.
I found it most effective to have a real teacher go through it with you, and I found it best when we went through aural as if it was an exam. It is also about learning to be confident in your answers, as this can help alot in your overall mark, this can't be helped by ticking boxes on a computer. But if this is not possible then hofnote is worth giving a go, and to be fair it is a lot cheaper than paying for real aural lessons every week!
QUOTE(tuba_george @ May 22 2009, 07:38 AM) 
I found it most effective to have a real teacher go through it with you, and I found it best when we went through aural as if it was an exam.
The only problem is that, unless you have multiple lessons each week dedicated to aural, you won't get that much practice (for years, I had 15 mins of each 40-minute piano lesson dedicated to aural, but all it meant was that I didn't outright fail aural). There is no other way that I can think of, to practise parts of the aural without a competant pianist to help out, as it's impossible to play yourself a sequence of chords/cadence/modulation to guess.
Sight singing is easy to practise on your own if you have a hymn book or anything similar.
Test D just requires you to listen to lots of music to get a feel for the different periods and a bit of sort of musical general knowledge.
The only thing you can't do on your own is the singing back bit, but I think the test on hofnote for that is ok. If you don't look at the score while it's playing, then try singing it back, then compare it to what it's actually meant to sound like by playing from the music or replaying the thing.
QUOTE(sarah123 @ May 22 2009, 02:55 PM)
QUOTE(tuba_george @ May 22 2009, 07:38 AM)
I found it most effective to have a real teacher go through it with you, and I found it best when we went through aural as if it was an exam.
The only problem is that, unless you have multiple lessons each week dedicated to aural, you won't get that much practice (for years, I had 15 mins of each 40-minute piano lesson dedicated to aural, but all it meant was that I didn't outright fail aural). There is no other way that I can think of, to practise parts of the aural without a competant pianist to help out, as it's impossible to play yourself a sequence of chords/cadence/modulation to guess.
Sight singing is easy to practise on your own if you have a hymn book or anything similar.
Test D just requires you to listen to lots of music to get a feel for the different periods and a bit of sort of musical general knowledge.
The only thing you can't do on your own is the singing back bit, but I think the test on hofnote for that is ok. If you don't look at the score while it's playing, then try singing it back, then compare it to what it's actually meant to sound like by playing from the music or replaying the thing.
These points are true, I agree with what you are saying. Sorry I wasn't quite clear, I do see hofnote as a good supplement and practise material, however I question it's usefulness as the primary teaching source.
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