Ear training does not respond to long weekly sessions. It responds to short, daily reinforcement. The neuroscience is straightforward: pitch memory consolidates during sleep, and daily practice creates six consolidations a week instead of one.

The routine, minute by minute

1. Minutes 1-3: intervals. Open the ear trainer, set mode to intervals. Beginner set (five intervals) for the first three weeks. Aim for 15 correct answers.
2. Minutes 4-6: chord qualities. Same tool, mode chord-quality. Triad-only for the first six weeks. Aim for 10 correct answers.
3. Minutes 7-9: melodic dictation. Play a short phrase (2-4 bars) from a piece you are working on. Try to write it down, one note at a time. Check against the score.
4. Minute 10: sing. Sing the C major scale on solfege (do re mi fa sol la ti do), then sing a random interval you missed today. Singing consolidates identification.

Weekly progression

• Weeks 1-3: beginner intervals + triad qualities. Establish the habit.
• Weeks 4-6: add tritone, add seventh chords, add a 4-bar dictation daily.
• Weeks 7-12: intermediate intervals (all 12, ascending only), 8-bar dictation, sing solfege in three keys.
• Months 4-6: descending intervals, functional listening (identify I, IV, V by ear in real songs), dictation of a full 16-bar melody.

Two habits that accelerate progress

• Sing everything you drill. Silent identification is half the exercise.
• Match the drill to your repertoire. If you are learning a jazz standard, drill ii-V-I every day. If you are learning a Bach chorale, drill authentic and plagal cadences.

What not to do

• Do not skip the singing step. It is the load-bearing part of the routine.
• Do not push to advanced tiers before the beginner tier hits 90% accuracy. Frustration compounds.
• Do not do 45 minutes on Sunday and nothing else. Five days at 10 minutes beats one day at 45.