RCM Level 1 ear tests: practice for clapback, intervals, chords and playback

Listen twice to the rhythm of a short melody (2–3 measures, 3/4 or 4/4), then clap or tap it back.

The clapback grows to two or three measures in 3/4 or 4/4, and one new rhythm appears: the dotted quarter followed by an eighth. As before, the examiner announces the time signature, counts one measure and plays the melody twice, and you answer by clapping or tapping (or singing on one note). The dotted quarter lasts a beat and a half, so the eighth after it lands on the 'and' between beats. Our trainer checks every clap against the rhythm at your own tempo.

Name an interval played once, up and then down.

Only two intervals: the minor third and the major third. Each is played once as a melodic figure, going up and then back down. In the exam you may name it or, if you prefer, sing or hum it after the examiner plays the first note; our trainer asks for the name. Going up, the major third starts 'When the Saints Go Marching In' and the minor third starts 'Greensleeves'. Going down, compare 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot' (major) with 'Hey Jude' (minor).

Name a major or minor triad, played broken and then solid, once.

A major or minor triad in root position is played once — first one note at a time, then all together. You name it major or minor. The broken version is your best clue: listen to the distance from the bottom note to the middle one. A major third there means a major triad, a minor third a minor one — the same two sounds you name in the intervals test. Our trainer plays every chord broken and then solid, in a variety of keys.

Sing back a five-note melody from the first five notes of the scale, starting on the tonic or dominant.

The tune is about five notes long, uses the first five notes of the scale and starts on the tonic or the dominant (do or sol). Keys are C major, G major and A minor. The examiner names the key, plays the tonic chord once and the melody twice; the starting note isn't given. In our trainer you sing or hum the tune instead of playing it, and the pitch tracker marks each note in whatever octave suits your voice. Playback is worth 4 of the 10 marks, so it deserves the most practice.