RCM Level 5 ear tests: the new format, with practice

Name an interval played once, up or down, then as a chord.

Seven intervals: minor and major thirds, perfect fourth and fifth, minor and major sixths, and the octave. Each is played once as two separate notes, going up or going down, and then once with both notes together. The harmonic version is new: hum the lower note, then the upper, and you have the melodic version back. The sixths are the new pair — a major sixth opens 'My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean', and the minor sixth is a half step narrower and more plaintive.

Name the quality of a chord played once (major, minor, dominant 7th).

Three chord types, all in root position, played once with the notes close together: major triad, minor triad and dominant seventh. The dominant seventh is a major triad with an extra note a minor seventh above the root, and it sounds as if it wants to move on — compare it with the settled major triad. Our trainer plays all three in varying keys and asks you to choose. If a chord sounds busier and more restless than a plain triad, it's probably the seventh.

Name a three-chord progression in a major key: I–IV–I or I–V–I.

A new test: three chords in a major key, either I–IV–I or I–V–I. The examiner plays the progression twice in keyboard style — chords in the right hand over a bass note — with the bass moving up from the tonic, and you name it. Focus on the middle chord: IV's bass climbs a fourth and sounds warm and open; V's bass climbs a fifth and its leading note pulls back to the tonic. Our trainer sounds the key chord first; the syllabus doesn't say whether the examiner does.

After the key chord and a count-in, sing back a melody of up to eight notes (heard three times).

Tunes of up to eight notes in 3/4 or 4/4, using the first five notes of the scale plus the upper tonic, in A or E major or minor. The examiner names the key and time signature, plays the tonic chord, counts a measure and plays the melody three times: after the second, you clap the rhythm or sing it; after the third, you play it. Our trainer keeps the chord, count-in and three playings, then asks you to sing or hum. Piano students may choose an improvisation option instead, not covered here.