DAD 222
Audio Production I

Ear Training Drills

DAD 222 — Fall 2026

Critical listening improves with short, repeated practice. Starting in week 6, we’ll begin one class each week with a ten-minute drill. I’ll change something about a sound. Before we discuss it, write down what you think changed and commit to your answer. Then I’ll reveal the change and we’ll listen again.

The drills use material we have already covered. Together, they give you practice hearing changes in frequency, dynamics, space, balance, stereo image, processing, and synthesis.

9/28: Frequency bands

I’ll use ReaEQ to boost one octave band by 12 dB, first on pink noise and then on a song loop. Identify the band: 100, 250, 500, 1k, 2k, 4k, or 8k Hz.

Think of this drill as a preview. Most of you will take MUS 109 (Musicianship II), which spends a semester on frequency recognition through practice software and graded quizzes.

Drill format

  1. Listen to the original version and the changed version, twice each.
  2. Write down your answer before the discussion and don’t change it afterward.
  3. After I reveal the answer, we’ll listen once more so you can connect the sound to the change.

10/16: Compression

We’ll run three rounds on a drum loop, with each round getting harder. First, decide whether the loop is compressed. Next, compare gentle compression, around 2:1 with a few dB of gain reduction, with heavy compression at 8:1. In the last round, identify the attack setting by listening to what happens to the stick hit.

10/19: Space

These rounds use sends you can’t see. First, identify whether the vocal has reverb or delay. Next, use the length of the reverb tail to distinguish a small room from a large hall. We’ll finish by comparing two passes and choosing the wetter one.

10/26: Balance and image

I’ll play a short mix twice. In the second pass, one element moves 3 dB up or down or shifts to a new place in the stereo field. Identify the element and describe the change. In the last round, I’ll collapse the mix to mono. Note anything that disappears.

11/2: One hidden difference

You’ll hear two versions of the same mix section, matched in loudness. One of them has one processing change somewhere in the mix: an EQ move, compression, or an effect. Identify the change. This is the hardest drill because you won’t know which kind of processing to listen for in advance.

11/9: Synthesis ears

The last drill prepares you for Project 5 in Vital. Identify the waveform of a mystery tone: sine, saw, square, or noise. Then distinguish a low-pass filter sweep from a high-pass sweep. Finally, describe an envelope by ear, including whether it has a slow attack or a long release.

The Recreate That Sound lab in week 13 builds on this drill by asking you to recreate full patches by ear.

Practicing between drills

  • Pro Audio Essentials from iZotope has free web modules on EQ, dynamics, and loudness, with immediate feedback.
  • SoundGym has daily listening exercises available on its free tier.
  • Music majors will study frequency recognition in more depth in MUS 109.