EQ - 3 Bands

You will learn to differentiate three large areas of the spectrum with this group of exercises.

It is an excellent introduction to ear training, and it will also allow you to internalize the general sound of the spectrum in frequency, which is very useful when deciding general EQ balances.

EQ - 5 Bands

In this group of exercises, the spectrum is divided into 5 bands.

Being narrower bands, you will study the spectrum in more detail, and this will allow you to distinguish new aspects of each area.

EQ - Octave Bands

Learning to differentiate the spectrum in octave bands will open up your ears to a whole new level of detail, and not just when it comes to equalizing, but also when working with other equipment, from compressors to microphones, through speakers, headphones, effects, and in general, any audio equipment.

At the end of this group of exercises, your listening skills will have improved considerably.

EQ - Filters

High pass and low pass filters are the unsung heroes of the audio world. They allow to sculpt the sound, create space, increase the detail and clean up noises with just one knob, but they are rarely mentioned.

With these exercises you'll train your ear in the use of both, while gaining a complementary view of two important areas of the spectrum.

Panning

Deciding the position of each instrument within the stereo field seem like an easy task to do, but the "top" engineers have a nack for doing it somehow better...

Learn to discriminate small panning variations of even just a 10%, in order to incorporate (or re-incorporate) this tool to your arsenal of weapons. Small panning changes and automation can add big movement and dynamism to a mix.

Amplitude

A good mix always starts from a good balance, and all great mixing engineers can create expressive musical mixes even with just a static balance of the faders.

Learn to discriminate level variations of up to only 1dB, to more easily achieve solid balances in your mixes, and also develop ideas for more complex automation.

When a mix is in an advanced state already, level changes of 1dB in an instrument can mean the night and day in the balance, impact and general perception of the mix.

Compression - General

Compression is usually one of the most difficult tools to master because you can do so many different things with a compressor. For this reason, four different types of exercises have been dedicated to compression.

This first group serves as an introduction, and trains to distinguish the sound of compression in general.

Compression - Attack Time

Attack time is probably the most important parameter of a compressor. The difference between using a 2ms or a 10ms attack can be huge. Can you visualize how compressed drums will sound with a .05ms versus a 50ms attack time?

This exercise will open your ears to compression, showing many of the effects that can be achieved with this processor, and will allow you to use any compressor with greater confidence.

Compression - Release Time

The release time is another crucial parameter when adjusting a compressor.

With this exercise, you will learn how different release values affect the behavior of the compressor, and what effect they have on the sound.

Compression - Gain Reduction

The next step to master compression is learning to differentiate the subjective effects the amount of gain reduction has on different instruments.

Will you be able to detect compressions with only 1dB reduction?

Effects - Type of Reverb

A good indication of an engineer's experience is the amount of reverb he or she uses, and how it is used. In this exercise, you will learn to distinguish the characteristics of the six most commonly used types of reverberation.

This skill will allow you to use reverberation with greater confidence in your work, and will also help you differentiate more subtle aspects of the effect.

Effects - Pre-delay Time

The pre-delay time is another important parameter when adjusting the reverb since it allows to modify the feeling the effect produces when it is used on any instrument.

Different times have different effects depending on the source, and in this group of exercises you will learn to differentiate 6 pre-delay times, each one applied to 4 different instruments.

Effects - Delay Time

Eighteenth note delay, sixteenth dotted delay, quarter note triplets... Do you know how to differentiate their sound and the subjective effect they produce?

This group analyzes all separately, and then offers several "super-exercises" -tests with more than 18 possible answers- to test your hearing.

Musical Training - Octaves

This exercise serves as a bridge between the previous groups -purely "engineering" ear training- and the next section, which contains more "musical" training exercises.

You will train your ear to distinguish the range in which an instrument is being played, and what correspondence this has with the spectrum in frequency. This way you will better recognize possible frequency conflicts between instruments, and you will also improve your intuition when it comes to equalizing.

Musical Training - Intervals

Learning to differentiate the different musical intervals will not only allow you to have more detailed conversations with any musician in the studio, but it will also open up your ears to nuances that also have application outside the realm of musical theory.

The discrimination of the first 12 intervals is trained in this group, both with melodic ascending and descending, as well as harmonic intervals.

Musical Training - Triads and Sevenths

This group will also open your ears into a different way of listening.

In it, you will learn the most commonly used chord types, including major, minor, augmented, and diminished triads, and major, minor, dominant, and diminished seventh chords.