The Singers’ Aural Skills Drill Book For Teachers
What is The Singers’ Aural Skills Drill Book For Teachers?
A collection of curated musical examples that will help to drill students of all levels (1-10) on common aural and musicianship skills.
This book has MANY uses!
practical exam prep
choir auditions
as a way to help your students build their musicianship and aural skills!
Each level includes:
melodic singbacks
rhythmic clapbacks
intervals for identifying/singing
chord identification
chord progression identification
This digital resource moves progressively, providing corresponding musical examples so you can methodically build and drill your students on their musicianship skills. Start at level 1, and move through the levels or jump in wherever is relevant for your student’s needs.
Unique, appropriate examples ensure your students will be able to nail their exam or audition and give them the confidence to sing out in any situation!
Hey there, awesome voice teacher!
Are you looking for ways to prep your students for:
practical voice exams?
choir auditions?
general musicianship and ear training skills?
Do you:
need to see things to play them? (i.e. WHAT note does a C major dominant 7th chord start on again??)
constantly feel like you are grasping for level-appropriate musicianship examples for your students?
use the same 2-3 examples over and over again and find your students are memorizing them?
Well, this book might just be the book of your dreams!
Do any of the following scenarios sound familiar?
You are prepping your student for their practical voice exam. As you’re going through the syllabus, you see the musicianship requirements laid out, with a few examples provided. You dutifully test your student with those examples. They do ok…and so you use them again next week. Still doin’ ok, the student seems to be getting the hang of it, you’re doing the thing! Then the 3rd week rolls around, and your student says something like “I remember this/it goes like this/we’ve done this before…” and then they rattle off your example verbatim because they’ve memorized it.
Your student has a choral audition. They need to be able to do melodic singbacks, rhythmic clapbacks, and interval/chord recall - how do you prepare them for this?
You want the singers in your studio to develop their ear training in a comprehensive way, because training well-rounded musicians is important, and so often “aural skills” are treated like dirty words. It also seems to be something many students are actively apprehensive about, so demystifying this skill set is an important part of what you teach.
So now what? Because there is no comprehensive collection to test/drill SINGERS on their unique musicianship and ear training skills, you have to invent examples to test them on.
I know you are a great teacher, so you cobble together a bunch of piano/violin/theory examples, scour texts, and other resources to find level-appropriate drills for each of your singers, but it’s hit or miss at best.
There has to be a better way.
(Spoiler alert - there IS!)
Here’s my story:
Truth time: I built this book for myself. I consider myself a good teacher and skilled musician but I am not great at doing stuff by ear. I need to see it to do it.
This goes double for when I’m drilling my students and need consistent, level-appropriate examples to build their ear training skills in a methodical, progressive manner to nail that audition or crush their exams. I could not find this resource, so I built it.
I don't want to have to think about which key I’m in or what note I need to start that chord on. I want to look at a page, see that exercise written out, and play it confidently so my student can sing/clap it back and build their confidence!
I also want to know that they did what I played - and if not, where we got off course. Consistent practice in all aspects (by both teacher and student) leads to better outcomes. Period.
Want to read more about how I built this magical resource? Boop over to the BLOG and settle in for some origin story goodness!
What would it be like if you could:
Have all levels available at your fingertips with proven exercises to drill your students on their aural skills?
Have the confidence to test them on each particular skill and KNOW if they did it correctly - and if not, where they got off track and HELP THEM FIX IT?
Have practically unlimited musical examples from beginner to advanced to use in 1:1 lessons or group classes to prepare your students for their practical voice exams, choir auditions, and general musicianship skills that have been tested and proven by tons of voice professionals?
Well, wonder no longer, awesome voice teacher!
THIS is the series for you!
Check out some samples below!
Drill Book Clapback Examples Sample Page Level 1
Drill Book Clapback Examples Sample Page Level 3
Drill Book Singback Examples Sample Page Level 4
Drill Book Chord Examples Sample Page Level 7
Drill Book Chord Progressions Examples Sample Page Level 8
Drill Book 2 part Singback Examples Sample Page Level 10
Here’s what your drill book includes:
Musical Examples
Each level is comprised of sections full of unique musical examples, all curated to the specific difficulty level your singer needs. These examples have been chosen and crafted in order to give you and your student a methodical, practicable scaffold to help them build their aural skills.
Depending on the level, each book will include sections dedicated to:
Clapbacks
Intervals
Chords
Chord Progressions
Singbacks (1 part levels 1-8/2 part levels 9-10)
Suggestions by Level
Each level is designed with suggestions of what a singer at that particular level should be able to do, aurally speaking. From intervals to chord progressions, this comprehensive collection allows you to guide them through conquering the skills needed to be a well rounded singer.
Links to Sight-Singing Resources
This resource does not include sight-singing examples. Why? Because I do not need to reinvent the wheel! I DO include links to the sight-singing resource I use with great success in my own studio!
Does this resource work? Heck yes!
Here’s what teachers JUST LIKE YOU are saying:
“If you want your students prepared, confident and relaxed by exam week - this system is for you! This is an absolute must for every voice teacher and student!”
— Frédérik Robert (Vocal Coach Canada), BC, Canada
“This is a valuable time-saving resource for teachers preparing students for the RCM exams! I have oftentimes found myself scrambling to make up clapback or singback examples, or trying to find a snippet of a song to use for that purpose, but this gives you plenty of examples to use. And there really are plenty; you'll have enough unique examples to last for months.”
—Jessica Walch, NJ, USA
“This book is a total game changer! It will save me so much time in lesson preparation and especially in the lesson time scrambling to think of or find examples.”
—Erin Milley-Patey, ON, Canada
"The drill books are an essential resource in my studio. Having everything in one place helps to keep my lesson plans seamless and efficient. I use them constantly as I help students of all levels prepare for exams and auditions."
— Robyn Driedger Klassen, head of voice Vancouver Academy of Music, BC, Canada
“It is so good! If you teach RCM, you need this in your life! It is going to save me so much time, that it will pay for itself by the end of this studio year!”
—Aliah Elliott, Music Mindfully, SK, Canada
“The formatting is clear and clean. Plenty of examples for students and teachers to use! We often focus so much on sight-reading we miss the aural skills!”
— Ella McGaunn Geiger, Interlude Music, MA, USA
“The Drill Skills Book is a much-needed resource for voice teachers and students. There is a notable lack of musical skill-building resources that target musicians other than piano players. This presents a challenge for teachers who wish to build broader skills in their singing students, or are preparing their students for exams and auditions. The Drill Skills Book provides teachers with reliable and leveled skill-building exercises so they do not need to constantly create their own exercises from scratch. This was a huge relief to my full brain and busy schedule. Thank you, Joslin!”
—Melissa Braun, Squamish Academy of Music, BC, Canada
Here’s what’s included in each level:
(available individually or in bundles)
Level 1-4:
Intervals: minor/major 3rds, perfect 4th/5th/8ve
Clapbacks
Chords: major/minor triads
Singbacks
Level 5-8
Intervals: as above, plus minor/major 2nd//6th/7th and augmented 4th/diminished 5th
Chords: major/minor, dominant/diminished 7th
Chord Progressions [up to 3 sharps/flats]: I-IV-I/I-V-I/i-iv-i/i-V-i/I-IV-V/
i-iv-V/I-IV-V-I/I/IV-V-vi/I-vi-IV-V/I-vi-IV-I/i-iv-V-vi/i-iv-V-VI/i-VI-iv-V/i-VI-iv-iSingbacks
Level 9-10
Intervals: as above, plus minor/major 9th
Chords: major/minor 4 note chords - root and 1st inversion, dominant/diminished 7th
Chord Progressions [up to 3 sharps/flats]: I-IV-V-vi/I-iv-V-VI/cadential 6/4
Singbacks: 2 part melodies
What do I hope you’ll get out of
The Singers’ Aural Skills Drill Book For Teachers?
Alleviate stress over WHAT the heck to drill your students on.
Provide a go-to resource for ANY level student so you can help them achieve their goals.
Free up brain space so you can get back to choosing and refining all that wonderful repertoire!
Basically, I want every teacher to be able to confidently drill their students on aural and musicianship skills -
EVEN IF IT’S NOT YOUR STRONG SUIT!
You can do this - and I can help!
Joslin has had the pleasure of working with many students pursuing their singing goals and had several who have achieved the Gold Medal in their grade/region/nationally for their RCM Exams in the last 10 years. Working to help students demystify the aural skills they require to be successful is a highlight of her career as a teacher. Learning that this resource she created out of her own needs and limitations in order to serve her students could be useful and necessary to other teachers is a wonderful feeling!
Joslin holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music and is currently the owner and lead teacher at JRD Voice Studio in British Columbia, Canada. She also serves on the vocal faculty at the Vancouver Academy of Music and as an adjudicator at music festivals and competitions all over Canada.
It is her sincere wish that any teacher who may not be able to pinpoint things by ear, or who needs a printed guide in order to help their students excel at musicianship and aural skills will find use in these digital resources. It’s an honor to help!