Maximilian Aufer

Maximilian Aufer is a pen name, not a real person's name. The Hearmony team publishes its ear-training guides under it so that every guide has one consistent voice. Behind it are the people who design Hearmony's lessons: twelve adventures that move from first notes to intervals, chords, progressions, fine pitch and note memory.

Each guide explains one skill, gives you exercises you can do with any instrument or none, and shows where Hearmony trains the same thing. Questions or corrections are welcome at contact@tryhearmony.com.

Guides

• The 12 Bar Blues: The Chord Progression Bar by Bar
• Am I Tone Deaf? How to Tell, and What Helps
• What Is an Arpeggio? Meaning, Patterns and How It Trains Your Ear
• Augmented Chord: What It Is, How to Build It and How It Sounds
• Best Ear Training Apps for iPhone: An Honest Comparison
• The Blues Scale: Notes, Formula and Why Blue Notes Sound Blue
• Cadence in Music: The 4 Types of Cadences and How to Hear Them
• Can You Learn Perfect Pitch as an Adult? What the Research Says
• Chord Inversions: How They Work and How They Sound
• The Chromatic Scale: All 12 Notes, Spelled and Heard
• The Circle of Fifths: How to Read It and Use It
• 10 Common Chord Progressions, With Numerals, Chords in C and Songs
• Diminished Chord: What It Is, How to Build It and How It Sounds
• How to Know If You Have Perfect Pitch: Signs and a 20-Note Self-Test
• Ear Training for Beginners: Exercises and a 7-Day Plan
• How to Tell What Key a Song Is In, by Ear
• The Four-Chord Song: I–V–vi–IV and Why Pop Keeps Using It
• What Is a Semitone? Half Steps and Whole Steps Explained
• How to Hear Chord Progressions by Ear, Step by Step
• How to Read Sheet Music, Step by Step, From Staff to Repeat Signs
• How to Sing in Tune: Pitch-Matching Steps for Beginners
• How to Transpose Music: Two Methods, a Chord Chart and Worked Examples
• Types of Chords and How to Identify Each One by Ear
• The ii–V–I Progression: How It Works in Major and Minor
• Interval Songs: Easy Reference Songs for Every Interval
• Key Signatures: Chart, Order of Sharps and Flats, and How to Read Them
• The Major Scale: Formula, All 12 Keys and How It Sounds
• Major vs Minor Chords: How to Hear the Difference
• Melodic Dictation: A Step-by-Step Routine, With Tips and Practice
• Minor Scales: Natural, Harmonic and Melodic Minor Side by Side
• Music Modes Explained: The 7 Modes and How Each One Sounds
• Music Theory Basics: What to Learn and in What Order
• The Nashville Number System Explained, With a Worked Chart
• Music Note Values: How Many Beats Each Note and Rest Gets
• The Pentatonic Scale: Major and Minor, Explained
• How to Play Piano by Ear: Find the Melody, Then the Chords
• Relative Minor: How to Find It in Any Key (With Chart)
• Relative Pitch: What It Is and How to Train It
• Scale Degree Names: What Each Degree Sounds Like
• Dominant 7th Chord, Major 7th and Minor 7th: How Each One Sounds
• Sight Singing: A Step-by-Step Method and Practice Exercises
• Solfege Explained: Do Re Mi, Hand Signs and Movable Do
• Sus Chords Explained: Sus2 vs Sus4 and How to Hear Them
• What Is Syncopation? Examples and Clap-Along Exercises
• Time Signatures Explained: How to Read and Count 4/4, 3/4, 6/8 and More
• Bass and Treble Clef Notes: Lines, Spaces and Mnemonics That Stick
• What Is a Triad? Major, Minor, Diminished and Augmented Triads
• What Is an Octave? Definition, Notes and How It Sounds
• What Is Harmony in Music? Meaning, Examples and How to Hear It
• What Is Perfect Pitch? Meaning, Rarity and Myths