Melodic Dictation of Familiar Tunes Theory Things   William Wieland
Without producing a sound, transcribe a familiar melody onto staff paper. When finished, play it on your instrument or a piano to check your work. This is an excellent exercise in inner hearing which can be incorporated into your practice schedule. The following tunes are roughly ordered from easy to difficult. Everyone knows hundreds of more melodies. For additional practice and more challenging material, transcribe some of those as well.
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - all leaps are to the same pitch
Mary Had a Little Lamb - only 4 pitches
Ode to Joy Theme - entirely stepwise at first
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
This Old Man
London Bridge
Jingle Bells Refrain
Three Blind Mice
America (My country 'tis of thee) - a.k.a. God Save The Queen
Joy to the World - the rhythm is trickier than the pitches
The First Noel - mostly conjunct (stepwise)
Brahms Lullaby
For He's a Jolly Good Fellow
Jingle Bells (entire carol)
Happy Birthday
Do, A Deer
Star Spangled Banner
O, Canada
Ding, Dong the Witch is Dead
Rubber Ducky
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Flintstones
The Simpsons
Jazz Tunes from Jamey Aebersold


Ask the instructor about Allegri's Miserere.


More Ideas for Lifelong Ear Training:
  • When practicing and performing, always strive for excellent intonation.
  • When singing Christmas carols or hymns, sing a different part on each verse.