Top 5 Ear Training Exercises for Music Producers

Introduction

Ear training is the secret sauce behind many great producers. Here are the top 5 ear training exercises to sharpen your skills in EQ, dynamics, and stereo image.

1. Bass vs Treble Boost

Listen to an audio clip. Is the bass or treble boosted? This foundational exercise helps you recognize basic frequency ranges.

Pro Tip:

Use the MixSense app’s “Bass vs Treble” challenge to get immediate feedback.

2. Narrow vs Wide EQ

EQ bands can have wide or narrow Q settings. Can you tell when a change affects a broad range vs a small slice of frequencies?

Try this with a pink noise sample and apply a narrow 3kHz cut, then a wide 3kHz cut.

3. Gain Matching

Play two versions of a sound—one 2 dB louder than the other. Can you tell which is louder?

This exercise improves your volume perception, crucial for level balancing and gain staging.

4. Compression Timing Recognition

Compare two versions of a snare: one with fast attack compression, one with slow. Which one hits harder?

This builds awareness of dynamics and helps avoid over-compression.

5. Stereo Field Spotting

Listen to a mix. Is the hi-hat in the center, left, or wide? Is the vocal narrowed?

Train your ears to identify panning and stereo width changes.

Final Thoughts

Do one of these exercises each day for 5 minutes. Over time, your perception will become more detailed and accurate. MixSense provides all these as part of a structured daily routine.