Beginning Tonal Dictation:  by Thomas L. Durham
329 pages, $61.95 list
1-57766-305-5
978-1-57766-305-8
eBook availability
Beginning Tonal Dictation
Second Edition
Designed for first-year college music ear training programs, this workbook, now in a widely improved Second Edition, contains hundreds of dictation exercises that will help students practice hearing with more accuracy and to become more competent musicians. Special features include: versatile—accompanying music files (available for download here) that contain all odd-numbered exercises so that students may practice at their convenience outside of class; interactive—allows students to correct their own work immediately because the answers are only inches away!; adaptable—covers the basic ear training objectives common among university music theory programs; innovative—offers a unique pedagogical approach to teaching and learning of melodic dictation; pragmatic—deals with the basics of rhythm, melody, and harmony, leaving aside less-essential concepts; self-contained—no need for separate student and instructor manuals since music files are available and exercises and answers appear opposite each other.

The particular sequencing of the materials makes this a strong pedagogical tool because there are no frustrating “quantum leaps” from one concept to another. The fact that students can use this book outside of class for supplemental help and practice further attests to its versatility. The easy-to-use download contains hundreds of recorded exercises coordinated with exercise numbers in the text.