Your daily reps for the scale-degree gym. Set the drone to the key's tonic (the practice
bar now has G, D, A, C, B and E), let each drill set home, then name the target notes — out
loud, or sing them back in numbers first. Reveal only after you've committed to an answer.
Work one wave until it's reliable across every key here, then move up. A few minutes most
days beats a long session once a week.
Wave 1 — the stable three (^1 ^3 ^5)
60 bpm
G major. Targets: ^5, ^1, ^3.
60 bpm
D major. Targets: ^3, ^5, ^1.
58 bpm
E minor. The stable three of a minor key — ^3 is now the darker (minor) colour. Targets: ^5, ^1, ^3.
Wave 2 — the tendency tones (^2 ^4 ^6 ^7)
58 bpm
G major. Sing each note's resolution first. Targets: ^7 (→^1), ^4 (→^3), ^6 (→^5), ^2 (→^1).
58 bpm
D major. Targets: ^7, ^4, ^6, ^2. The two half-step pulls (^7, ^4) feel sharper than the two whole-step pulls (^6, ^2).
Wave 3 — all seven, random order
63 bpm
G major, seven notes, no pattern: ^5 ^3 ^6 ^4 ^2 ^7 ^1. Sing it back in numbers, then name it.
60 bpm
B minor. Natural minor degrees (^3 ^6 ^7 are lowered vs major). Targets: ^5 ^3 ^4 ^2 ^1 ^3.
More drills
This is a seed set — one or two per wave and key. Extend it by transposing each drill to the
other tonics the practice bar supports (G / D / A / C major, E / B minor), and by making the
target strings longer as you improve. When you can take a random seven-note fragment down in
numbers reliably, you're ready for real melodic dictation (taking-a-tune-down).