Unit 1

Start with two notes

Don't expect twelve notes in the first week. You get two. C and G, for three lessons.

That isn't a beginner's version of ear training. It's the part every other method skips. You're learning to hold a note in your head after the piano stops, and find it again in silence.

Four drills, every lesson. Pitch immersion: hear a note, then rebuild the exact sound inside, the color and the attack and the decay. Pitch breakdown: pull the bottom note out of a fifth, then the top, then trade between them. Chord versus interval: two notes or three. Dictation: write down what you heard.

Listen. Audiate. Sing the note name. That's the mechanism under all of it. At first you might not be able to hear a piano at all. You try anyway. That is the correct approach.

The arc

From two notes to every key

Lessons 1 to 3 make C and G into tonic and dominant. Everything after that hangs on hearing those two.

Lessons 4 to 6 add D, A and E. Then Lydian. Then the sharp keys, one at a time. Then the flats, down to C flat and G flat.

There's a quiz every three or four lessons. It tells you where you actually are.

Twenty-six lessons. Seven quizzes. A final in six parts, from single pitches up to four-part dictation. Thirty minutes a day, and it's audio, so it works in the car or with your eyes shut.

Before you buy

What Unit 1 won't do

It won't give you perfect pitch. It isn't trying to.

It won't cover thirds, sixths, sevenths or inversions. Those are Units 2 through 14, and none of them work until the fifth is solid.

It won't let you skip. That's what the quizzes are for. Some of every lesson will be easy for you and some will be hard. That's true for everybody. Do each lesson once and keep going.

Done the free week? Then you've done A, B, C, Lessons 1 to 3 and Quiz 1. This is the other thirty-four.

Testimonials

Kevin Schnell

YouTube

I have been studying music since I was four, and I have trained with some of the best. I have attended a handful of different universities and attended multiple different music camps in my pursuit of becoming the best musician I can be. 


Recently I had one of my guitar instructors (Grant Gordy) tell me that my technique is great but the only way forward for me to advance to the next level (pro level) of musicianship is for me to really work on my ear. That was six months ago.  

I have taken Kevin's course seriously since the first pre-course lessons. My hard work is starting to pay off.

I want to develop a pro-level ear more than anything. I am starting to see that if I continue with Kevin's course, I just might achieve my goal! 
Fellow musicians and fans have already started to take notice.

Melanie Ta

YouTube

Hi Kevin, thank you so much for doing this project. Please keep doing what you are doing. You make the impossible becomes possible. I never thought I could do the Pitch Breakdown, Interval or Chord exercises. Up to this lesson, my ears can tell with confidence. I am listening to a major triad or a perfect fifth. The Pitch Breakdown becomes straightforward. I am still struggling with memorizing the six measures of pitch notation. However, this will improve with practice. Once again, massive thanks!

Susan Meredith

YouTube

It’s working! I can now hear both notes in the intervals. Bass clef is still a bit of a challenge to my ear, but it is getting better. Thanks!

@mezzopiano3119

YouTube

Thanks for the advice, and the course. It really works! I've started ear training a few weeks ago and, after having done introductory lessons A, B, and C, today I finally managed 100% in the chord vs interval recognition exercise of Lesson 1, while about one week ago I thought I would never make it.

@user-kp5ly8yl6s

YouTube

I think we should make a Nobel Prize for music and give it to you, your channel is really special with a lot of knowledge that I didn't find anywhere else... Thank you

@ronnie4697

YouTube

Thanks again Kevin for keeping this going. The more I dive into your lessons, the more certain I feel that you are creating something unique in the world that very much needs to exist. I am a trained musician, so these lessons are all very simple for me at this point, and probably will be for several months. However, I feel that I'm learning to listen more deeply into the individual pitches and intervals, like probing down to the vibrational cycles themselves. I can only imagine your composition course is equally as powerful if you are using this same incremental approach. I'll be sure to check that out soon!

Purchase the Audio Course Today

FAQ section

Frequently asked questions

You've got questions. We've got answers.

How Does the Program Work?

You press play and follow along. Every lesson is me at the piano, recorded by hand. No app, no automated drills. You listen, audiate, sing, and answer before I give the answer.

How Long is Each Lesson?

It changes by unit. Unit 1 lessons run twenty to thirty minutes. Unit 2 drops to about fifteen. Unit 3 onward is twenty, and from Unit 5 about thirty. Never more than an hour a day, and forty-five minutes is better.

How Long Does the Program Last?

One lesson a day. Unit 1 is forty-one sessions. The whole course is sixteen units, and a unit takes most people three to six weeks. In the complete course a new unit opens every fifteen days.

I've Taken Ear Training Programs in the Past...

Most of them drill one interval at a time until you can name it fast. This one starts with two notes and teaches you to hold them in your head after the piano stops.

The difficulty rises, then eases off, then rises again, so beginners and trained musicians both find their edge. Don't repeat lessons. Go one a day and let the later lessons fix the earlier ones.

How Many Lessons Are In the Course?

Sixteen units. Unit 1 alone is forty-one sessions: 26 lessons, seven quizzes, a prep guide and a six-level final. Later units run from nine sessions to thirty-nine. Buy a unit on its own, or buy the complete course and get every future unit at no extra cost.

How is the Course Created?

I build this course in real time, from what students get right and where they get stuck. A course written in isolation is a guess at what the student needs. This one gets corrected by the people taking it.

Think of it as group private lessons with live support. When it's finished, you'll have been one of the founding members.

Refund Policy?

Please refer to the bottom of most any page on this website. The Refund/Cancellation policy represents our terms.

Contents for Unit 1 (Audio)

Comment Guidelines Policy
Grading and Tips for Using this Course
A Message to Flawless Students (Unit 14 - Lesson 5).mp4

Flawless App (Beta)

Flawless App — Student Message.pdf
Free Sign Up for the New Course with App

PITCH DICTATION (NOTATION) ANSWER SHEET

Dictations Unit 1 - (Answer Sheet) Updated 6-9-26

Resources

Download the resources you'll need for the course.

Flawless Unit 1 - Two Notes, Honestly Heard.pdf
Solfege with Inflections in Fixed Do (Non-Conventional Usage)
Learning Octave Registers by Number
Download Unit 1 (Updated 09-11-2026).zip

Unit 1: Stage 1 – Introductory Lessons

Introductory Lessons A, B, C

Lesson A (C, G) Unit 1 [V2]
Preview
Lesson B (C, G) Unit 1 [V2]
Preview
Lesson C (C, G) Unit 1 [V2]
Preview

Unit 1: Stage 2

Lessons 1-3 and Quiz 1

1-04 Lesson 1 (C,G) [V2]
1-05 Lesson 2 (G, D) [V2]
1-06 Lesson 3 (G, D) [V2]
1-07 Quiz 1 (C, G, D) [V2]

Unit 1: Stage 3

Lessons 4-6 and Quiz 2

1-08 Lesson 4 (C, G, D, A) [V2]
1-09 Lesson 5 (C, G, D, A, E) [V2]
1-10 Lesson 6 (C, G, D, A, E) [V2]
1-11 Quiz 2 (C, G, D, A, E) [V2]

Unit 1: Stage 4

Lessons 7-9 and Quiz 3

1-12 Lesson 7 (A, E, B) [V2]
1-13 Lesson 8 (F#) [V2]
1-14 Lesson 9 (Lydian) [V2]
1-15 Quiz 3 (Lydian) [V2]

Unit 1: Stage 5

Lessons 10-12 and Quiz 4

1-16 Lesson 10 (Lydian) Unit 1 [V2]
1-17 Lesson 11 (C#, E, G#, B) Unit 1 [V2]
1-18 Lesson 12 (C♯4 → G♯4) Unit 1 [V2]
1-19 Quiz 4 (C♯–F♯–G♯) Unit 1 [V2]

Unit 1: Stage 6

Lessons 13-15 and Quiz 5

1-20 Lesson 13 (C♯, F♯, G♯) Unit 1 [V2] Updated 5-28-2026
1-21 Lesson 14 (F → C) Unit 1 [V2]
1-22 Lesson 15 (B♭ → F) Unit 1 [V2] (Updated 08-3-2026)
1-23 Lesson 16 (B♭→F→C) Unit 1 [V2]
1-24 Quiz 5 (B♭, F, C) Unit 1 [V2]

Unit 1: Stage 7

1-25 Lesson 17 (E♭→B♭) Unit 1 [V2]
1-26 Lesson 18 (A♭→E♭) Unit 1 [V2]
1-27 Lesson 19 (A♭→E♭→B♭) Unit 1 [V2]
1-28 Quiz 6 (A♭, E♭, B♭) Unit 1 [V2]

Unit 1: Stage 8

Lesson 19-21 and Quiz 7

Stage 8 (V2 All Files).zip
1-29 Lesson 20 (G♭→D♭) Unit 1 [V2]
1-30 Lesson 21 (D♭→G♭) Unit 1 [V2] (Updated 6-29-2026)
1-31 Lesson 22 (G♭→D♭→A♭) Unit 1 [V2]
1-32 Quiz 7 (G♭, D♭, A♭) Unit 1 [V2]

Unit 1: Stage 9

1-33 Lesson 23 (C♭→G♭) Unit 1.mp3
1-34 Final Exam Prep Guide.mp3

Unit 1: Final

1-35 Final Exam – Instructions.mp3
1-36 Final Exam – Level 1 Pitch Identification.mp3
1-37 Final Exam – Level 2 Major Triad or Other Chord.mp3
1-38 Final Exam – Level 3 Fifth or Third.mp3
1-39 Final Exam – Level 4 Tonic or Dominant.mp3
1-40 Final Exam – Level 5 Melodic Dictation.mp3
1-41 Final Exam – Level 6 Four-Part Dictation