Discriminative Frequency Training - 2/3 Octave Bands

Switch to : Full Octaves  (easier)

Purpose

Equalization (EQ) refers to the process of altering the frequency response of an audio system or a sound file. EQ can be used for esthetic reasons or to compensate for unwanted bumps or holes in the audio spectrum.

The following files will help you to discriminate frequencies across the audible range. By training your ears to recognize those frequency bands, you will acquire the ability to locate unwanted frequency bumps by ear and find the correct EQ fix in one go.

Training Files

The audible spectrum has been divided into 14 bands (2/3 octave spacing), from 40 Hz to 16 kHz. Listen to each octave and try to associate it with its respective center frequency.

The Test

To pass a blind test, you will need to perform 10 trials at least, obtain a high score and reach a high confidence level: 95% is standard to rate statistical significance. It means that your score outperforms random guesses by 95%. There is still a probability that you just got lucky though, 5%. To reduce such probability to 1%, keep testing until you reached a confidence level of 99%.

Once you have succeeded in getting a score of 100% without listening to the individual labeled files during the test, your training will be complete!

Let's have a test on a real music signal now...

External Links

• Equalization by the Octave
• Equalization @ Wikipedia

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Take up the challenge

• Find the smallest difference in sound levels you can detect. 
  The Level Series:  6dB  3dB  1dB  0.5dB  0.2dB  0.1dB 

• Find the highest frequency you can reliably hear.
  The Frequency Series:  10kHz 11k 12k 13k 14k 15k 16k 17k 18k 19k 20kHz

• Find the smallest difference in pitch (frequency) you can hear. 
  The Pitch Series:  50c  20c  10c  5c  2c  1c 

• Find the shortest timing difference you can reliably hear. NEW
  The Timing Series:  1ms  2ms  5ms  10ms  20ms  50ms  100ms 

• Find the highest dynamic range offered by your listening environment. 
  The Dynamic Range Series:  36dB  42dB  48dB  54dB  60dB  66dB  72dB  78dB 

• Do you have the absolute hearing ability? 
  The Perfect Pitch Blind Test:  C Scale  Chromatic 

• Are your ears sensitive to Absolute Phase? 
  The Absolute Polarity Blind Test:  Here 

• Can you hear a difference between 16-bit and 8-bit audio files? 
  The 16-bit v/s 8-bit Blind Test

For sound and studio engineers

• Learn to discriminate frequencies by ear.
  The Peak Series: 10 bands  14 bands
  The Notch Series: 10 bands  14 bands
  The Music Series:  Peaks  Notches
• Check your timing precision NEW