Ear Training — EQ Drills Online
Ear training drills that teach you to name boosted or cut EQ bands across 10 and 14-band sets. Pink-noise references, instant scoring. Free in your browser.
Protect your hearing. Start at a low volume. Never raise the volume to make a tone audible. Levels are shown in dBFS, relative to full scale — not SPL.
How it works
Interactive EQ frequency identification drill applying biquad peaking and notch filters to pink noise and harmonic synthesis.
Why Studio Engineers Train Their Ears
Every mixing and mastering engineer relies on their auditory cortex to make split-second decisions:
- “The vocal has a boxy buildup around 400 Hz.”
- “The acoustic guitar needs more presence at 3.5 kHz.”
- “The snare has harsh ring at 1.6 kHz that needs a notch.”
Without deliberate ear training, engineers waste time sweeping parametric EQ bands back and forth. With training, you instantly identify the offending frequency band.
The Frequency Zones
- Sub-Bass (20–60 Hz): Felt more than heard; rumble, kick drum weight.
- Bass (60–250 Hz): Warmth, bass guitar fundamental, punch.
- Low Mids (250–500 Hz): Body; excessive build-up causes mud and boxiness.
- Midrange (500 Hz–2 kHz): Horn-like, telephone honk, vocal fundamentals.
- High Mids (2–4 kHz): Attack, speech intelligibility, presence; highly sensitive hearing zone.
- Presence & Treble (4–8 kHz): Sibilance, snare crack, clarity.
- Brilliance & Air (8–20 kHz): Sheen, cymbals, acoustic sparkle.
Frequently asked questions
What is EQ ear training?
EQ ear training is the systematic practice of training your brain to identify which frequency bands are boosted or attenuated in an audio mix without looking at an analyzer.
What are the standard ISO equalizer center frequencies?
The standard 10-band octave frequencies defined by ISO 266 are: 31.5 Hz, 63 Hz, 125 Hz, 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 4 kHz, 8 kHz, and 16 kHz.
Why use pink noise for frequency drills?
Pink noise contains equal acoustic energy per octave, making it an acoustically flat reference against which boosts (+6 dB) and cuts (-12 dB) stand out purely as tonal colorations rather than musical notes.
How quickly can I expect improvement?
Just 10 minutes of daily practice typically produces measurable gains in frequency recognition accuracy within 7 to 14 days.