Virtual Reality Ear Training System: A study on Spatialised Audio in Interval Recognition

Ear training is a vital element in music education, analogous to taking dictation in written language. It provides musicians with a crucial skill used to identify pitches, melodies, chords and rhythms. Traditionally, the training is conducted by a tutor using a musical instrument, typically a piano. However, with new technologies emerging, several computer applications to facilitate this aspect of music education have been developed. Nevertheless, none of them utilised the VR technology, that proved to be successful in various scenarios, including educational systems, simulations, etc. In this work, we designed and developed a virtual reality ear training system for interval recognition and investigated its usability and user experience and the effect of spatialised audio in a 3D virtual environment on user performance. The results showed that the system has been successfully designed and provides users with a great experience when using it.