For the first exercise in pitch recognition, you have to choose a melodic pattern. This can be something as simple as an interval, a scale, a chord or arpeggio, and so forth. The goal is to then perform or notate that pattern in at various tonal centers, while keeping the same rhythmic pattern. Basic subdivisions like crotchets, quavers, and semiquavers are more than sufficient, but you can experiment with mixing subdivisions and using tie's and dots as well, the only requirement for the rhythmic section in this exercise is that it remains the same. So if you've chosen straight semiquavers in 4/4, you retain that rhythm for the entire exercise. It's also vital that you visualise the instrument, and imagine the sound of each note/phrase/passage/etc.
The second exercise which is in rhythmic recognition, is the opposite to the previous exercise. Instead of repeating a pattern in pitch over a various tonal centers with a specific, locked rhythmic pattern - you play or notate the melodic/chordal pattern over just one tonal center, and experiment with variations of rhythmic patterns over that one pattern.
The third exercise is a mix of the two. Repeating the melodic pattern at various tonal centers with varying rhythms.
These exercises help to cultivate pattern recognition in listening/playing, and reading/writing, and other than the three direct outcomes of the exercises themselves, they have three other possible outcomes that will manifest in your reading and writing:
- Pitch pattern over fixed tonal center with fixed rhythm.
- Free notation and identification of possibilities in pitch and rhythm.
The first two exercises plus these three extra outcomes are hitting five birds with three stones. Highly effective and efficient practice!