The textbook of ear training software: a large, structured curriculum covering intervals, chords, scales, rhythm, melodic dictation and sight-singing, on desktop and mobile.
Choose PitchMe if you want the specific skill of hearing notes and chords by their function in a key, trained in short daily rounds on your phone, without paying a subscription to start.
Choose EarMaster if you need a full aural curriculum — rhythm, dictation and sight-singing included — for an exam or a degree, you want to sing and play your answers, and you will sit down at a desktop to work through it.
EarMaster is made by EarMaster ApS. Check these claims at the source. Last verified .
"Not found" means we could not find the feature when we reviewed the app on 2026-08-25, not that it certainly does not exist. Apps change, and we do not track every release. Each app links to its own site — check anything that matters to your decision at the source.
Establishes a key, then asks what you heard inside it — scale degrees, chord functions as Nashville numbers, notes within a sounding chord, and whether a note is in tune. Difficulty escalates by level rather than by setting.
Course-based drilling across a very wide syllabus, with microphone and MIDI input so you can sing or play your answers rather than tapping them.
Including the things it does better than PitchMe.
The gaps that matter if relative pitch is what you are training.
| What it trains | PitchMe | EarMaster |
|---|---|---|
Trains notes in a key Whether you identify what you hear relative to a tonal centre, or as an isolated distance between two notes. This is the difference between an ear that works on real music and one that only works on quizzes. | Yes Every mode establishes a key first, then asks what you heard inside it, labelled as scale degrees or solfège. | Partial Includes functional and scale-degree work, but much of the syllabus is abstract interval and chord-quality identification. |
Trains chords by function Whether chords are drilled by their role in a key (the 4, the 5, the 6) rather than only by quality (major, minor, diminished). Function is what you need to hear a progression. | Yes Chords are drilled as Nashville numbers — the 1, 4, 5, 6, then the 2, 3 and 7 — with inversions and non-diatonic chords unlocking later. | Partial Extensive chord identification, mostly by quality and inversion rather than by role in a key. |
Trains hearing inside a chord Whether you practise picking out individual notes within a sounding chord — the skill behind transcribing voicings, harmonising, and singing a part. | Yes A dedicated Harmony mode plays a chord and asks which note inside it you heard, including complex chords. | Partial Chord and progression dictation, rather than picking a single note out of a sounding chord. |
Trains intonation in cents Whether you practise hearing that a note is slightly sharp or flat. Naming intervals is a labelling skill; hearing tuning is a resolution skill, and they train separately. | Yes A dedicated Intonation mode asks whether a note is in tune, tightening from 15 cents to 5 cents as you improve. | Not found No cents-level tuning drills. |
Removes crutches on a schedule Whether difficulty escalates on its own — dropping the reference note, adding inversions, widening the range — rather than leaving you to pick settings you are already comfortable with. | Yes Levels unlock a second octave, inversions, complex chords and extra scale degrees, and take the reference note away at level 3. | Yes Guided courses set the order and the difficulty. |
Built around a daily habit Ear training is decided by how many days you show up, not by how much content the app has. Whether the app is shaped like something you open every day. | Yes Rounds run about a minute, with three lives, a combo multiplier and optional daily reminders. | Not found Designed as study software for longer sittings. |
Leaderboards Whether progress is visible against other people, which is what keeps a practice habit alive past the first fortnight. | Yes Global leaderboards and shareable scores. | Not found No leaderboards. |
Price Cost to start and to keep going. | Free to download; optional subscription. No ads. | Subscription, with in-app purchases for individual courses. See their site for current pricing. |
Platforms Where it runs. | iOS and Android. | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. |
PitchMe is free to download on iOS and Android, with no ads. One round takes about a minute.