The free, single-purpose app that made functional ear training popular: a cadence establishes the key, then you name the scale degree you heard.
Choose PitchMe if you want the same functional method applied to chords, harmony and intonation as well as single notes, wrapped in a game that gets you back tomorrow.
Choose Functional Ear Trainer if you want one free, primarily focused on scale degrees.
Functional Ear Trainer is made by Kaizen9. 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.
Plays a I–IV–V–I cadence to fix a key centre, then plays one note for you to identify as a scale degree. Notes can be labelled with numbers, letters or do-re-mi.
Including the things it does better than PitchMe.
The gaps that matter if relative pitch is what you are training.
| What it trains | PitchMe | Functional Ear Trainer |
|---|---|---|
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. | Yes The cadence-then-scale-degree exercise is its entire design. |
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. | Not found Single notes only. |
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. | Not found No chord-tone identification. |
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 tuning or cents work. |
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 Levels widen from part of a scale to multiple octaves. |
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. | Partial Structured drills, but no game loop pulling you back. |
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. | Free, with in-app purchases. |
Platforms Where it runs. | iOS and Android. | iOS and Android. |
PitchMe is free to download on iOS and Android, with no ads. One round takes about a minute.