# PitchMe vs Tenuto

> A clean, offline toolkit of about two dozen customisable music theory and ear training drills from the makers of musictheory.net, sold once rather than rented.

**Short answer.** Choose PitchMe if you want your ear trained in a key rather than in the abstract, with the difficulty decided for you and a reason to come back tomorrow. Choose Tenuto if you want a precise, offline theory and drill toolkit you buy once, especially for notation, keyboard and fretboard work, and you are happy to design your own practice.

Tenuto is made by musictheory.net (https://www.musictheory.net/products/tenuto). Facts
last verified 2026-08-25.

"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.

All product names, trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. PitchMe is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of the products compared here. They are named only to identify them.

## How each one teaches

- **PitchMe** — 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.
- **Tenuto** — Individually configurable mini-exercises — interval identification, chord identification, keyboard and fretboard drills — plus a set of theory calculators.

## What Tenuto does well

- One purchase, no subscription, no ads, and it works with no internet connection.
- Exceptionally well made and precise. Each exercise can be narrowed to the exact thing you are weak at, down to specific clefs or double accidentals.
- The theory side — staff reading, keyboard and fretboard identification, and the accidental, interval and scale calculators — is broader than PitchMe's, which does no notation at all.
- Backed by musictheory.net's free web lessons, which are still among the best written explanations of theory anywhere.

## Where Tenuto stops

- The ear training is abstract by design: two notes, name the distance, with no key centre established first.
- No chord-function, harmony or intonation training.
- No automatic difficulty progression — you choose your own settings for each exercise.
- Challenge Mode scores against yourself only, and the app is iOS and macOS.

## Side by side

| What it trains | PitchMe | Tenuto |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Trains notes in a key** | Yes — Every mode establishes a key first, then asks what you heard inside it, labelled as scale degrees or solfège. | No — Interval and chord drills are presented without a key centre. |
| **Trains chords by function** | 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 — Chord identification by quality and inversion, not by role in a key. |
| **Trains hearing inside a chord** | Yes — A dedicated Harmony mode plays a chord and asks which note inside it you heard, including complex chords. | No — No chord-tone identification. |
| **Trains intonation in cents** | Yes — A dedicated Intonation mode asks whether a note is in tune, tightening from 15 cents to 5 cents as you improve. | No — No cents-level tuning drills. |
| **Removes crutches on a schedule** | Yes — Levels unlock a second octave, inversions, complex chords and extra scale degrees, and take the reference note away at level 3. | No — Every exercise is manually configured; nothing escalates on its own. |
| **Built around a daily habit** | Yes — Rounds run about a minute, with three lives, a combo multiplier and optional daily reminders. | Partial — Challenge Mode adds a timer and a personal high score. |
| **Leaderboards** | Yes — Global leaderboards and shareable scores. | No — Scores are private to you. |
| **Price** | Free to download; optional subscription. No ads. | One-time purchase. See their site for current pricing. |
| **Platforms** | iOS and Android. | iOS and macOS. |

## Frequently asked questions

### Is PitchMe or Tenuto better for ear training?

Tenuto is the better theory toolkit and the better offline purchase; its notation, keyboard and fretboard drills have no equivalent in PitchMe. For ear training specifically, PitchMe trains what you hear inside a key — scale degrees, chord functions, chord tones and intonation — which is closer to what you do when you work out a song by ear. Tenuto's ear exercises name intervals in isolation.

### Does PitchMe have a one-time purchase like Tenuto?

PitchMe is free to download on iOS and Android with no ads, and offers an optional subscription rather than a one-time unlock. You can train for free without buying anything.

## Other comparisons

- [PitchMe vs Functional Ear Trainer](https://pitchme.moosedev.app/compare/functional-ear-trainer): The free, single-purpose app that made functional ear training popular: a cadence establishes the key, then you name the scale degree you heard.
- [PitchMe vs EarMaster](https://pitchme.moosedev.app/compare/earmaster): The textbook of ear training software: a large, structured curriculum covering intervals, chords, scales, rhythm, melodic dictation and sight-singing, on desktop and mobile.
- [PitchMe vs Perfect Ear](https://pitchme.moosedev.app/compare/perfect-ear): A broad, long-established Android-first trainer covering intervals, scales, chords, rhythm, solfège, note reading and custom exercises, free with ads and a premium tier.
- [PitchMe vs ToneGym](https://pitchme.moosedev.app/compare/tonegym): A browser-based, heavily gamified ear training platform aimed at producers, with a daily workout of short games, weekly contests and a large community.
- [All comparisons](https://pitchme.moosedev.app/compare): the full matrix across every app above.

## Download PitchMe

- [PitchMe on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/sg/app/pitchme-train-relative-pitch/id1281567190)
- [PitchMe on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.moosedev.pitchme)