We live in an amazing time where developing one‘s musical ear to expert levels is more approachable than ever before. Smartphone apps have made it possible to train note recognition, chord changes, and rhythm identification from the comfort of your headphones. While traditional musical fluency relied upon reading sheet music, modern musicians are quickly adopting aural skills as technologies make written notation outdated.
In fact, studies show over 68% of amateur musicians today learn songs primarily by listening and imitating rather than consulting musical scores. And 45% of music educators utilize ear training apps in their core teaching approach. The benefits of training one‘s ear go well beyond playing from sheet music. Improved aural abilities allow musicians to:
- Pick up new instruments faster by linking sounds heard with finger positions
- Have better vocal pitch and harmonic awareness when singing
- Understand and replicate rhythms intuitively rather than counting beats
- Identify the tonal center of a song key and underlying chords by ear
- Learn full songs just by listening, without written notes
The above are just a sampling of what strong ear training can impart to a musician. While such skills took years and extensive practice to hone for previous generations, apps today shortcut that journey considerably. Let‘s explore the inner workings of such platforms.
How Ear Training Apps Work
Ear training apps aim to bridge gap between music theory knowledge and practical listening abilities. They work by testing different aspects of auditory perception through targeted exercises with interactive feedback.
Some of the main technical features include:
- Testing Modules – exercises that help recognize intervals, chords, rhythms etc
- Pitch Visualizers – show tone frequencies to match sounds
- Melodic Dictation – transcribe music compositions heard
- Instrument Recognition – associate tones with instruments
- Sight Reading Trainers – read and perform musical scores
- Progress Analytics – visualize accuracy improvements over time
Using these tools and games, the apps aim to intrinsically develop one‘s musical listening capacities. Consistently working with them wires the brain to more easily parse musical patterns solely by ear – without reliance on written notes.
The rest of this guide looks at 10 leading ear training apps for efficiently developing pro-level sound recognition abilities.
1. Complete Ear Trainer – Ear Training Bootcamp
Frequently crowned one of the most comprehensive ear training apps, Complete Ear Trainer strives to leave no area of auditory perception untouched. With 28 chapters and over 150 different exercises, the app offers a structured roadmap – beginning with basic intervals and building advanced harmonic and rhythmic cognition.
The interface acts like an adaptive bootcamp; constantly testing and pushing the musical ear to become quicker and more instinctual. Three adjustable difficulty modes ensure exercises remain engaging but challenging. Complete statistics and tracking visualize ongoing progress.
Some musicians credit Complete Ear Trainer alone with helping them effortlessly keep complex rhythms, detect subtle harmonic changes and instantly identify instrumental voices in compositions after only months of consistent practice. An immersive ear bootcamp, it lives up the name for complete auditory augmentation.
Platforms: iOS, Android
Cost: $4.99 one-time unlock
Key Features: Over 150 Ear Exercises, Progress Analytics, 3 Adaptive Difficulties
2. Functional Ear Trainer – Transcribe Music Like a Pro
A legend in the ear training sphere – Functional Ear Trainer is based on French musical pedagogue Alain Benbassat‘s acclaimed hearing augmentation methodologies. The cornerstone of his approach is nurturing relative pitch – the skill allowing musicians to identify any isolated note‘s distance in intervals from a reference tone.
Through a sequential 10 level process – each lesson building upon the last – Functional Ear Trainer shapes intrinsic listening capacities to effortlessly determine musical intervals and replicate them vocally or instrumentally. Where many apps focus narrowly on note or chord recognition, the holistic brilliance of Functional Ear Trainer is teaching one‘s ear to deeply comprehend the chromatic distance relationships underpinning all melody and harmony.
With perseverant practice, Functional Ear Trainer imparts an almost superhuman listening ability – to instantly transcribe music simply from hearing it. Like having a built-in version of Shazam constantly recognizing then analyzing songs in real-time. An invaluable asset for any musician.
Platforms: iOS, Android
Cost: $8.99 monthly subscription
Key Features: Custom Song Upload, Interval Oscillator, Statistics Tracking
3. Music Tutor App – Foundation for Beginners
For those in the early stages of their musical journey, Music Tutor App is perfectly designed to nurture core listening competencies from the ground up. Without assuming any prior music theory or reading notation abilities, Music Tutor uses an intuitive game-like interface to familiarize beginning students with fundamental pitch and rhythm recognition.
By incorporating real-time feedback through dynamic visualizers and tutorials, the app aims to turn advance beginner musicians from essentially sonically illiterate to having strongly responsive elementary aural abilities in just 1-3 months. Building this base allows students to then stack more advanced interval, chord and harmonic cognition training without struggling as much processing the basic elements.
Especially useful are the Sight Reading modules which transform sheet music notation on a page into tangible sounds new students can actively listen to while viewing the corresponding notes light up on a fretboard. Creating these neural connections at an early stage allows seamless blending of reading written music and playing by ear – the hallmarks of an expert modern musician.
Platforms: iOS, Android
Cost: Free with in-app purchases
Key Features: Note Reading Tutor, Rhythm Trainer, Sight Reading Exercises
4. MyEarTraining App – Complete Musicianship Course
Moving to the intermediate level – MyEarTraining App picks up where Music Tutor leaves off; constructive the essential musical scaffolds for full auditory comprehension and response. Targeted specifically at secondary students, band members and hobby musicians – MyEarTraining‘s exercises aim to condition intuitive grasp of common chord changes, harmonic progressions and key signatures.
But the software transcends rote memorization of theory terms through engaging modules like the interval song lyric mnemonics. By associating auditory patterns like minor thirds with the first lyrics of recognizable tunes like "Oh When the Saints Go Marching In", the ear integrates the chromatic distances more profoundly. Or the customizable chord chart and scale degree singing tools which enable practical reinforcement for cementing audiation.
For school band programs, indispensably useful is the cloud-based assignment and grading infrastructure enabling teachers to remotely assign ear training exercises then track individual student completion metrics. Expanding software learning outcomes, MyEarTraining earns recognition as a seminal mid-level ear augmentation platform.
Platforms: iOS, Android
Cost: $12.99 yearly subscription
Key Features: Interval Song Mnemonics, Custom Chord Charts, Student Cloud Assignments
5. Perfect Ear – Complete Music Education Software
Billing itself as an all-in-one replacement for formal private music tutoring, Perfect Ear is an ambitious app striving to leave no facet of musical comprehension untouched. Bridging between beginner foundations through advanced theoretical training – the comprehensive software both teaches the essential technical understandings while simultaneously developing practical playing abilities.
At the core lies the anticipated interval, chord and rhythm related ear training modules with increasingly difficult recognition speed tests. Adaptively responsive, the exercises ascend in complexity as skills improve. However, the true differentiator of Perfect Ear‘s educational approach are the 140+ theory lessons encompassing reading notation, mastering varied time signatures beyond just basic 4/4, exploring expressive techniques for evoking desired moods and implementing dynamic structural layers.
The supplementary content transforms the software from narrowly focusing on ear mechanics to imparting genuinely holistic musical wisdom. For self-directed students, it‘s a remarkably robust development resource touching all key competencies needed for mastery.
Platforms: Android, iOS
Cost: $9.99 one-time unlock
Key Features: 500+ Lessons and Exercises, Note Reading Courses, Structural Composition Education
6. Piano Ear – Keyboard Focused Ear Training
Recognizing the variance in core techniques and playing approaches between instruments, Piano Ear tailors its ear training methodology specifically to developing strong audiation and reproduction skills on the piano. Centering lessons around an animated keyboard with light-up keys and chords, the app trains instinctual hand-ear coordination – allowing seamlessly playing what‘s heard without reading sheet music.
What stands out in Piano Ear‘s pedagogical methodology is the Chord Inversions Trainer games for identifying note arrangements in unfamiliar voicings – one of the banes for classical pianists venturing into improvisation. Jazz musicians excel here through intrinsic familiarity with altered chord sequences acquired only through years of play-by-ear experience without written scores. By expediting this skill, Piano Ear opens creative doors.
Further cementing its piano focus are easily customizable exercises targeted to strengthening relative pitch cognition of scales and melodies on the grand staff. If seeking accelerated acquisition of keyboard aural proficiency, Piano Ear is purpose-built to develop piano playing purely by ear – a valuable ability for accompanists.
Platforms: iOS, Android
Cost: $14.99 yearly subscription
Key Features: Chord Inversion Trainer, Keyboard Light-Up Display, Customizable Note Range Exercises
7. Music Theory Helper App – Essential Foundations
Stepping back from narrowly honing musical ear mechanics, Music Theory Helper instead focuses on imparting the contextual knowledge and vocabulary which allows meaningfully manipulating what‘s heard into desired expressions. Expanding beyond rote interval drills, Music Theory Helper immerses students in the underlying patterns governing harmony, rhythm and form – facilitating stronger intuitive comprehension.
Through concise articles, the lessons range from demystifying essentials like time signature groupings, scale degree roles and chord building to more advanced topics such as modal interchange, common harmonic patterns and arranging techniques. Supplementing core concepts are fun activities like the rhythm bingo games, interval singing challenges and key signature identification activities.
Music Theory Helper essentially tutors contextual fluency allowing fluidly applying sound structures. An invaluable complement for converting strengthened musical ear into fulsome compositional and improvisational abilities. Serves both as foundational primer and reference resource.
Platforms: Android
Cost: $4.99 one-time unlock all courses
Key Features: Interactive Music Theory Games, Scale Degree Identifier, Arranging and Songwriting Lessons
8. Earpeggio – Mastering Interval Cognition
Quickly advancing student‘s abilities to categorize any isolated intervals within split seconds, Earpeggio focuses intently on cementing the primordial building blocks enabling all other audiation skills. Consistent practice trains instantaneous classification of dyads into their respective categories like minor sixths or major sevenths regardless of key center or octave.
At core lies the Interval Oscillator Tool emitting two adjustable sine waves at customized distances allowing drilling any combination. Augmenting recognition are ear training games testing snap identification of presented intervals then tracking accuracy over time. Playing daily habituates responding correctly subconsciously.
While streamlined in functionality, Earpeggio nonetheless offers profound utility for accelerating foundational listening mechanics. Unlocks huge progress when interfaced with other apps teaching higher-level musicianship reliant upon fluid interval handling. The perfect primer before diving into sophisticated harmonic and rhythmic dictation training.
Platforms: iOS
Cost: Free
Key Features: Interval Oscillator, Statistics Tracker, Interval Memorization Exercises
9. The Ear Gym – Multi-Faceted Musicianship Workout
As the creative name suggests, The Ear Gym assembles a diverse repertoire of ear training games spanning core competencies from basic note and rhythm recognition to advanced melodic transcription and harmonic analysis. Aiming to impart fully developed listening abilities, the app features unusually wide-ranging exercises.
Moving between identifying isolated chord types to dictating complex syncopated rhythms then transcribing 4-part Bach chorales trains well-rounded musical comprehension and recall. Step-wise complexity selection allows self-pacing advancement without overfacing limited skills. Detailed statistics track and motivate progress.
For impatient learners eager to expedite holistic aural fluency beyond incremental single skill building, The Ear Gym offers a rich all-around training curriculum touching all facets simultaneously. Developing enhanced global listening precision allows faster integration of abilities when learning songs and compositions.
Platforms: Android
Cost: $12.99 yearly subscription
Key Features: Rhythm Transcription Exercises, Chord Recognition Games, Interval Ear Trainer
10. Audio Training – Essential Listening For Recording Engineers
Transitioning to a more niche ear training application, Audio Training nonetheless holds invaluable utility for honing core abilities vital towards professional recording engineers and music producers. Understanding intricate facets of what constitutes tonality, dynamics and spatialization in sounds demands heightened audiation.
Through focused modules aimed at recognizing detailed audio curve variances, slight frequency shifts and fine differences when applying common effects processing like compression or artificial reverb – Audio Training strengthens the lucid discerning listening competencies needed for expert level mixing.
With toolboxes to generate complex custom pink noise signals then tweak parametric EQ nodes against reference tracks, the software provides tangible platforms reflecting direct industry applications. Zeroing in on often neglected subtleties beyond fundamental music theory ear training, Audio Training offers specialist development.
Platforms: Android
Cost: $29.99 one-time lifetime access fee
Key Features: EQ Training Suite, Audio Spectrum Analyzer, Hearing Diagnostics
Conclusion – Train Your Ears to Expert Levels with Apps
Ear training applications place achieving elite listening comprehension and musical reproduction abilities within accessible reach like never before. Harnessing the power of smartphone technology, the best platforms detailed offer structured curriculums advancing core skills through increments while motivating ongoing development through statistical analytics of error rates.
Target your training towards instrumental mastery goals by choosing specialized apps like Piano Ear or take a generalist approach using comprehensive packages like Complete Ear Trainer for multi-instrument fluency. Consistent daily practice cementing both low-level pitch and rhythm foundations along with higher-level harmonic and form cognition will transform raw sonic information into rich vibrancy and color.
What amazing lifetime joy awaits those choosing to dedicate themselves towards achieving expert musical ears!
