# Better Ears Beginner — Ear Training, Theory & Rhythm > Music theory and ear training app with 13 exercises and customizable training. (iPhone/iPad app by MAMP GmbH.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ears-beginner/id284445260 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [MAMP GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1451068672) - Category: Music, Education - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.50/5 from 35 App Store ratings · 217 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 15.6 · 86 MB - Languages: American English, French (France), German (Germany) - Released: 2019-02-11 - Data updated: 2026-08-16 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ears-beginner/id284445260/reviews.md ## What is Better Ears Beginner? Better Ears is the complete ear training and sight‑reading workout for musicians, students and teachers. Train your musical ear and master music theory — from interval recognition all the way to chord progressions and rhythm training. 15 exercises take you from absolute beginner to pro, at your own pace, with no rules and no pressure. NEW: RHYTHM TRAINING Sharpen your sense of timing with two brand‑new exercises. Hear a rhythm and clap or tap it back, or read rhythmic notation and perform it in time — with count‑in, metronome, triplets and time signatures like 3/4, 4/4 and 5/4. Clap straight into your device's microphone and Better Ears listens. YOU DECIDE HOW TO TRAIN There are no rules to follow. You decide when to start, what to practice and how often. 15 EXERCISES INCLUDED • Interval recognition • Scale recognition • Chord recognition • Chord progressions • Pitch recognition • Melodic dictation • Tempo recognition • Key signature recognition • Music reading • Interval music reading • Scale music reading • Chord music reading • Melody music reading • Rhythm recognition (new) • Rhythm reading (new) ANSWER WITH YOUR VOICE OR A REAL INSTRUMENT Built‑in pitch detection lets you answer by singing or by playing a real instrument (e.g. piano or guitar). Just sing or play the notes when the microphone button lights up red. CUSTOM CHORDS, SCALES & CHORD PROGRESSIONS The built‑in editor lets you add your own chords, scales and chord progressions. FOUR PRESET LEVELS + UNLIMITED CUSTOM LEVELS Start at Beginner, Easy, Normal or Professional — then build your own levels to focus exactly where you need to: church modes, those two pesky intervals, custom rhythms, whatever you like. 6 INSTRUMENTS & CUSTOM SOUNDFONTS Train with Acoustic Grand, Bright Acoustic Piano, Electric Grand, Drawbar Organ, Nylon and Steel Acoustic Guitar — or extend Better Ears with your own sounds via SoundFonts (.sf2). KEYBOARD & FRETBOARD Answer on a virtual piano keyboard or a virtual guitar fretboard. MIDI SUPPORT Route sound through an external MIDI device and even control Better Ears with a connected master keyboard. SYNC ALL OF YOUR DEVICES Keep your Mac, iPhone and iPad in sync via Dropbox. You choose what to sync: your own levels, your statistics, your settings — or all of it. STATISTICS Better Ears tracks your progress for every exercise and every question — right and wrong answers at a glance. WIKIPEDIA INTEGRATION The matching Wikipedia article is shown for each exercise, so the theory is always one tap away. REFRESHED DESIGN A modern, fully redesigned interface on iPhone, iPad and Mac — with full Dark Mode and crystal‑clear music notation. ## Key features - 13 music theory and ear training exercises - Customizable training routines - User-created chords, scales, and progressions - Six instrument sound options - Pitch detection for vocal or instrument answers - Virtual keyboard and guitar fretboard - Cross-device synchronization ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Unlock all functions | $4.99 | one-time | ## What do users think of Better Ears Beginner? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 👍 Free beginner version - 🚀 Helpful for learning music theory - 💡 Useful for ear training and pitch recognition - 🎹 Ability to play piano-like keyboard **Cons** - 🐛 Crashes after purchasing add-on - 🔒 No Airplay support - 👎 Insufficient training functionality - 🔊 Poor sound quality - 🤔 Confusing for true beginners **Commonly reported bugs** - Reverts to beginner version after phone update - Audio stops working after some time - Keyboard unresponsive on iPad - Chord spellings are incorrect **Most requested features** - Add more instruments - Include rhythm training - Provide more customization options - Implement a game-like format - Add support for reading sheet music ## Recent user reviews (10 of 217) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ears-beginner/id284445260/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Super App *2023-05-27* Hilft super um Intervalle zu hören und jetzt bin ich richtig gut 👍 ### 1/5 — Crashes after buying add-on *2023-04-05* Purchased the full version through the beginner app. But it keeps crashing ### 5/5 — Excellent !! *2022-08-14* Cette application propose exactement ce que je cherchais : des quiz pour apprendre la théorie musicale et développer mon oreille. Comme beaucoup de pianistes classiques, je connaissais le solfège, mais pas assez l’harmonie pour pouvoir improviser. J’ai tout de suite acheté la version avancée de cette app, qui me sera d’une grande aide pour cela. Mention spéciale pour les niveaux personnalisables (par exemple, s’entraîner à distinguer spécifiquement les quartes des quintes…) et le statistiques pour repérer quoi travailler. Un grand merci !!! ### 4/5 — Free beginner version is pretty good. *2022-03-09* Some features of full app are of course not available but you could spend quite a few hours here. Emphasis is on learning not on being flashy, which I appreciate. One minor complaint is that the beginner level dictation training uses intervals that are not included in interval training in this app but other free apps will give you that training. I would gladly pay a one time upgrade fee for the full app when I the only errors I make in the beginner app are typos. If the full app requires a monthly license fee then I would probably check out competing apps. ### 5/5 — Better ear *2021-02-18* Instead of playing angry birds or Pokémon go why don’t you play a game that actually has benefits with any instrument you play. Maybe you’re even a Whistler, don’t annoy people by whistling off key. Use better ear, we’ll all thank you. ### 1/5 — Upgrade Vollversion *2021-01-09* Ich hab die Beginners-Version heruntergeladen und IN DER APP dann die Vollversion gekauft. Die App ist von außen betrachtet danach immer noch die eingeschränkte Beginners-Version, von innen sind aber alle Funktionen freigeschaltet. Wenn ich jetzt die App auf weitere meiner Geräte lade, dann wird mir nur die eingeschränkte Beginners-Version auf dem Zweitgerät zur Verfügung gestellt. Das ist ein Fehlverhalten seitens der App. Den Support habe ich kontaktiert, er beantwortet meine Fragen/Anmerkungen aber nicht. Ärgerlich! ### 3/5 — No Airplay... *2020-08-05* Incompatible with Airplay 2, which is the standard for a number of years now... Pure sloppiness, as far as I'm concerned... ### 5/5 — Très bonne appli *2020-06-01* La meilleure trouvée sur le sujet parmi les gratuites. Beaucoup d’exercices variés et ludiques. ### 2/5 — Training function insufficient *2020-02-26* Firstly, I think this app isn't for a beginner, I think you need a fair grasp of ear training prior to using it. The app works fine in testing the user, but the training function is pretty ordinary. It does nothing to help the user hear differences. This was particularly evident in the perfect pitch section. As I don't have perfect pitch, the notes sounded higher or lower but I had no idea of the pitch. There was no training in pitch recognition. I don't one can learn perfect pitch. The testing for scales doesn't allow the user to customise the number of scales being tested upon the user. I think starting with two scales would be better that four in the app at the beginner level. There are better apps around. ### 3/5 — 질문있습니다 *2019-09-05* 비기너 앱으로 받아서 실행후 12000원으로 결제했는데 앱 자체는 계속 비기너 앱이네요 Better ear - ear tranning 이걸로 바꿀수 있나요? ## Frequently asked questions about Better Ears Beginner ### What does the Better Ears Beginner app do? Better Ears Beginner is an educational app focused on music theory and ear training. It helps users develop their musical skills and improve their hearing capabilities through a variety of exercises designed to teach them to recognize intervals, scales, chords, and progressions. ### What are the key features of Better Ears Beginner? The app includes 13 different exercises covering a wide range of musical concepts, from interval recognition to chord progressions. Users can customize their training routines, create their own chords and scales, choose from six different instrument sounds, and even answer exercises using their voice or a real instrument thanks to integrated pitch detection. ### How much does Better Ears Beginner cost? The app is available for free, but it offers in-app purchases. This suggests that while the core functionality and some exercises may be free, additional features, content, or advanced levels might require a purchase. ### What devices is Better Ears Beginner compatible with? The description mentions that users can sync their Mac and iOS devices, indicating compatibility with both macOS and iOS operating systems. It also supports MIDI input and output, suggesting it can integrate with external MIDI hardware. ### Who would benefit from using Better Ears Beginner? This app is ideal for anyone looking to improve their musical abilities. This includes music students, aspiring musicians, hobbyists, and even experienced musicians who want to refine their ear for music theory concepts like intervals, chords, and scales. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 4.0 — 2026-06-20 NEW: Rhythm training is here! Two new exercises — Rhythm recognition and Rhythm reading — let you clap or tap rhythms back by ear, or read and perform rhythmic notation in time. Clap straight into the microphone, with count-in, metronome, triplets and time signatures like 3/4, 4/4 and 5/4. Also in this update: • Refreshed, modern design across iPhone, iPad and Mac • Full Dark Mode support • Clearer, better-spaced music notation • Many fixes and performance improvements Happy training! ### 3.8 — 2026-04-10 - Updates for iOS 26 - Fixes for various bugs ### 3.7 — 2022-11-17 - fixed problems with Dropbox Sync - minor bugfixes ### 3.6.1 — 2022-03-27 - minor bugfixes - adaptations to iOS 15 and new devices ### 3.6 — 2020-12-15 - Optimized for iOS 14 - Minor Bugfixes ## Apps similar to Better Ears Beginner | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Better Ears - Ear Trainer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ears-ear-trainer/id284444548) | 4.6 (76) | $4.99 | Music | | [Solo - Fretboard Visualization](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/solo-fretboard-visualization/id1537057699) | 4.8 (630) | $17.99 | Music | | [Tonality: Music Theory](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tonality-music-theory/id1467552236) | 4.8 (128) | $7.99 | Music | | [Guitar Interval Ear Trainer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guitar-interval-ear-trainer/id376191905) | 4.7 (11) | $1.99 | Music | | [Note Trainer Pro](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/note-trainer-pro/id505179836) | 4.8 (915) | $3.99 | Music | | [Complete Music Reading Trainer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/complete-music-reading-trainer/id1550798715) | 4.3 (56) | Free | Music | ## More apps by MAMP GmbH - [Better Ears - Ear Trainer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ears-ear-trainer/id284444548) - [Rallye Timer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rallye-timer/id284845697) - [timeEdition - Time Tracking](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/timeedition-time-tracking/id969800201) - [B Flat - Sight Reading](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/b-flat-sight-reading/id999375757) - [MAMP Viewer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mamp-viewer/id1047237620) All apps by MAMP GmbH: https://appshunter.io/developer/1451068672 ## Related topics [big ears](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/big-ears) · [between the ears](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/between-the-ears) · [chordprog ear trainer](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chordprog-ear-trainer) · [jias auditory training](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/jias-auditory-training) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-16.*