# Better Ears - Ear Trainer — Ear Training, Theory & Rhythm > Music theory and ear training app with 13 exercises and customizable levels. (iPhone/iPad app by MAMP GmbH.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ears-ear-trainer/id284444548 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [MAMP GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1451068672) - Category: Music, Education - Price: $4.99 (on sale, was $9.99) - Rating: 4.60/5 from 76 App Store ratings · 236 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 15.6 · 86 MB - Languages: American English, French (France), German (Germany) - Released: 2019-02-12 - Data updated: 2026-09-01 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ears-ear-trainer/id284444548/reviews.md ## What is Better Ears? 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 ear training exercises - Customizable chords, scales, and progressions - 6 instrument sound options - Virtual keyboard and fretboard - Vocal or instrument input - Preset and custom training levels - Cross-device synchronization ## What do users think of Better Ears? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 👍 Great app for ear training - 🚀 Flexibility to customize exercises - 💡 Helpful for music students and professionals - 🎓 Improves aural skills and music theory knowledge **Cons** - 🐛 Crashes and glitches on some devices - 🔊 Poor sound quality of instrument samples - 💰 Expensive for the limited features - 🤔 Confusing chord and interval naming conventions **Commonly reported bugs** - Note recognition issues on lower strings - Inconsistent behavior when customizing lessons - Dropbox sync feature not working as expected **Most requested features** - Add chord inversions and progressions - Include melodic and rhythmic dictation exercises - Provide more instrument sound options - Improve statistics tracking and personalization - Add support for bass clef and multiple clefs ## Recent user reviews (10 of 236) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ears-ear-trainer/id284444548/reviews.md ### 4/5 — Great app, only one thing holds it back *2026-03-18* I love the flexibility of this app, it’s been really great for my ear training. Many of the exercises would be helpful for my students, as well, but anytime the fretboard is used for note entry (such as on the “melody music reading” exercises) it fails to account for the guitar being an octave transposing instrument. Guitar reads C4 on the fifth string third fret, even though the second string first fret is the one that actually sounds as a C4. Should be an easy fix, hope to see it implemented in the future! PS The “ignore octave when entering notes” option in general settings does not solve this problem ### 4/5 — Oppression *2026-01-30* Je voudrai pouvoir désactiver l’affichage des statistiques. J’ai l’impression d’avoir la police dans mon téléphone ### 1/5 — The app closes *2025-10-20* I cannot use the app it closes all the time with no reason, it’s a shame I used to really like it when it worked. The piano screen is now all weird its dimension is not correct and it does work. ### 1/5 — Crashes / force quit *2025-08-21* I like the app, but regularly crashes, is the first time I've tried it in years and was sad that it's not updated for the latest iOS ### 2/5 — Schade! *2025-04-09* Eigentlich anfangs eine gute App. Lief ein paar Wochen einwandfrei und plötzlich bricht sie immer wieder beim Start der einzelnen Programme ab. Scheinbar wurde seit dem 2022 an dieser App nicht mehr gearbeitet und technische Veränderungen nicht mehr eingearbeitet. Schade!!! ### 1/5 — C’était super quand ça fonctionnait ! *2025-04-02* Aujourd’hui l’application plante lancement d’un exercice sur mon iPad 6 sous ipados 17.7.5 C’est vraiment dommage c’est Applications est vraiment intéressante. on dirait qu’il n’est plus suivi sur iPad. ### 5/5 — Great app *2025-03-19, version 3.7* Great app but keep upgrading it. ### 4/5 — Update *2024-12-13, version 3.7* That’s a great app. Maybe consider an update please!! ### 1/5 — No updates anymore? *2023-12-10, version 3.7* I was really happy with this app and it helped me a lot over the last years. But now the app is crashing every time audio is played. I got an iPhone 14 so I would expect that it works without problems. It’s really sad when you pay for something and than there is no support anymore… ### 2/5 — Es ging doch schon mal *2023-09-28* Leider habe ich kürzlich festgestellt, dass man das Mikrofon nich mehr benutzen kann… denn leider stürzt die App ab sobald ich es aktiviere. Sowohl auf dem IPad, als auch auf dem IPhone. Ich kann mich erinnern, dass das früher ging, deshalb muss es wohl an einem Update liegen. Ich hoffe das wird behoben und ich kann irgendwann eine 5-Sterne Bewertung geben🙏 ## Frequently asked questions about Better Ears ### What does Better Ears do? Better Ears is an educational app designed to improve your musical skills and hearing capabilities. It provides 13 different exercises covering a range of music theory concepts, from recognizing intervals to understanding chord progressions. ### What are the key features of Better Ears? Key features include 13 diverse ear training exercises, a custom editor for chords and scales, six different instrument sound options, virtual keyboard and fretboard interfaces, pitch detection for vocal or instrument input, and the ability to create custom training levels. ### Is Better Ears free to use? Yes, the application is available for free. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned, suggesting a completely free experience for users. ### What instruments can I use with Better Ears? You can choose your training sound from six different instruments: Acoustic Grand piano, Bright Acoustic Piano, Electric Grand Piano, Drawbar Organ, Nylon Acoustic Guitar, and Steel Acoustic Guitar. You can also extend the sound library using SoundFonts. ### Who is this app for? This app is ideal for anyone looking to enhance their musical ear and understanding of music theory. It caters to beginners who are just starting out, as well as experienced musicians seeking to refine their skills. ## 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 - Updated for iOS 26 - Various bug fixes ### 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 | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Piano Chords and Scales](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/piano-chords-and-scales/id714086944) | 4.8 (9,159) | Free | Music | | [Better Ears Beginner](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ears-beginner/id284445260) | 4.5 (35) | Free | Music | | [Guitar Chord Finder : Fabulus](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guitar-chord-finder-fabulus/id1559087405) | 4.5 (70) | Free | Music | | [Guitar Gravitas: Chords Scales](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guitar-gravitas-chords-scales/id1171417699) | 4.8 (3,924) | Free | Music | | [Learn Music Notes - ChordIQ](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/learn-music-notes-chordiq/id1275024100) | 4.5 (220) | Free | Music | | [Earpeggio](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/earpeggio/id884775105) | 4.9 (9,541) | Free | Music | ## More apps by MAMP GmbH - [Better Ears Beginner](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ears-beginner/id284445260) - [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 --- *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 2026-09-01.*