# Ear Sharpener > Relative pitch training app for identifying notes and triads in musical contexts. (iPhone/iPad app by Piano Candy.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ear-sharpener/id383672887 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Piano Candy](https://appshunter.io/developer/383672890) - Category: Education, Music - Price: $2.99 - Rating: 4.38/5 from 13 App Store ratings · 19 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 8.3 · 22 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2010-07-30 - Data updated: 2026-10-23 - Monetization: paid - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ear-sharpener/id383672887/reviews.md ## What is Ear Sharpener? Tl;dr Ear Sharpener is the best app for learning relative pitch. Visit earsharpener.com to try it out for free. Beginners: Train to have musicians' ears. The first level is easy to pass, even for a non-musician. From there, difficulty increases in baby steps. Musicians: *Every* musician will find an Ear Sharpener level that is challenging and edifying for them. There's no "unlocking" of levels, so navigate through the levels to find what's right for you, or create your own custom levels. Ear Sharpener is an intense but simple game that trains you to hear what's happening both melodically and harmonically in music - whether you're listening to something that's playing on the stereo, at the club, or in your head. How To Play: You'll hear a cadence in C (a IV-V-I), and then a random note. You indicate what note you think you heard. Once you get it right, you'll be presented with another cadence and random note, repeating until you pass the level. To pass a level, you need a streak of 20 correct answers, and each answer must be given within one second of hearing the note/chord. For Beginners: Rather than diving right into all 12 notes, the first few levels are incredibly easy - in the first level, for example, you have to distinguish between just the notes C and G. If you already have a pretty good ear: Start with the last exercise under "Beginner / Notes I". The note recognition will be easy for you, and you'll have a chance to get used to how the game works. Eventually, you'll progress in baby steps to all the diatonic notes, and then all twelve tones, and then through a gradually widening note range (whereas at first, the notes are restricted to the Middle-C octave). At that point, you're in a pretty good place, ear-wise, but you can further increase your skills with multiple-simultaneous-note exercises. There is a similar baby-steps path for triads, where you are identifying the root, starting out with root position C and G chords, and ending with triads in various inversions in various voicings built on all twelve tones. Ear Sharpener comes with 140 preset levels, but also gives you the ability to design your own custom levels, where you can change the cadence keys, or have the app randomly change the cadence keys, or opt to not hear the cadences at all. Here are some notable things that this app *does not* work on: Chord qualities: The app will play you major, minor, augmented, and diminished triads, but it only cares whether you can identify the root. Intervals: Ear Sharpener doesn't deal with the vocabulary ("major third", "perfect 5th") used in interval training. Interval training helps you to identify the "distance" between two notes (pretty useful), whereas Ear Sharpener will train you to hear notes in the context of some specific tonal center (much more useful). Playing with friends: There is no replacement for the lessons you will learn by getting together with your friends and improvising music on a regular basis. For questions or support, write to earsharpener@gmail.com ## Key features - Relative pitch training - Note and triad identification - Progressive difficulty levels - Customizable exercises - 140 preset levels - Beginner to advanced training ## Is Ear Sharpener safe? Not enough ratings yet to assess Ear Sharpener. ## Is Ear Sharpener legit? Ear Sharpener appears legitimate, with a few gaps. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Ear Sharpener is 73 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data. ## Recent user reviews (10 of 19) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ear-sharpener/id383672887/reviews.md ### 2/5 — Bad audio *2017-12-22* It’s a nice app but the sounds on my phone play erratic cuts. ### 3/5 — IOS 11 *2017-12-08* It was perfect but it doesn’t work correctly on ios 11. Sound distortion is what I get. ### 4/5 — Audio issues *2017-10-18* Five star app but the audio crackles and takes away from the learning experience. This is on an iPhone SE ### 4/5 — Great app, why are all levels on key of C? *2016-02-14* This app is really helpful, but I don't understand why even the hardest levels are all in C. I know that you can create your own levels using the random generator, but there's a reason there are preset levels! If the goal of the app is be able to hear within a harmonic context, the preset levels should absolutely at some point start to quiz you not in the key of c major. ### 5/5 — Finally! A great update! *2015-08-16* This was the best program for ear training for a long time, but it was broken for a few years, maybe since iOS 7? I even kept my old iPad not upgraded just to use this app. It was that good. I figured development was just abandoned as the website seemed to be gone. Then I saw that the granddaddy of ear training apps finally got a rewrite a month ago! So thrilled, I can't tell you how sad I was when I thought this app was gone. I wish I wasn't without it for two years, but the new version makes it worthwhile. Charlie Banacos' ear training method lives on! Thank you!! ### 5/5 — Excellent tool *2015-07-19* I just finished the "Notes I" beginner section, and have noodled around in the other levels to see what I'm in for. This is simple but not easy, took me a lot of focus, and is already helping me get my "ear" back. I used to be able to sight-sing (like 15 years ago....) and I'm working on immersing myself in musical language again. I went back to finish the last section of Notes I after a couple of days away and it took me a lot of tries (yes, embarrassing). It might have helped if I went back a section or two to warm up first, but it was also worth it to keep trying each time I got one wrong. Worth way more than $2! ### 5/5 — Love this app *2015-07-09* Can't say enough good things about this program. It's one of those things I didn't know I was looking for. Use it during my commute to and from work and can already tell a huge difference after only a week. I grew up playing music and have always been a little intimidated by pitch and am indebted to this app for helping me overcome that. Props to the creator for making it practical and fun! Highly, highly recommended! ### 5/5 — So fantastic! *2015-07-08* I use this app all the time and love it! I have improved so much! ### 5/5 — So enlightening! *2015-07-08* I'm not a musician, but I've been curious about what one 'hears' as a musician. Now I know, or at least I'm getting there. Great educational tool! ### 5/5 — THE best pitch trainer! *2015-07-07* I kept old iPod touches around just to keep running the old version. I'm glad they have updated it for the newer iOS. The version starts simple and works its way up, gradually,to fiendishly difficult. Great fun and highly customizable. ## Frequently asked questions about Ear Sharpener ### What is Ear Sharpener? Ear Sharpener is an educational app designed to improve your relative pitch. It helps you learn to identify notes and triads within musical cadences, with a focus on understanding music in context. ### How does Ear Sharpener work? You'll hear a musical cadence followed by a random note or chord. Your task is to correctly identify the note or chord. Passing a level requires a streak of 20 correct answers within one second each. ### Is Ear Sharpener suitable for beginners? Yes, Ear Sharpener offers a beginner-friendly path. The initial levels focus on distinguishing between just two notes, gradually increasing complexity as you progress. ### Can experienced musicians benefit from Ear Sharpener? Absolutely. The app provides challenging exercises for musicians of all levels, allowing you to navigate through preset levels or create custom ones to suit your skill. ### What is the price of Ear Sharpener? Ear Sharpener is a paid app, available for a one-time purchase of $2.99. ### Does Ear Sharpener have ads? No, Ear Sharpener is ad-free, providing an uninterrupted learning experience. ### What devices support Ear Sharpener? Ear Sharpener is available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices. ### How often is Ear Sharpener updated? The latest version, 2.1, was released on July 4, 2015. Updates are not frequent, with the last update being several years ago. ## Version history (last 3 releases) ### 2.1 — 2015-07-04 This is a complete rewrite of Ear Sharpener. The basic premise of identifying notes within a tonal center is the same, but the logic and gamification of this idea has been greatly improved. Visit earsharpener.com for more details. ### 1.1 — 2010-12-18 Fixed incompatibility with iOS4.2 Updated instructions ### 1.0 — 2010-07-29 No release notes. ## More apps by Piano Candy - [Dual N-Bach: Musical Brain Training](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dual-n-bach-musical-brain-training/id976829822) All apps by Piano Candy: https://appshunter.io/developer/383672890 --- *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 2026-10-23.*