Hear a melody and play it straight away on your instrument — that's the goal for many musicians. Play by Ear helps you build that ear step by step: the app plays, you answer on your own instrument, and it checks your pitch through the microphone in real time. No tapping answers — you practice exactly what matters: hear it, then play it.
SINGLE NOTE
• Hear a reference note, then the question, and play the same note back — the octave has to match too
• With one note per question, all 12 notes come up; with more, it becomes a short melody in a random major or natural, harmonic or melodic minor key
• After a correct answer you see the interval from the previous note (such as "ascending major 3rd"), so your sense of intervals grows as you go
INTERVALS
• After the reference note, the two notes are played one after the other (melodic), then together (harmonic); play both back in order on your instrument
• All 13 intervals from unison to octave, ascending or descending at random; practice only consonant or dissonant intervals, or pick your own
• The interval's name is revealed when you're done
CHORDS
• The chord is played broken from low to high, then as a block; play each of its notes from low to high
• Major, minor, augmented and diminished triads, plus major 7th, dominant 7th, minor 7th, half-diminished and diminished 7th chords, with optional inversions
• The chord's name is revealed when you're done
DESIGNED FOR PRACTICING WITH AN INSTRUMENT IN HAND
• Practice starts as soon as you open it; replay or skip to the next question at any time
• After a correct answer the app waits until you stop playing, so you never need to look at the screen
• Supports flute, piano, oboe, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, erhu, trombone and tuba — the question range and clef match your instrument
• A staff at the top shows the clef, key signature and reference note
• Optionally keep the screen awake while you practice
MISSED INTERVALS AND STATISTICS
• Intervals you miss in single-note and interval practice (such as "descending perfect 5th") go into your Missed list; the more you miss one, the more often it comes up, and it's removed once you get it right several times in a row
• Daily practice volume, first-try accuracy, days practiced, most-missed intervals, and accuracy per interval and per chord
ICLOUD SYNC
Practice history, statistics and your Missed list sync through your iCloud account, so nothing is lost when you switch devices.
FREE AND PRO
Free: single-note practice (one or two notes per question), interval training (all 13 intervals), chord training (all four triads), the Missed list and 7-day statistics — every kind of practice works fully for free.
Pro (one-time purchase, no subscription): melodic dictation with 3 to 10 notes per question; harmonic-only intervals and block-chord-only mode for a harder challenge; seventh chords and inversions; practice built from your missed intervals; 30-day and all-time statistics.
PRIVACY
The microphone is used only to detect the pitch you play, on your device and in real time. Nothing is recorded, stored or uploaded, and the app collects no personal data.
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