Comparison

Functional Ear Trainer vs Bagpipe Tutorial

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Functional Ear Trainer

Develop your musical ear by learning to recognize tones within the context of a specific musical key. This app helps you understand the function of each note, improving your ability to transcribe, improvise, and play music by ear. Suitable for all ages and skill levels, with just 10 minutes of daily practice.

Highlights
  • Recognize tones in musical key context
  • Understand note function
  • Improve transcription skills
  • Enhance improvisation
  • Develop perfect pitch
  • Daily 10-minute practice
Features
Read full description

Have you (or maybe one of your friends) ever wanted to learn to transcribe or play music by ear? It is so important for a musician to know what you are hearing. A good musical ear helps when you are composing, improvising, transcribing melodies, or playing with others. Most likely you have already tried different programs to learn to recognize intervals or even to acquire perfect pitch. However, although such programs develop your ear, but can you actually play any melody you hear as soon as you listen to it? Imagine you could understand music... It is like when somebody is talking to you, you not only hear pleasant sounds, but you recognize words and their meaning. One day I came across Alain Benbassat's program called "Functional Ear Trainer" and have been using it ever since. It is based on Alain's method to learn to recognize tones. The main difference between the Functional Ear Trainer and other methods is that it teaches you to distinguish between tones in the context of a particular musical key. You begin to recognize the role (or function) of each tone in this key, which is incredibly similar to its role in other keys of the same scale. And it is *guaranteed* anyone can gradually develop this skill. It does not matter: - who you are - an absolute beginner in music or a virtuoso professional musician; - how old you are - a 3 yo kid or a 90+ adult; - what musical instrument you play (you don't even have to play one). The only requirement is to practice for 10 minutes a day. I was so excited about this ear trainer that I have developed a mobile app based on the Alain Benbassat method. I hope you will find it useful.

About

Bagpipe Tutorial

Learn to play the Scottish bagpipes with a comprehensive multimedia reference. It features over 700 videos demonstrating techniques, numerous exercises, and helpful documents. Unlock all content permanently or via subscription for guided learning.

Highlights
  • Over 700 instructional videos
  • Embellishment and technique exercises
  • Adjustable video playback speed
  • Offline video and document access
  • Integrated metronome
  • Flashcards with video links
  • Content sharing with friends
Features
Read full description

Recommended by the best pipers in the world! This Bagpipe-Tutorial-App is the most comprehensive multimedia reference in the world on playing the Scottish bagpipes. It contains more than 700 videos demonstrating control of the instrument and finger techniques, including audio-visual information on all the grace notes and embellishments. Numerous exercises convey the essentials of Scottish piping. - More than 700 videos, playable at different speeds - More than 300 embellishment exercises - Unlock all videos and documents forever with Pipe Coins - Full access, subscription for complete activation of the app possible - Download function, videos and documents available offline - Loop function also within the videos for partial sequences - All the exercises and tunes in the bagpipe tutorial book - All books of the bagpipe school - A practical metronome - Helpful documents - Favourites memory - Reminder function - Adjustable video speed - Practical flashcards with video link - Share content with friends to learn together - The eye to learn the names of all embellishments - Many exciting workshops on all bagpipe topics - Available in three languages (French, English, German) - Everything in one practical app and no need to log in to websites - And many other functions The Bagpipe-Tutorial-App is ideal for absolute beginners up to advanced pipers and can be used for independent study or as a source of examples for lessons. Its aim is to give the student basic information about the instrument, a solid foundation in technique and expert guidance on the route to becoming an accomplished piper. This Bagpipe-Tutorial-App by Bagpipe Tutorial is a milestone in the teaching of the Scottish bagpipes. Easily understandable and thorough, it is a worthwhile investment for anyone interested in piping. The Bagpipe Tutorial book, also by Bagpipe Tutorial, is an ideal supplement. Many thanks to Maximilian Huhn-Laubenstein (https://www.jerocom.de/) for their expert support in designing and developing the app. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Functional Ear Trainer4 screens
Bagpipe Tutorial4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Functional Ear Trainer at 4.9 against Bagpipe Tutorial's 4.3. Functional Ear Trainer also leads on ratings volume (3.7K vs 8). Bagpipe Tutorial's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 7 months). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Functional Ear Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Bagpipe Tutorial sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Functional Ear Trainer holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Functional Ear Trainer has 3.7K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 96% of Functional Ear Trainer's written reviews are positive against 98% of Bagpipe Tutorial's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, Bagpipe Tutorial every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Functional Ear Trainer versus Bagpipe Tutorial: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFunctional Ear TrainerBagpipe Tutorial
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (3.7K ratings) — better4.3 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews96.2% of reviews98.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.7K — better8
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSerhii KorchanAndreas Hambsch

Customer experience

Functional Ear Trainer

All ratings3,749 ratings
Positive98.1%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.1%
Written reviews612 reviews
Positive96.2%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.0%

Bagpipe Tutorial

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews51 reviews
Positive98.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.0%

Bugs and requests

Functional Ear Trainer

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Keyboard display issues when selecting all chromatic notes
  • Inconsistent note resolutions in some exercises

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for multiple notes/chords at once
  • Implement a mode for training key recognition
  • Provide more customization options for exercises
  • Include voice input to play the notes
  • Add support for German/Norwegian key names

Bagpipe Tutorial

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Functional Ear Trainer

One-time1
  • Functional Ear Trainer Plus$19.99
8 purchases

Bagpipe Tutorial

Subscriptions2
  • All contents$8.991 Month
  • All contents$34.991 Year
One-time6
  • 10 Pipe Coins$3.99
  • 25 Pipe Coins$7.99
  • 50 Pipe Coins$14.99
Show 3 more
  • 100 Pipe Coins$24.99
  • 200 Pipe Coins$44.99
  • 500 Pipe Coins$69.99

Questions

Is Functional Ear Trainer free?
Functional Ear Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bagpipe Tutorial free?
Bagpipe Tutorial is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Functional Ear Trainer or Bagpipe Tutorial?
Functional Ear Trainer is rated higher. Functional Ear Trainer averages 4.9 out of 5 from 3.7K ratings, while Bagpipe Tutorial averages 4.3 from 8 ratings.
Do Functional Ear Trainer or Bagpipe Tutorial have ads?
Neither Functional Ear Trainer nor Bagpipe Tutorial shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Functional Ear Trainer or Bagpipe Tutorial?
Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, and Bagpipe Tutorial every 3 months. Most recently, Functional Ear Trainer was updated on September 22, 2026 and Bagpipe Tutorial on September 17, 2026.

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