Comparison

Functional Ear Trainer vs Backline NYC

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

Backline NYC

Connect with other musicians and creative professionals in New York City to find collaborators for gigs, sessions, and projects. Build your network and discover new opportunities for your music career.

Highlights
  • Location-based musician discovery
  • Profile creation with skills
  • Find bandmates and collaborators
  • Connect for sessions and projects
  • Discover creative professionals
Features
Read full description

Backline NYC is a location-based platform that helps musicians, vocalists, producers, and creative professionals in New York City connect, collaborate, and build real projects together. Whether you’re looking for a bandmate, a vocalist for a session, a producer for your next track, or creative support for live performances, Backline makes it easy to find the right people around you. Users can create profiles based on their skills, including instruments, production, performance, and creative roles. The app then helps surface relevant matches nearby so you can start collaborating faster.

Screenshots

Functional Ear Trainer4 screens
Backline NYC4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Backline NYC at none against Functional Ear Trainer's 1. Backline NYC also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 7 months). Functional Ear Trainer's advantage is ratings volume (3.7K vs 3) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Backline NYC asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Functional Ear Trainer against 5.0 for Backline NYC. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Functional Ear Trainer has 3.7K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 96% of Functional Ear Trainer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Backline NYC's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, Backline NYC every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Functional Ear Trainer versus Backline NYC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFunctional Ear TrainerBackline NYC
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (3.7K ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews96.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.7K — better3
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB21 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperSerhii KorchanKhadija Aslam

Customer experience

Functional Ear Trainer

All ratings3,749 ratings
Positive98.1%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.1%
Written reviews627 reviews
Positive96.2%
Neutral1.9%
Negative1.9%

Backline NYC

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Backline NYC

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
None

Backline NYC

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Functional Ear Trainer free?
Functional Ear Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Backline NYC free?
Backline NYC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Functional Ear Trainer or Backline NYC?
Backline NYC is rated higher. Functional Ear Trainer averages 4.9 out of 5 from 3.7K ratings, while Backline NYC averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Functional Ear Trainer or Backline NYC have ads?
Neither Functional Ear Trainer nor Backline NYC shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Functional Ear Trainer or Backline NYC?
Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, and Backline NYC every 9 days. Most recently, Functional Ear Trainer was updated on October 19, 2026 and Backline NYC on October 10, 2026.

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