Rutabaga vs Practical Ear Training

Rutabaga was designed to help musicians practice consistently and evenly in every key. Create exercises that loop through random roots, follow the circle of fourths and fifths, or drill a single root. Each root is an exercise prompt for a configurable period of time, measured in beats, seconds or minutes. Schedule the countdown timer to divide your practice into focused blocks. Try Rutabaga with scales, intervals, chords, inversions, progressions, lines, riffs, runs and improvisation. Save exercises to playlists to create a structured practice routine. Use Rutabaga as part of your regular practice routine to make efficient use of your time while internalizing the fundamentals of music theory, language and technique evenly in every key. The following is an example playlist to demonstrate the diversity of exercises Rutabaga is capable of guiding: Scale Mastery F# at 112 bpm for 10 minutes Triad Inversions 12 beats per random root at 72 bpm for 5 minutes ii-V-I Progressions 4 beats per root around the Circle of Fifths at 60 bpm for 10 minutes Bach BWV 999 80 bpm for 10 minutes Improvisations 2 minutes per random root at 80 bpm for 20 minutes We're continuously working to make Rutabaga the ideal practice tool for musicians. If you have feedback or suggestions, please contact us at the support link.

Practical Ear Training helps musicians recognize what they hear and connect it to the notes they play. Practice five essential listening skills: • Melodies — listen, explore the piano, then reproduce each phrase • Intervals — identify every interval from unison to octave • Chord progressions — recognize common, functional, minor-key and modal patterns • Chord qualities — distinguish major, minor, diminished and augmented triads • Scales — learn major, minor, pentatonic, blues, modal, whole-tone and diminished sounds MAKE PRACTICE YOUR OWN Choose the key, scale, octave and tempo. Focus on exactly the intervals, chords, scales and progression types you want to learn. Start with simple root-position chords and short melodies, then add inversions, open voicings, rhythmic chords and longer phrases. LISTEN WITH DIFFERENT SOUNDS Train with sampled grand piano, nylon guitar, trumpet and clarinet sounds. Changing the instrument helps you recognize musical ideas by pitch and structure instead of memorizing one timbre. PLAY, SEE AND UNDERSTAND Use the touch piano to find notes before answering or to perform a melody. After revealing the answer, follow it on an animated piano roll, piano keyboard, guitar, bass, ukulele or mandolin fretboard. Chord exercises show both chord names and Roman numerals. CHECK YOUR SKILLS Take a balanced 20-question ear test covering melodies, intervals, chord progressions, chord qualities and scales. See an overall result plus a score for each skill, then repeat the test later to compare your progress. BUILD A PRACTICE HABIT Track recent accuracy, completed exercises and individual strengths. Your practice history and test results stay on your device. Practical Ear Training is designed for music students, self-taught musicians, pianists, guitarists and anyone who wants a more confident musical ear. Practice as much as you like—no account, subscription or usage limit.