Comparison

Ear training vs Music Notes

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

Head to head
About

Ear training

Develop perfect pitch and recognize notes, chords, and melodies by ear. This app offers a series of exercises to train your aural skills, with explanations and hints to help you learn at your own pace. Improve your ability to play along with songs or guess melodies.

Highlights
  • Develop perfect pitch
  • Recognize notes and chords
  • Identify intervals and chord progressions
  • Learn major and minor scales
  • Instrument-specific practice
  • Hint function
Features
Read full description

Would you like to be able to guess melodies by hearing them or be able to play accompaniment to your favorite songs on the guitar or piano? Ear training is the perfect app for you! This app will help you develop perfect pitch, and train your ear to recognize notes and chords in any key. The app consists of a series of exercises, which will gradually introduce you to all the notes and chords in the major and minor scales. You can also practice identifying intervals and chord progressions. Each exercise is accompanied by a clear and concise explanation, so you can understand the theory behind it. And if you get stuck, the app includes a handy hint function. The exercises are tailored to help you improve your aural skills, so you can develop at your own pace. You can also choose to practice in a particular key, or with a particular instrument. So why wait? Start training your ear today!

About

Music Notes

Improve your music reading skills with structured lessons and instant feedback. This app helps you master note recognition, rhythm, harmony, and more through progressive modules and practice modes. Track your progress and identify areas for improvement to become a faster, more accurate sight-reader.

Highlights
  • Note recognition training
  • Rhythm and time signature practice
  • Interval and chord recognition
  • Scale and key signature learning
  • Musical term and ornament recognition
  • Harmonic progression analysis
  • Progress tracking and stats
Features
Read full description

Build music-theory habits into faster sight reading: read notes with better accuracy, and fix mistakes right away. This app turns practice into a clear learning path: start with the fundamentals, then progressively cover notes, rhythm, tonality, and harmony. You get instant feedback, plus wrong-answer review and progress stats—so you can correct errors and read faster. What you will train (by modules): • Note recognition: locate staff positions and clef mapping, then pick the correct note • Note values & rests: read lengths together with “silence” (rests) • Time signature & rhythm: build strong-beat cycles and bar-level structure • Interval recognition: connect pitch relationships for faster recognition • Scale recognition & key signature: learn how scales and key signatures are written • Chord recognition & modes: read harmonic color with more confidence • Musical terms: spot common expression and performance markings quickly • Ornament recognition: read trills/appoggiaturas/passing tones without missing them • Harmonic progression & harmonic analysis: follow the logic, improve prediction Two ways to practice: 1) Learning Path: clear stages (Stage 1–8). Pass levels to unlock the next steps. Some further progress may require a subscription. 2) Free Practice: choose the modules you want to strengthen, set the training range/difficulty, and keep reviewing your progress. Results you can see: • Progress curve and module-level stats: spot weak areas and watch improvements • Wrong-answer feedback & review: turn “why I missed it” into your next training step Who it's for: • Students and self-learners who want faster, more accurate sight reading • Learners who need structured music theory practice • Anyone preparing for music school exams or theory/reading assessments - The subscriptions are $1.99 weekly with free trial - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that service, where applicable`` - Terms of use:https://muscifeedback.oss-cn-beijing.aliyuncs.com/RecognitionTerms_en.html - Privacy of use: https://muscifeedback.oss-cn-beijing.aliyuncs.com/RecognitionPrivacy_en.html

Screenshots

Ear training4 screens
Music Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Music Notes at 100% against Ear training's 33%. Music Notes also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 8 months). Ear training's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (247 vs 17). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Music Notes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Ear training asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Music Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ear training has 247 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Ear training's written reviews are positive against 100% of Music Notes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ear training ships an update every 8 months, Music Notes every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Ear training versus Music Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEar trainingMusic Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (247 ratings)4.8 (17 ratings) — better
Positive reviews32.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings247 — better17
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.6
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB68 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexey Ovod凯 张

Customer experience

Ear training

All ratings245 ratings
Positive86.9%
Neutral5.7%
Negative7.3%
Written reviews129 reviews
Positive32.6%
Neutral14.7%
Negative52.7%

Music Notes

All ratings14 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews29 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Ear training

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Music Notes

Subscriptions1
  • Weekly Subscription · Notes Tutor$1.997 Days
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access · Notes Tutor$9.99

Questions

Is Ear training free?
Ear training is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Music Notes free?
Music Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Ear training or Music Notes?
Music Notes is rated higher. Ear training averages 4.5 out of 5 from 247 ratings, while Music Notes averages 4.8 from 17 ratings.
Do Ear training or Music Notes have ads?
Ear training shows ads; Music Notes does not.
Which is updated more often, Ear training or Music Notes?
Ear training ships an update every 8 months, and Music Notes every 3 weeks. Most recently, Ear training was updated on October 30, 2026 and Music Notes on October 31, 2026.

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