Comparison

Better Ears Beginner vs D1 Coach

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

Head to head
About

Better Ears Beginner

Enhance your musical skills and hearing with this comprehensive ear training app. It offers 13 diverse exercises, from interval recognition to chord progressions, with customizable training routines and instrument options. Track your progress and sync across devices for a seamless learning experience.

Highlights
  • 13 music theory and ear training exercises
  • Customizable training routines
  • User-created chords, scales, and progressions
  • Six instrument sound options
  • Pitch detection for vocal or instrument answers
  • Virtual keyboard and guitar fretboard
  • Cross-device synchronization
Features
Read full description

Better Ears is the complete ear training and sight‑reading workout for musicians, students and teachers. Train your musical ear and master music theory — from interval recognition all the way to chord progressions and rhythm training. 15 exercises take you from absolute beginner to pro, at your own pace, with no rules and no pressure. NEW: RHYTHM TRAINING Sharpen your sense of timing with two brand‑new exercises. Hear a rhythm and clap or tap it back, or read rhythmic notation and perform it in time — with count‑in, metronome, triplets and time signatures like 3/4, 4/4 and 5/4. Clap straight into your device's microphone and Better Ears listens. YOU DECIDE HOW TO TRAIN There are no rules to follow. You decide when to start, what to practice and how often. 15 EXERCISES INCLUDED • Interval recognition • Scale recognition • Chord recognition • Chord progressions • Pitch recognition • Melodic dictation • Tempo recognition • Key signature recognition • Music reading • Interval music reading • Scale music reading • Chord music reading • Melody music reading • Rhythm recognition (new) • Rhythm reading (new) ANSWER WITH YOUR VOICE OR A REAL INSTRUMENT Built‑in pitch detection lets you answer by singing or by playing a real instrument (e.g. piano or guitar). Just sing or play the notes when the microphone button lights up red. CUSTOM CHORDS, SCALES & CHORD PROGRESSIONS The built‑in editor lets you add your own chords, scales and chord progressions. FOUR PRESET LEVELS + UNLIMITED CUSTOM LEVELS Start at Beginner, Easy, Normal or Professional — then build your own levels to focus exactly where you need to: church modes, those two pesky intervals, custom rhythms, whatever you like. 6 INSTRUMENTS & CUSTOM SOUNDFONTS Train with Acoustic Grand, Bright Acoustic Piano, Electric Grand, Drawbar Organ, Nylon and Steel Acoustic Guitar — or extend Better Ears with your own sounds via SoundFonts (.sf2). KEYBOARD & FRETBOARD Answer on a virtual piano keyboard or a virtual guitar fretboard. MIDI SUPPORT Route sound through an external MIDI device and even control Better Ears with a connected master keyboard. SYNC ALL OF YOUR DEVICES Keep your Mac, iPhone and iPad in sync via Dropbox. You choose what to sync: your own levels, your statistics, your settings — or all of it. STATISTICS Better Ears tracks your progress for every exercise and every question — right and wrong answers at a glance. WIKIPEDIA INTEGRATION The matching Wikipedia article is shown for each exercise, so the theory is always one tap away. REFRESHED DESIGN A modern, fully redesigned interface on iPhone, iPad and Mac — with full Dark Mode and crystal‑clear music notation.

About

D1 Coach

Features
Read full description

Der D1 Coach ist eine Lern-App, die Dich auf die Theorieprüfung - zum bronzenen Musikerleistungsabzeichen D1 des Bayerischen Blasmusikverbands BBMV und - zur Freiwilligen Leistungsprüfung D1 (bronzene Stimmgabel) des Verbands bayerischer Sing- und Musikschulen VBSM optimal vorbereitet. Du kannst immer und überall mit Deinem Smartphone oder Tablet trainieren - Notenlesen - Zeichen zuordnen - Enharmonische Noten schreiben und benennen - Zahlen der Taktartangabe definieren - Pausenwerte ergänzen - Notenwerte ergänzen - Triolen ergänzen - Tonartvorzeichen schreiben - Tonleitern schreiben - Intervalle bestimmen und schreiben - Fachbegriffe erklären - Artikulationsarten erklären - Musikepochen zuordnen - Rhythmen wählen - Rhythmen notieren - Melodiediktate ergänzen Dein Lernfortschritt in Prozent ist in jeder einzelnen Übung ersichtlich und kann von Dir zurückgesetzt werden. Das absolute Highlight dieser App ist die Gehörbildung. Du hast Zugriff auf alle Hörbeispiele der online verfügbaren Testprüfungen. Du kannst hier so oft üben wie Du willst und das Tempo frei einstellen. Drucke Dir als Ergänzung zu Hause die Testprüfungen aus. Du findest sie auf den Internetseiten des BBMV oder des VBSM zum kostenlosen Download.

Screenshots

Better Ears Beginner4 screens
D1 Coach4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: D1 Coach at fortnightly against Better Ears Beginner's every 6 months. D1 Coach also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Better Ears Beginner sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and D1 Coach sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Better Ears Beginner ships an update every 6 months, D1 Coach fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Better Ears Beginner versus D1 Coach: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBetter Ears BeginnerD1 Coach
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (35 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings35 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB58 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMAMP GmbHBayerischer Blasmusikverband e.V.

Bugs and requests

Better Ears Beginner

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Reverts to beginner version after phone update
  • Audio stops working after some time
  • Keyboard unresponsive on iPad
  • Chord spellings are incorrect

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more instruments
  • Include rhythm training
  • Provide more customization options
  • Implement a game-like format
  • Add support for reading sheet music

D1 Coach

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Better Ears Beginner

One-time1
  • Unlock all functions$4.99
1 purchases

D1 Coach

One-time1
  • Vollversion$8.99

Questions

Is Better Ears Beginner free?
Better Ears Beginner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is D1 Coach free?
D1 Coach is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Better Ears Beginner or D1 Coach have ads?
Neither Better Ears Beginner nor D1 Coach shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Better Ears Beginner or D1 Coach?
Better Ears Beginner ships an update every 6 months, and D1 Coach fortnightly. Most recently, Better Ears Beginner was updated on October 7, 2026 and D1 Coach on October 8, 2026.

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