Ear Trainer vs Solo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ear Trainer
This app is designed to enhance your musical listening skills. It offers a comprehensive set of over 260 exercises across nine study areas, plus custom exercise creation. Suitable for all levels, it helps musicians and students improve their ear training.
- Over 260 built-in exercises
- Nine areas of musical study
- Custom exercise creation
- Interval, chord, and scale identification
- Melody and chord progression training
- Progress tracking and statistics
- Virtual piano and note view
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With an overall 4.8 out of 5 rating in it is a must to try out this ear training app. What our users says: Awesome ear training app ***** One of the most in depth apps out there for ear training and a easy to use interface. You can even make your own exercises. I wish you could undo a note entry in the melodic exercises, a lot of the times iv just pressed the wrong note because of my fat fingers but I guess it’s part of the challenge to not make a mistake(wish you could change it in the settings or something). Still a must buy for ear training. Guy ***** You guys deserve 1000000 stars thank you Everything You Need **** It took a while for me to appreciate this app. It wasn't until I had a bit of ear training done that I could see the limitations in other apps and how this one would take me further and teach more of what I could actually use versus simpler apps. Once I could hear intervals up to an octave and major vs minor chords, this app had plenty more for me to study. Great app. ---- Listening is the most important skill in music, and this app will help you to listen better. Ear Trainer is an educational tool designed for musicians, music students and anyone interested in improving ones musical ear. It has over 260 individual exercises that are conveniently placed into nine different areas of study. It is also possible to create custom exercises so that you can practice exactly what you need. No need to be an expert, Ear Trainer is suitable for all users from beginner to very advanced. No matter what level your musical hearing skills are, Ear Trainer will help to hone them. * Built-in Exercises * - Interval Comparison (48 different exercises) - Interval Identification (30 different exercises) - Chord Identification (48 different exercises) - Chord Inversions (24 different exercises) - Chord Progressions (25 different exercises) - Scales (24 different exercises) - Note relative to chord (18 different exercises) - Relative Pitch (12 different exercises) - Melody Exercises (38 different exercises) Each exercise has a short description of its purpose and optional preview. A virtual piano keyboard and note view in each exercise helps you visually understand and analyze the notes that have been played. To aid your progression you can compare the different options after answering. (You can even play the virtual piano if you like!) As you work through the exercises, statistics are collected so that you can see your progress. The questions in the exercises are randomly generated so you can do them over and over again as many times as you like to continue to hone your skills. * Custom Exercises * Users can create their own custom exercises to match their desired areas of study and/or skill level. The following areas are available for custom exercises: - Interval Comparison - Interval Identification - Chord Identification - Chord inversion - Chord Progression - Scale Identification - Note after chord * Share Custom Exercises * Custom exercises can be shared with friends and class mates through Email, AirDrop and iMessage. What our users says: ------ ***** Must Have!!! This is the best Ear Trainer of all I tried in App Store, everything works just perfectly. If you are interested in improving your musical hearing you must have it. ------ ***** Amazing I have been using this app every day for just about a year now and the result are simply amazing. ------ **** I'm in my second third semester as a music major and I have to say, this is a great app for any music major, or anyone looking for ear training. I like that I'm able to switch between different instruments, it makes hearing the notes on the instrument you're use to a bit easier for me. ------ For more information please see: www.dev4phone.com
Solo
Master your guitar fretboard with this interactive trainer. Learn note names, intervals, chord changes, and scales through guided exercises. Designed by professional guitarists, it offers customizable workouts for all skill levels.
- Fretboard visualization
- Note name trainer
- Interval shape memorization
- Chord change outlining
- Scale practice
- Interactive fretboards
- Customizable workouts
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Solo is the ultimate practice App for mastering fretboard visualization, designed by world renowned guitarists Tom Quayle and David Beebee. Four powerful fretboard trainers allow you to work intuitively on each aspect of the visualization process; learning note names, memorising interval shapes, outlining chord changes, and practicing scales. Solo asks you to find intervallic functions against one root note, chord symbol or scale at a time, listens to the notes you play, and doesn’t move on until you’ve correctly found each note by its intervallic function in the specified order. Practice with Solo and finally learn your note names, master interval shapes, confidently play through chord changes and break out of scale boxes with intervallic functions. Start transforming your playing and confidence on the fretboard today! NOTE TRAINER The Note Trainer is perfect for beginner and intermediate players getting to grips with note names on the neck - the foundation of solid fretboard knowledge. ‣ Solo shows you random root notes to find and listens, waiting for you to get it correct. ‣ Slide on the interactive fretboards for helpful diagrams and to study alternative options. Choose from 6 string guitar (standard and 4ths tuning), 7 string guitar, 4 string bass & 5 string bass. ‣ Optional practice suggestions offer challenging ways to limit and test yourself. ‣ Duration based workouts allow you to craft the perfect practice session. INTERVAL TRAINER The Interval Trainer will help players at all levels work on interval shapes with intervallic functions - the key to unlocking true freedom on the fretboard. ‣ Choose any combination of intervallic functions to practice. ‣ Create custom interval groups or choose the intervals for ANY chord type or scale. ‣ The Interval Trainer will randomise your chosen intervals and ask you to find them against either a fixed or random root note. ‣ Slide on the interactive fretboards for helpful diagrams, showing you where all of the interval shapes are across the neck, and to study alternative options. Choose from 6 string guitar (standard and 4ths tuning), 7 string guitar, 4 string bass & 5 string bass. ‣ Duration based workouts allow you to craft the perfect practice session. CHANGES TRAINER In the Changes Trainer you find intervallic functions, using single notes to outline different chord types or sets of chord changes, a key skill for learning to improvise through chord changes. ‣ Practice outlining intervallic functions through over 100 common chord progressions and single chord exercises. ‣ 50 intervallic function levels. Go from simple chord tones to complex melodic structures and scales. ‣ Solo intelligently maps out the correct intervals over each chord and listens for you to play each intervallic function in the specified order. ‣ Powerful workout options provide almost limitless ways to challenge yourself. ‣ Transpose the key of any progression or exercise. ‣ Choose to randomly transpose the progression (or single chord exercise) each time it repeats. ‣ Work on voice leading chord tones through single note lines. SCALE TRAINER The Scale Trainer contains a vast array of scales and powerful workout options, allowing you to finally break out of the box and develop a much deeper understanding of how scales are constructed on the fretboard. ‣ Practice finding scales on the fretboard using intervallic functions. ‣ Over 50+ Scales and modes. ‣ Powerful workout options provide almost limitless ways to challenge yourself. ‣ Melodic sequence options let you focus on starting from any chord tone within the scale. ‣ Duration based workouts allow you to craft the perfect practice session.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Ear Trainer at $7.99 against Solo's $17.99. Ear Trainer also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (95% vs 83%). Solo's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months) and chart position (#75 vs unranked). On rating, ratings volume, ads 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
Ear Trainer costs $7.99 and Solo $17.99 up front. Solo sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Ear Trainer asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Ear Trainer against 4.7 for Solo. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.2K and 655 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of Ear Trainer's written reviews are positive against 83% of Solo's.
Ear Trainer ships an update every 4 months, Solo monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ear Trainer | Solo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7.99 — better | $17.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better | 4.7 (655 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 94.8% of reviews — better | 83.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K — better | 655 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #75 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.1 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 90 MB | 231 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | thoor software AB | Trio Software Ltd |
Customer experience
Ear Trainer
Solo
User reviews
Ear Trainer
From 1.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Simple and effective
- 🚀 Accessible and easy to use
- 🚀 Customizable exercises
- 🚀 Comprehensive training
- 🚀 Steady progress and improvement
Room to improve
- 🐛 Incorrect note/interval spellings
- 🐛 Lack of melody dictation exercises
- 🐛 Limited chord progression exercises
- 🐛 Cumbersome note deletion in melody exercises
Solo
From 655 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent practice tool
- 👍 Helps improve fretboard knowledge
- 👍 Versatile and configurable
- 👍 Detailed video tutorials
- 👍 Accurate note detection
Room to improve
- 🐛 Note detection issues
- 🐛 App crashes
- 🐛 Lack of customization options
- 🐛 Unintuitive for beginners
- 🐛 Limited functionality for the price
Bugs and requests
Ear Trainer
Reported bugs
2 issues- Incorrect chord quality identification
- Inconsistent note layout in some exercises
Requested features
7 requests- Add more chord types (diminished, half-diminished, etc.)
- Include more modes and scale types
- Implement MIDI connectivity for external instruments
- Add a random exercise mode
- Provide more detailed progress tracking and statistics
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Introduce a timed test mode
- Offer a dark mode option
Solo
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes when launching the app
- Inconsistent note detection
- Inability to save progress or settings
Requested features
8 requests- Add ability to create custom chord progressions
- Integrate metronome functionality
- Provide visual representation of intervals on staff
- Add option to practice natural notes only
- Implement option to hear chord tones in the background
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Allow randomization of scale order
- Add support for non-standard tunings
- Implement sound feedback when finding the correct note
In-app purchases
Ear Trainer
No in-app purchases
Solo
- Custom Tunings$1.99
- Custom Chord Progressions$5.99
Questions
Is Ear Trainer free?
Is Solo free?
Which has better reviews, Ear Trainer or Solo?
Do Ear Trainer or Solo have ads?
Which is updated more often, Ear Trainer or Solo?
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