Comparison

Interval Ear Training vs Music Theory Notes

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

Head to head
About

Interval Ear Training

Develop your musical ear with this interactive piano game. It helps improve interval recognition, pitch sense, and transcription skills through engaging exercises. Suitable for both beginners and experienced musicians.

Highlights
  • Interval recognition practice
  • Sense of pitch development
  • Transcription skill improvement
  • Improvisation skill enhancement
  • MIDI keyboard integration
  • Customizable tempo and keyboard range
Features
Read full description

***** Highly addictive piano game. ***** A fun way to develop a better musical ear! Great for experienced musicians and beginners. Music students love this app. ---- Interval Ear Training can help improve: • Interval recognition • Sense of pitch • Transcription skills • Improvising skills • Self esteem --- How to Play: • Tap "play" to hear the interval • To hear the interval again, tap "replay" • Use the piano to play the interval yourself • Play often to improve your score! --- MIDI In – Plug in your MIDI keyboard to enhance the experience! (Core MIDI compatible) MIDI Out – If you have a music instrument app (such as a synth) that can run in "background mode" and accepts virtual Core MIDI, you can play Interval Ear Training using the sounds of that app. --- Tips for the Beginners: Use the + and - keyboard range control to set the keyboard to a small range such as "C, D" or "C, D, E". Keep practicing, and as you progress you'll want to make the range larger. --- Tips for the Pros: Set "Feedback" to "Never" and turn on "Autoplay" to play continuously without ever missing a beat. Crank up the tempo to see how fast you can go! For more advanced ear training features, you'll want to Unlock Pro Settings. --- Interval Settings: Tempo – 60 to 320 BPM Keyboard Range – Starting at 2 notes in a major scale (ex. “C, D”) and up to 12 notes in a major scale (ex. “C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G”) with the ability to change octaves. Feedback – Set to "Never" to stop all messages. Set to "Wrong" if you only want messages for incorrect intervals. Sound – Set to "Piano" to hear the built-in piano sound. Set to "MIDI Out" to hear the sound of a music instrument app (such as a synth) that can run in "background mode" and accepts virtual Core MIDI. Autoplay – Turn on to always play the next interval immediately. Turn off if you want to play the keyboard freely between intervals. Key Labels – Turn off to remove note names on white keys. Allow Unison – Turn off if you don't want the same note to be played twice in a row. --- Pro Settings (requires in-app purchase): Scale – 13 major scales Difficulty - Diatonic, Random Tonic, Chromatic Length – 2 to 6 notes --- About the Difficulty Setting: "Diatonic" uses notes from a major scale. This setting is recommended. "Random Tonic" uses notes from a random major scale each time. "Chromatic" mode is the "extreme mode" where any combination of notes is possible. As a result, strange intervals like the Augmented 2nd (ex. F to G#) are possible. --- About the Score: Interval Ear Training is all about self progression. Tap the score to reset at any time. The game goes on forever and the music never ends! --- Can you guess the next note? Download the app to find out!

About

Music Theory Notes

Learn to recognize musical pitches by sight or sound and practice notating them on a piano. Features ear training modes and a grade book to save and print quiz results.

Highlights
  • Pitch recognition by sight and sound
  • Piano keyboard and musical staff notation
  • Treble, Alto, Tenor, and Bass clefs
  • Ear training mode with hidden keyboard/staff
  • Printable grade book for saved results
  • Customizable note range
Read full description

Teachers, students and professional musicians: Recognize pitches (by sight and/or sound) and notate or play them on the piano. Includes a 'Grade Book' list of all saved results that you can print or send. • Play a note on the piano, or notate a piano key in a specific clef. • Treble, Alto, Tenor, and Bass clefs. • 'Ear Training' mode hides the keyboard or staff during the quiz. Use a 'Middle C’ button to help you figure out the answer. • The note range is set by the ledger lines limits you set. The Grade Book is filterable by name. Grades include the name, date and time the quiz was taken, all relevant settings (clef, number of questions, etc.), and score (percentage and letter grade).

Screenshots

Interval Ear Training4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Interval Ear Training at Free against Music Theory Notes's $2.99. Interval Ear Training also leads on ratings volume (359 vs 2) and device support (3 vs 1). Music Theory Notes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On update cadence 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

Interval Ear Training is free to download; Music Theory Notes costs $2.99 up front. Interval Ear Training sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Music Theory Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Music Theory Notes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Interval Ear Training has 359 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Interval Ear Training ships an update every 19 months, Music Theory Notes every 28 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Interval Ear Training versus Music Theory Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInterval Ear TrainingMusic Theory Notes
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.7 (359 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews88.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings359 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 19 months — betterEvery 28 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size295 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer262HzPatrick Q. Kelly

Customer experience

Interval Ear Training

All ratings359 ratings
Positive95.0%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews76 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral2.6%
Negative9.2%

Music Theory Notes

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Interval Ear Training

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App freezes after first interval (iOS 8.1 compatibility issue)
  • App stops responding and doesn't progress to next interval
  • Sound fails after alarm interruption
  • Chromatic mode prevents sounds from playing
  • Delayed iOS support updates

Requested features

12 requests
  • Ability to fix first note and practice all intervals from one tonic
  • Customize intervals tested (major only, minor only, specific intervals like 2nd, 3rd, tritone)
  • Auto-play next interval without requiring additional clicks
  • Support for sharps and flats
  • Other musical keys beyond C major
Show 7 more
  • Chromatic mode option
  • Support for different instruments (guitar, etc.)
  • Option to play notes simultaneously
  • Ability to disable unison interval
  • Multiple attempts to answer with feedback on accuracy
  • Session-based score reset functionality
  • Ascending or descending intervals selection

Music Theory Notes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Interval Ear Training

One-time1
  • Pro Settings$9.99
None

Music Theory Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Interval Ear Training free?
Interval Ear Training is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Music Theory Notes free?
Music Theory Notes costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Interval Ear Training or Music Theory Notes?
Music Theory Notes is rated higher. Interval Ear Training averages 4.7 out of 5 from 359 ratings, while Music Theory Notes averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Interval Ear Training or Music Theory Notes have ads?
Neither Interval Ear Training nor Music Theory Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Interval Ear Training or Music Theory Notes?
Interval Ear Training ships an update every 19 months, and Music Theory Notes every 28 months. Most recently, Interval Ear Training was updated on October 14, 2026 and Music Theory Notes on June 1, 2026.

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