Comparison

Interval Ear Training vs Absolute Ear

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

Absolute Ear

Master note recognition, melodic dictation, and interval training with a structured course. Progress at your own pace through over 60 units, with intelligent practice focusing on your weakest areas. Supports multiple instrument timbres and detailed statistics.

Highlights
  • Note recognition
  • Melodic dictation
  • Interval training
  • Intelligent practice
  • Multiple instrument timbres
  • Detailed statistics
  • Session history and streak tracking
Features
Read full description

ABSOLUTE EAR - EAR TRAINING Want to hear a melody and know exactly what notes it is? That's what Absolute Ear teaches. This is a structured ear training course that takes you from recognizing your first three notes all the way to mastering all 12 chromatic pitches, melodic sequences up to 5 notes long, all 13 musical intervals, chord recognition by function, and real chord progressions - at whatever pace works for you. WHAT YOU TRAIN NOTE RECOGNITION Hear a piano note. Name it. That's the foundation of playing by ear. Start with just C, E, and G. Unlock new notes as you demonstrate mastery. By the end, you'll identify all 12 chromatic notes across three octaves - including sharps - without needing a reference pitch. MELODIC DICTATION Identify sequences of 2, 3, 4, and 5 notes in a row. This is where note recognition becomes real musical memory. Each unit introduces new notes progressively, so you're never thrown in the deep end. INTERVAL TRAINING Master all 13 intervals: unison, minor 2nd, major 2nd, minor 3rd, major 3rd, perfect 4th, tritone, perfect 5th, minor 6th, major 6th, minor 7th, major 7th, and octave. Three tiers of difficulty: • Tier 1: Fixed C as your tonic - build the foundation • Tier 2: Random root per session - start to generalize • Tier 3: Root changes every question - true interval hearing CHORD RECOGNITION Hear a chord and identify it by its function in C major - not just its name. Every question starts with the I chord to anchor your ear, then you identify the target chord by scale degree. Five modules take you from the Big Three (I, IV, V) through all seven diatonic chords. You'll learn to hear the difference between the lift of IV, the tension of V, and the darkness of vi. CHORD PROGRESSIONS Once you know the chords, learn to hear how their order changes everything. A four-chord loop plays and you tap the degrees in sequence. Five modules cover the most common progressions in popular music - from the classic I-IV-V-I to the pop loop I-V-vi-IV - training you to recognize the patterns behind the songs you hear every day. HOW IT WORKS 60+ structured units span five exercise types across six chapters: single notes, note sequences, interval training, chord recognition, and chord progressions. Units unlock as you hit 80% accuracy - you move forward when you're actually ready. Each session is 30 focused questions. Listen. Answer. Get immediate haptic feedback. The app tracks exactly where you struggle and weights practice toward your weakest notes, intervals, and chords - so every session is time well spent. If you're flying through a session, an early-completion prompt lets you move on early. FEATURES • 60+ course units across five exercise types • Chord recognition by function - hear harmony, not just names • Chord progression training - recognize the loops behind real music • Intelligent practice: weak spots appear more often • Multi-octave training - notes across three octaves • 60+ badges to earn - including some hidden surprises • Detailed stats: per-note accuracy, confusion matrix, accuracy trends, daily practice time • Session history and streak tracking • Apple Sign In - progress saved to your account • Haptic feedback on every answer • No subscription required to get started WHO IT'S FOR • Musicians who want to play by ear without sheet music • Piano and guitar players who want to transcribe what they hear • Music students building aural skills for exams • Anyone who hears a melody and wants to know its notes • Songwriters who want to hear chord progressions by ear • Experienced players sharpening pitch, interval, and harmony awareness Start with three notes. Build from there. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.absoluteear.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.absoluteear.com/privacy

Screenshots

Interval Ear Training4 screens
Absolute Ear4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Absolute Ear at every 3 days against Interval Ear Training's every 19 months. Absolute Ear also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 88%). Interval Ear Training's advantage is ratings volume (359 vs 7) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Interval Ear Training sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Absolute Ear sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Absolute Ear 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 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Interval Ear Training's written reviews are positive against 100% of Absolute Ear's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Interval Ear Training ships an update every 19 months, Absolute Ear every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Interval Ear Training versus Absolute Ear: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInterval Ear TrainingAbsolute Ear
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (359 ratings)5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews88.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings359 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 19 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size295 MB117 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer262HzDavid Ashworth

Customer experience

Interval Ear Training

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

Absolute Ear

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
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

Absolute Ear

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Interval Ear Training

One-time1
  • Pro Settings$9.99
3 purchases

Absolute Ear

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Interval Ear Training free?
Interval Ear Training is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Absolute Ear free?
Absolute Ear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Interval Ear Training or Absolute Ear?
Absolute Ear is rated higher. Interval Ear Training averages 4.7 out of 5 from 359 ratings, while Absolute Ear averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.
Do Interval Ear Training or Absolute Ear have ads?
Neither Interval Ear Training nor Absolute Ear shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Interval Ear Training or Absolute Ear?
Interval Ear Training ships an update every 19 months, and Absolute Ear every 3 days. Most recently, Interval Ear Training was updated on October 14, 2026 and Absolute Ear on October 2, 2026.

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