Play By Ear vs Ear Training App
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Play By Ear
Develop your musical ear with this call-and-response ear training app. It uses pitch recognition, allowing you to play notes back on your instrument instead of pressing buttons. Practice melodies, chords, and intervals in a way that mirrors real musical performance.
- Pitch recognition for instrumental interaction
- Hands-free, continuous play
- Interval, chord, and melody exercises
- Customizable tempo
- Multiple key centers
- Microphone calibration
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Play By Ear is a call-and-response ear training application that helps you develop the ability to hear pitches and play them back on your instrument by ear. Unlike other applications which force you to press buttons to indicate the notes you've heard, Play By Ear uses pitch recognition so you can play the notes back on your instrument (piano, guitar, trumpet, etc). Using your instrument to play the notes allows you to practice ear training in a method that most closely matches how you'll actually play music. ---------------------- APPLICATION FEATURES: ---------------------- - Pitch recognition so you can use your instrument to interact with the ear trainer - Hands-free, continuous play - Interval exercises - Chord exercises - Random melody exercises - Scale pattern melody exercises - Jazz lick melody exercises - Melodic and harmonic note sequences - Ascending and descending note sequences - Microphone calibration - Customizable tempo - Ability to show or hide the first note - C, Bb, Eb, F, G, and D key centers to match your instrument ---------------------- Note: Your device needs a microphone to fully enjoy Play By Ear's pitch recognition features. iPads, iPhones, and the latest iTouch all have microphones built-in, however older iTouch devices will need a headset or similar external microphone.
Ear Training App
Develop your musical ear with this app that helps you identify pitches, intervals, chords, and rhythms by listening. It offers various modes for different instruments and skill levels, tracking your progress with accuracy percentages.
- Pitch recognition
- Interval identification
- Chord and rhythm training
- Piano, guitar, and bass modes
- Scale and interval modes
- Beginner-friendly mode
- Progress tracking
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Ear Training helps you recognise music by ear, a few minutes at a time. LISTEN AND CHOOSE - Intervals: 12 intervals from minor 2nd to octave - Scales: 8 scales, including major, minor, modes and pentatonic - Chords: 10 chord types, played as a block or as an arpeggio FIND THE NOTE - Guitar and bass: a note is shown on the fretboard, you name it - Piano: a note is played, you find it on the keyboard TRACK YOUR PROGRESS - Accuracy for today and for all time - Daily streak - A list of the items you miss most, so you know what to practice MAKE IT YOURS - Choose exactly which intervals, scales and chords to practice - Pick the instrument sound: piano, guitar or bass - Works in portrait and landscape The app is free with ads. A one-time purchase, Remove Ads, removes them for good.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Play By Ear at none against Ear Training App's 1. Play By Ear also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.4 vs 4.0). On price, monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Ear Training App sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Play By Ear asks for nothing beyond the download.
Play By Ear holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Play By Ear has 82 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Play By Ear ships an update every 2 months, Ear Training App every 54 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Play By Ear | Ear Training App |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (82 ratings) — better | 4.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 81.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 82 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 54 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SuperNonstop.com, Inc. | Andrii Pirumov |
Customer experience
Play By Ear
Ear Training App
Bugs and requests
Play By Ear
Reported bugs
29 issues- No audio output
- App crashes frequently
- Pitch detection not working
- Plays single tone only
- Loses sound with timer/calls
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- Currently broken, plays back unison only
- Not working with iOS 9
- No audio on iPhone 6+
- Does not work with iOS8
- Doesn't save calibration
- Calibration only works sometimes
- Problems detecting notes below bottom 'A' on guitar
- Doesn't hear low octave notes
- App crashes after one or two exercises
- Does not play pitch as it should
- App keeps crashing after one exercise
- Pitch detection issues with voice
- Over-sensitive pitch detection
- App crashes after OS4 upgrade
- Phone doesn't pick up keys played on keyboard
- Tendency to crash randomly
- App crashes after one exercise
- Pitch detection too sensitive for wind instruments
- Doesn't pick up electric guitar
- Only picks up half notes on acoustic guitar
- App crashes, especially on interval section
- Mic issues with iPod Touch (not new version)
- App crashes after OS4 upgrade
- Phone doesn't pick up keys played on keyboard
Requested features
21 requests- Repeat option for phrases
- Limit scale patterns to selected scales/keys
- Profiles for multi-instrumentalists
- Test from the same root note sometimes
- Sign in and save practice data
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- Vary rhythms of melodies
- Add bass clef option
- Option to randomize ascending, descending, melodic, and harmonic intervals
- Add inversions for triads/chords
- Add more chord types
- Add a playable keyboard
- Setting to prevent sleep mode
- Ability to mix ascending and descending intervals/chords
- Input own phrases for practice
- Add rhythm feature
- Super-imposed pitch graph for feedback
- More forgiving pitch setting for wind players
- Option to force exercises in a chosen key
- Change clef in which notes are displayed
- Super easy version with delayed answer feedback
- Keyboard option for public places practice
Ear Training App
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Play By Ear
No in-app purchases
Ear Training App
- Remove Ads$2.99
Questions
Is Play By Ear free?
Is Ear Training App free?
Which has better reviews, Play By Ear or Ear Training App?
Do Play By Ear or Ear Training App have ads?
Which is updated more often, Play By Ear or Ear Training App?
Other comparisons
