ABRSM Aural Trainer Grades 1 vs MuseCool
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ABRSM Aural Trainer Grades 1
Develop your music listening skills with interactive challenges designed around ABRSM aural tests for Grades 1-5. Improve your sense of rhythm, musical memory, and ability to describe musical elements. Track your progress and practice sight-singing with this comprehensive tool.
- Interactive aural challenges
- Pulse and metre exercises
- Musical memory training
- Sight-singing practice
- Dynamics, articulation, tempo, tonality learning
- Progress tracking
- Interval trainer
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The OFFICIAL ABRSM Aural Trainer contains interactive challenges to help develop your music aural skills (listening skills). Anyone can use it, but it is designed around ABRSM’s aural tests for Grades 1 to 5. The app can be used in any order, however often you like, on your own or with your teacher. Use ABRSM Aural Trainer to: • Improve your sense of pulse and metre (feeling the beat). • Exercise your musical memory (remember how music sounds and be able to repeat it or spot differences and mistakes). • Develop your confidence and accuracy at sight-singing (reading and singing the music you see). • Learn to describe dynamics, articulation, tempo and tonality. • Practise identifying the features in music that make-up its style and character. • Develop the skills to know when a piece of music was written. The app covers the following ABRSM aural test content: • Pulse and Metre • Echoes • Differences • Melodic Repetition • Sight-singing • Musical Features • Rhythmic Repetition • Metre Tackle each element in stages using the preparation exercises. All exercises are fully interactive. Each one gives you the opportunity to repeat the question, or to compare your response to the correct answer and hear the music again. The app also features supporting tools including an interval trainer, progress tracker and guides to the aural tests in ABRSM graded music exams. Many exercises are automatically marked by the application. Self-review and critical listening are also key to successful development of the musical ear, which is why the app provides tools for you to review and evaluate your performance against sample responses in all cases. Your progress is logged whenever you use the app, so you can always see at a glance the areas you might want to revisit.
MuseCool
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Designed as a lessons, payments, and events manager, MuseCool helps make the musical journey of students, parents, and tutors more convenient. MuseCool includes The Muse, a subscription-based feature providing lesson-specific insights, progress tracking, and personalised practice support. The Muse Insights – Monthly Subscription Lesson summaries, music lesson analytics, progress tracking with charts, and personalised views. The Muse Insights & Games – Monthly Subscription Everything in The Muse Insights, plus tailored practice games and music learning exercises. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription at any time in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://musecool.com/privacy-policy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: MuseCool at Free against ABRSM Aural Trainer Grades 1's $7.99. MuseCool also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 4 months). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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
MuseCool is free to download; ABRSM Aural Trainer Grades 1 costs $7.99 up front. ABRSM Aural Trainer Grades 1 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and MuseCool sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
ABRSM Aural Trainer Grades 1 ships an update every 4 months, MuseCool weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ABRSM Aural Trainer Grades 1 | MuseCool |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.2 (13 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 23.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 13 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 408 MB | 134 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (Publishing) Limited | MuseCool |
In-app purchases
ABRSM Aural Trainer Grades 1
- Bonus bundle$1.99
MuseCool
- The Muse Insights Monthly$2.991 Month
- Muse Insights Monthly14 Days trial$3.991 Month
- The Muse Monthly14 Days trial$6.991 Month
Questions
Is ABRSM Aural Trainer Grades 1 free?
Is MuseCool free?
Do ABRSM Aural Trainer Grades 1 or MuseCool have ads?
Which is updated more often, ABRSM Aural Trainer Grades 1 or MuseCool?
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