Comparison

Ear Drone vs OneBeat Guitar Tools

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

Head to head
About

Ear Drone

Master musical intervals, chords, and scales with interactive exercises and reference drones. Learn solfege hand signs and practice with various instrument sounds or MIDI controllers. This app offers customizable training for musicians of all levels.

Highlights
  • Interactive ear training exercises
  • Reference drones for pitch accuracy
  • Multiple instrument sounds
  • MIDI instrument support
  • Customizable exercises
  • Solfege hand sign learning
Read full description

Master your musical ear with the ultimate ear training app! Elevate your musical skills with our powerful and intuitive ear trainer application, designed to help musicians of all levels improve their ear training through immersive, interactive exercises and reference drones. Whether you're learning scales, modes, triads, or solfege hand signs (also known as Kodály or Curwen hand signs), this app has everything you need to master your musical ear with precision. Three Interactive Modes: Input mode: Dive deep into ear training with full user interaction. Listen to intervals, chords, and scales, then test yourself by inputting your answers. Listen mode: Improve your ear training without lifting a finger! Simply listen to the exercises and absorb the musical information hands-free. Great for passive learning, this mode is ideal for training your ear while you're on the go or in situations where interaction isn’t possible. Free play mode: Unleash your creativity with Free Play Mode! Choose your preferred instrument and explore its range of sounds in the app’s instrument views. Experiment with melodies, harmonies, and scales, using this mode for both practice and inspiration. Key Features: Background Reference Drones: Develop pitch accuracy and tonal memory using customizable reference drones. These steady tones provide a constant pitch foundation, improving your ability to match and recognize notes across exercises. Multiple Instrument Sounds: Train your ear in a wide range of musical environments by choosing from different instrument sounds, including keyed, stringed, wind, and synth instruments. MIDI Instrument Support: Expand your learning experience by integrating external MIDI instruments. Whether you prefer a digital keyboard or a MIDI controller, this feature allows you to practice ear training with the tactile feedback of your instrument of choice. Customizable Ear Training Exercises: Design your own ear training sessions to focus on specific intervals, scales, modes, or triads. The app supports a wide range of musical scales, from basic major and minor scales to more advanced scales such as Lydian, Phrygian, and Mixolydian. Build exercises that cater to your unique needs and push your ear training to the next level. Learn Solfege Hand Signs (Kodály/Curwen): Perfect your ability to visualize and sing pitches using solfege hand signs, an excellent method for enhancing sight-singing, pitch recognition, and tonal awareness. Who is This App For? - Musicians and music students who want to sharpen their ear for intervals, chords, scales, and modes. - Teachers looking for a comprehensive tool to assist students in learning music theory and solfege. - Instrumentalists who wish to improve their pitch recognition and tone matching skills. - Singers who want to master solfege hand signs and enhance their sight-singing abilities. - Producers and composers aiming to sharpen their tonal awareness across different instrument sounds, from piano and guitar to synths and wind instruments. Keywords: ear trainer, ear training, music practice, drones, instrument, piano, guitar, synth, MIDI, triads, scales, modes, solfege Hand Signs, Kodály, Curwen, hand signs, musical ear development. Download the app today and start your journey toward mastering your musical ear. Whether you're practicing with hands-on exercises, passively listening, or engaging in free play, you'll have all the tools you need to become a well-rounded musician!

About

OneBeat Guitar Tools

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for guitarists, including a precise tuner, a metronome with customizable patterns, a chord library with diagrams, and a practice log to track progress. It's designed for distraction-free practice with no ads or account requirements.

Highlights
  • Precision tuner with real-time pitch detection
  • Sample-accurate metronome with tap tempo and accent patterns
  • Interactive circle of fifths
  • Extensive chord library with fretboard diagrams
  • Structured practice plan and session history logging
  • Distraction-free, ad-free experience
Features
Read full description

OneBeat Guitar Tools puts everything you reach for every practice session one tap apart: a rock-solid metronome, a precision tuner, the circle of fifths, a complete chord library, and a built-in practice plan with session history. Zero ads, no accounts, and no subscriptions required for core tools. METRONOME Tap tempo, adjustable accent patterns, subdivisions, and a range from 40 to 240 BPM. Each beat is scheduled directly to audio hardware ahead of time rather than fired from a software timer, so the pulse stays sample-accurate instead of drifting or jittering mid-bar. Move the tempo slider while playing and it smoothly retunes the pulse without restarting the bar. TUNER Real-time, ultra-responsive pitch detection with a clear gauge showing exactly how sharp or flat you are, down to the cent and Hz. Built with acoustic stabilization: the reading only updates when the note behind it is steady, settling on an accurate reading instead of flickering erratically. CIRCLE OF FIFTHS An interactive circle showing major keys, relative minors, and key signatures at a glance. Tap any key wedge to inspect its accidentals and relative minor chords, and the chord library will follow you there automatically. CHORDS Major, minor, dominant 7th, and minor 7th voicings across all twelve roots. Clear fretboard diagrams with open and muted string indicators, fingerings, and notes spelled out under each voicing. The diagram follows your chosen board look — Maple, Rosewood, Ebony or Lines, with dot or trapezoid inlays. PRACTICE PLAN & FOCUS TIMER A session stopwatch and structured routine checklist right at the top of every screen: • Set your daily practice routine and time budget (warmups, scales, chord changes, songs). • Check off exercises as you complete them during your session. • Track your focus time with automatic session logging. • Review your complete practice history, daily breakdown, and weekly totals. BUILT FOR DISTRACTION-FREE PRACTICE • 100% Ad-Free: Zero banner ads, zero full-screen video interruptions, and zero tracking. • No Account Needed: Everything runs completely on-device. No logins or cloud sync required. • Keeps Screen Awake: The display stays on while your metronome or tuner is active. • Universal Design: Optimized layout for iPhone and iPad. ONEBEAT TOOLS PRO The metronome, tuner, circle of fifths, chord reference, practice plan, and session logs are 100% free and always will be. An optional Pro subscription unlocks the appearance settings — custom accent colors and themes (Terracotta, Sage, Soft Plum, Mustard, Dusty Rose, Dusty Blue) plus four fretboard styles and two inlay styles for the chord diagrams — and supports independent development. • Monthly — auto-renews every month • Yearly — auto-renews every year Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.neitzke.ca/app-privacy-policy OneBeat Tools is part of the OneBeat family, alongside OneBeat Play (fretboard trainer) and OneBeat Ear (ear trainer).

Screenshots

Ear Drone4 screens
OneBeat Guitar Tools4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Ear Drone at free against OneBeat Guitar Tools's freemium. Ear Drone also leads on device support (4 vs 2). OneBeat Guitar Tools's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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. Ear Drone sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and OneBeat Guitar Tools sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ear Drone ships an update every 2 months, OneBeat Guitar Tools every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Ear Drone versus OneBeat Guitar Tools: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEar DroneOneBeat Guitar Tools
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.2 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size919 MB3 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperJason FleischerCleber Neitzke

Customer experience

Ear Drone

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

OneBeat Guitar Tools

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Ear Drone

One-time3
  • Fully Unlocked$1.99
  • Generously Fully Unlocked$3.99
  • Very Generously Fully Unlocked$6.99
2 purchases

OneBeat Guitar Tools

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Yearly$6.991 Year

Questions

Is Ear Drone free?
Ear Drone is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is OneBeat Guitar Tools free?
OneBeat Guitar Tools is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Ear Drone or OneBeat Guitar Tools have ads?
Neither Ear Drone nor OneBeat Guitar Tools shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ear Drone or OneBeat Guitar Tools?
Ear Drone ships an update every 2 months, and OneBeat Guitar Tools every 2 weeks. Most recently, Ear Drone was updated on October 24, 2026 and OneBeat Guitar Tools on October 8, 2026.

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