Resolve vs ModusCycler
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Resolve
This app offers a structured video course and a practice tool to develop a direct connection between your ear and your instrument. It generates random chord voicings for you to play along with, enhancing musical instincts and harmonic understanding.
- Integrated video course and practice tool
- Random harmonic voicings
- Harmonic complexity slider
- Train real musical instincts
- Designed for use with your instrument
- Complements functional ear training
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Resolve is a powerful ear training system, developed by Tom Quayle and David Beebee, combining a structured video course with a custom practice tool. The course and practice tool are designed to work together: the videos explain the concepts and exercises, while the practice tool generates the harmonic material you use to train your ear on your instrument. Reactive Ear Training focuses on developing a direct connection between your ear, your fingers, and your instrument. Resolve generates random, non-functional chord voicings for you to react to by playing over each chord using the exercises taught in the inlcuded course. The Harmonic Complexity Slider lets you tailor the sounds to your ability, from simpler, more consonant voicings at lower settings to increasingly complex and dissonant sounds at higher settings. Practicing this way strengthens the connection between your ear, your fingers, and your instrument. Over time, this develops stronger musical instincts and a deeper, intuitive understanding of harmony that maps directly to your instrument and translates to real musical situations. Key Features ‣ Created by Tom Quayle and David Beebee Resolve was developed as a complete Reactive Ear Training system, combining a structured video course with a practice tool designed to work together. ‣ Integrated Video Course and Practice Tool The course explains the method and demonstrates the exercises, while the practice tool generates the harmonic material you react to on your instrument. ‣ Random Harmonic Voicings Generate non-functional chord voicings to react to in real time. This approach strengthens the connection between your ear, your fingers, and your instrument. ‣ Harmonic Complexity Slider Tailor the sounds to your ability, from simpler, more consonant voicings at lower settings to increasingly complex and dissonant sounds at higher settings. ‣ Train Real Musical Instincts Resolve is designed to be used without naming or labelling chords, scales, or intervals. By focusing purely on sound, you learn to respond directly on your instrument. With some familiarity of major and minor sounds, you can begin immediately. ‣ Complements Functional Ear Training Designed to support your ongoing study of harmony, scales, chords, and functional ear training. ‣ Designed for Use With Your Instrument Built for active playing, helping connect what you hear directly to movement on your instrument. Resolve works for: ‣ Guitarists ‣ Bassists ‣ Pianists ‣ Any instrumentalist developing their ear Whether you’re improvising, composing, or learning music by ear, Resolve – Reactive Ear Training helps you develop faster and more reliable musical instincts.
ModusCycler
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Turn chord progressions into music you understand. ModusCycler shows you the matching church modes and scales for any progression — on fretboard, TABs, piano and standard notation — and backs you up with a complete jam band. JAM SESSION BUILDER Build your own backing track in seconds: tap chords into the bar grid, get piano accompaniment with musical embellishments (a statistical improviser based on Chopin and Beethoven statistics), plus a precise metronome with swing — hit Play and jam. Launch offer: everyone who joins in the first 6 weeks keeps the Jam Session Builder free forever — afterwards it is a €19.99 in-app purchase. NEW: ESCALATOR — SCALE REFERENCE & SLIDES All seven positions of the major scale as a printable Kiltz/CAGED and 3NPS reference, now right inside the app. The transitions trainer connects positions with slides — and the new out-of-scale slides reveal the pros' trick: change the entire scale family with ONE shape, using a slide formula like "C, 2 frets down and back". You always land on a chord tone, fingering included. NEW: CHEATING CHEAT SHEET WITH SCALE-CHANGE COMBOS Two linked wheels per chord: church mode and scale in shorthand. Below, every mode combination of your progression sorted by effort: no change, one change (there and back) or two — each with its slide formula. Pin chords to keep them fixed; the eScalator opens right with the matching keys. SCALES FOR IMPROVISATION TUTOR The modes·explorer derives church modes step by step on the fretboard: choose a position, understand the mode, play the scale. With Kiltz/CAGED boxes and all seven 3-notes-per-string patterns. FOR EVERY MELODIC INSTRUMENT ModusCycler shows you which notes fit over the chords — in standard notation and by note name, playable on any instrument. Ideal for improvising and melodic accompaniment on saxophone, clarinet, flute, trumpet, violin, xylophone, vibraphone, accordion, harmonica or voice. Fingering diagrams cover guitar and piano; the scale theory applies to all. MORE FEATURES - Fresh tile design: four approaches (Global, Smart, Flexible, Cheating) and four views (fretboard, TABs, piano, notation) at a glance - Build progressions: wheel picker, modal interchange table, circle of fifths, song database - Smart analysis: matching modes with percentage ranking and character descriptions - Undo for chords and modes, key-change dialog with pin - Stage view: all scale diagrams full-screen — print-quality, with a transport bar - Notation with correct key signatures, deviations shown with accidentals - Real piano samples, metronome with sounds and swing - Tutorials: bird's-eye overview + 12-step tour, extensive online manual - 6 languages: English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Norwegian For everyone who improvises, accompanies flexibly or finally wants to understand modes — guitarists, pianists, wind and brass players, string players, singers, songwriters and producers. TRY THE FULL VERSION FOR FREE On app.moduscycler.com the complete full version runs free in your browser for one day — after that it continues there with limited features. Try everything before you download the app. Looking for modes, church scales, improvisation or jamming? ModusCycler (also "Modus Cycler") brings you scales, modes and chords for your next jam session — improvise on guitar, bass, piano and every melodic instrument.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is chart position: Resolve at #189 against ModusCycler's unranked. ModusCycler's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, 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
Resolve costs $17.99 and ModusCycler $17.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Resolve ships an update every 9 days, ModusCycler fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Resolve | ModusCycler |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $17.99 | $17.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (8 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 85.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Best chart rank | #189 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 89 MB | 50 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Trio Software Ltd | Robert Ulrich Seidel Dr |
In-app purchases
Resolve
No in-app purchases
ModusCycler
No in-app purchases









