Comparison

Ear Training vs Microtonal Ear Trainer

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

Head to head
About

Ear Training

This app helps musicians and students improve their musical ear through adaptive training exercises. It covers intervals, chords, scales, vocal warmups, and melodic/rhythmic dictation. Personalized practice sessions and detailed feedback aid skill development.

Highlights
  • Adaptive interval, chord, and scale identification
  • Vocal warm-up routines
  • Solfege and interval singing practice
  • Melodic and rhythmic dictation
  • Chord progression identification
  • Educational music theory guides
  • Customizable practice routines
Features
Read full description

ToneSeed is a complete ear training app for musicians, music theory students, and singers. An adaptive engine learns your strengths and weaknesses, then builds every session around what you need to practice most. INTERVAL TRAINING Identify ascending, descending, and harmonic intervals from unison to octave. The adaptive engine tracks your accuracy for each interval and direction, challenging you where you're weakest. Anchor each interval with reference songs you know. CHORD RECOGNITION Learn to identify 11 chord types: major, minor, diminished, augmented, sus2, sus4, and all seventh chords (Maj7, min7, dom7, dim7, m7b5). Train with root position through 3rd inversion. SCALE IDENTIFICATION Recognize 12 scale types: major, natural minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor, major and minor pentatonic, blues, and 5 modes (Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Locrian). Each scale plays as a melody with staff notation. VOCAL WARMUP Guided 5-, 8-, or 12-minute routines: sirens, lip-trills, hums, scales, arpeggios, and a sustained-tone messa di voce. Transposed through your own vocal range with a soft drone for support. SOLFEGE SINGING Sight-singing practice with real-time pitch detection. 26 progressive exercises across 7 major keys, from stepwise motion to challenging leaps. INTERVAL SINGING Hear only the root, then sing the second note of the interval. Octave-independent matching lets you sing in your own range. CHORD ENTRANCE Hear a chord, then sing its 3rd or 5th. A pitch meter shows where you landed, and feedback distinguishes correct from confused-with from non-chord-tone. MELODIC DICTATION Transcribe melodies by ear across 3 modes: - Diatonic: melodies in 5 major keys - Atonal: chromatic melodies with no key center - Melodic-rhythmic: combined pitch and rhythm transcription RHYTHMIC DICTATION Notate rhythms from memory across 8 difficulty levels — from basic quarter notes to complex patterns with dots, ties, rests, and triplets. CADENCE IDENTIFICATION Identify 4 cadence types (perfect authentic, plagal, half, deceptive) in major keys. CHORD PROGRESSIONS Identify 27 common chord progressions — pop staples like I–V–vi–IV, jazz ii–V–I turnarounds, 12-bar blues, and minor-key classics (Stairway, Andalusian cadence). Build custom practice sets by picking scale degrees, or choose a preset (Pop, Rock, Jazz, Blues, Classical). Answer by tapping the progression name or by tapping out the chords one at a time. EDUCATIONAL GUIDES Browse detailed guides for all intervals, chords, scales, and cadences. Hear examples, read character descriptions, and view staff notation. SMART FEATURES - Adaptive engine targets your weakest areas - Daily practice built for you, with per-section progress and XP - Custom training routines with full configuration - Practice calendar with streak tracking - 12 achievements and XP leveling system - Detailed statistics and confusion matrix - Interactive circle of fifths - 4 instruments: piano, guitar, violin, voice - Piano keyboard input for dictation - Staff notation throughout the app - Works fully offline - Cloud sync with optional account FREE FOREVER Interval training, chord recognition, scale identification, interval reproduction with pitch detection, vocal warmup, all educational guides, and the circle of fifths are free with no limits. PREMIUM Unlock solfege singing, interval singing, chord entrance, all dictation modes, cadence identification, chord progressions, custom routines, and custom reference songs. Start with a 7-day free trial. Available in English, Polish, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese, and Korean. Terms of Use: https://toneseed.app/terms

About

Microtonal Ear Trainer

Features
Read full description

Can you hear the difference between a note that's perfectly in tune and one that's just slightly off? Microtonal Ear Trainer builds the listening skills many musicians never develop. Designed by a musician, for musicians. This app focuses on one thing and does it well: training your ear to detect microtonal pitch differences that many people can't even hear yet. Each round plays two tones in sequence. Your job is simple: is the second note flat or sharp? The deviation is random, anywhere from a subtle 1 cent to a wide 100 cents, and the difficulty is yours to control. With consistent practice, you'll start hearing pitch inflections that used to be invisible to you. Whether you're a vocalist trying to lock into a chord, a guitarist chasing pure intonation, or a composer working with microtonality, this app trains the one skill no instrument lesson covers. FEATURES • Pure sine wave tones, no distractions, just the pitch relationship • Adjustable cent range, start wide and narrow it as you improve • Configurable note range, train across two octaves (C2-C6) • Adjustable timing, control tone duration, gap, and result display • 60-day progress chart, see your accuracy trend over time • Instant feedback, correct or wrong, and by exactly how many cents • Swipe or tap, answer flat or sharp your way HOW TO USE IT 1. Listen to the reference tone 2. Listen to the second tone 3. Answer: flat or sharp? 4. See the result and your running score Five minutes a day is enough to see real improvement within weeks. HONEST. SIMPLE. YOURS. • No ads, ever. Not now, not after you pay. • No data collected. We don't track you, analyze you, or store anything about you. What you do in this app stays on your device. • No b.s. subscription. Pay once, own it forever. • 30-minute free trial. Try the full app before spending a cent. No feature limits, no paywalled content during the trial. • One small purchase. A cheap, one-time unlock. That's the whole business model. WHO IS THIS FOR? • Musicians developing relative pitch and intonation awareness • Singers and string players working on pitch accuracy • Music producers and sound engineers training their critical listening • Music students supplementing ear training courses • Anyone curious about how well they can actually hear pitch Train your ears. Hear more.

Screenshots

Ear Training4 screens
Microtonal Ear Trainer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Microtonal Ear Trainer at 13.0 against Ear Training's 15.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Ear Training sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Microtonal Ear Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Ear Training versus Microtonal Ear Trainer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEar TrainingMicrotonal Ear Trainer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size143 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarcin ChudyWheels and Bones Pty Ltd

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Ear Training

Subscriptions3
  • ToneSeed Pro — Monthly7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • ToneSeed Pro — Yearly1 Year trial$39.991 Year
  • ToneSeed Pro — Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year
1 purchases

Microtonal Ear Trainer

One-time1
  • Full Access$4.99

Questions

Is Ear Training free?
Ear Training is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Microtonal Ear Trainer free?
Microtonal Ear Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Ear Training or Microtonal Ear Trainer have ads?
Neither Ear Training nor Microtonal Ear Trainer shows ads.

Other comparisons