Comparison

Microtonal Ear Trainer vs Hoverophone

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

Head to head
About

Microtonal Ear Trainer

Features
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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.

About

Hoverophone

This app reimagines the theremin for your iPhone, allowing you to play music by waving your hands in the air without touching the screen. It offers a polyphonic synthesizer with various sound options and microtonal capabilities for unique musical exploration.

Highlights
  • Air-based theremin playing with front camera hand tracking
  • Polyphonic synthesizer with multiple voice options
  • Microtonal keyboard with 12-TET or 24-TET quarter tones
  • Stack up to twelve notes by pinning voices
  • Continuous pitch glide and volume control
  • Fully offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Play a theremin in the air with your hands—no screen taps, controller, or antenna required. Hoverophone uses the front camera to follow your hands. Raise or lower a hand to glide the pitch, change the distance between your thumb and any finger to control volume, and move from side to side to pan the sound. Raise a hand and you are already playing that unmistakable, otherworldly theremin voice. A POLYPHONIC SYNTH Choose a sine, triangle, saw, or square wave, then add drive and ring modulation. Movement across the camera controls the stereo field. Hoverophone tracks up to four hands at once, so you can play chords instead of a single melody. Bring two sounding hands together to pin a note in place. Pinned notes continue to ring while you play, giving you as many as twelve simultaneous voices: four live and eight sustained. MICROTONAL NOTES IN THE AIR Leave the note grid off for the classic continuous theremin glide. Turn it on to snap the pitch to 12-TET notes or 24-TET quarter tones on an isomorphic hexagonal grid. Move your hand into a cell and the note lands in tune without touching the screen. The 24-TET mode opens the door to microtonal and xenharmonic music while preserving the instrument's in-air control. FEATURES - Front-camera hand tracking with no screen contact - Continuous theremin pitch or an isomorphic note grid - 12-TET and 24-TET tuning with quarter tones - Up to four tracked hands and twelve simultaneous voices - Four waveforms, drive, ring modulation, and stereo panning - Sound through the speaker or headphones, even in silent mode - No account required; plays without a network connection HOW TO PLAY THE THEREMIN A theremin is an electronic musical instrument played without physical contact. In Hoverophone, simply raise a hand in front of the camera. Move up and down to change pitch, open and close the space between your fingers to shape volume, and move left or right to place the sound in the stereo field. If you are learning how to play the theremin, start in continuous mode and practice smooth pitch glides. Switch to 12-TET when you want help landing on familiar notes, or choose 24-TET to play quarter tones and explore microtonal music. Hoverophone is a touch-free theremin app and polyphonic synthesizer app for iPhone and iPad, built for musicians who want expressive camera control without extra hardware. Camera frames are processed entirely on your device and never leave it. Hoverophone does not use the microphone. Create a soft ambient pad, build a dense drone, or summon the eerie sweep of a science-fiction soundtrack. For the most reliable tracking, play in a well-lit room where the camera can see your hands clearly.

Screenshots

Microtonal Ear Trainer4 screens
Hoverophone4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hoverophone at none against Microtonal Ear Trainer's 1. Microtonal Ear Trainer's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads 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. Microtonal Ear Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Hoverophone asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Microtonal Ear Trainer versus Hoverophone: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMicrotonal Ear TrainerHoverophone
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.3 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequency—Every 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWheels and Bones Pty LtdMaxim Oransky

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Microtonal Ear Trainer

One-time1
  • Full Access$4.99
None

Hoverophone

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Microtonal Ear Trainer free?
Microtonal Ear Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hoverophone free?
Hoverophone is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Microtonal Ear Trainer or Hoverophone have ads?
Neither Microtonal Ear Trainer nor Hoverophone shows ads.

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