Hooktheory I vs Sonofield Ear Trainer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hooktheory I
Learn to craft melodies and chord progressions like a pro with interactive lessons and audiovisual examples from popular songs. This app provides an intuitive understanding of music theory, with practical exercises and a companion sketchpad for immediate practice.
- Learn chord progressions
- Compose melodies
- Audiovisual examples
- Interactive exercises
- Song dissection
- Music theory concepts
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Embark on a musical journey! Follow the Hooktheory Book Series in a smart, fun, skill-building journey. Learn how to craft melodies and chord progressions like professional musicians, and discover an intuitive and deep understanding of how music works. Validated by over 30,000 hobby and pro musicians like you, the Hooktheory Book Series is the best-selling how-to series for musicians around the world for a reason. Hooktheory I isn’t like other music theory books. Hooktheory teaches with an easy-to-understand music format that emphasizes chord and melody function. Rich audiovisual animations play along as you learn. We dissect popular songs and show you how the pros do it. Immediately practice concepts and tactics with our companion musical sketchpad, Hookpad. There is nothing else like it! Fun to read. Easy to understand. Full of practical knowledge. Learn from 41 interactive exercises and 88 audiovisual examples from artists like The Beatles, Journey, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Adele, Coldplay, Billy Joel, Lady Gaga, Elton John, Maroon 5, and more! In Hooktheory I, you’ll learn the following skills: • Composing music based on a scale. • Understanding the six basic chords that underlie all great chord progressions. • Writing chord progressions based on function (understanding which chords go together and which ones don’t) • Making melodies “chord aware” - learn why certain melodies sound good with a chord progression and why others don't • Controlling the natural tension and release in melodies over a chord progression Benefits: • Simple piano roll notation (sheet music knowledge not required) • Every concept + technique demonstrated through an actual song • 88 audiovisual examples from artists like The Beatles, Journey, and Taylor Swift • Reinforce learning at every step with 41 exercises • Designed to be used with Hookpad Music Making Software. Hookpad lets you practice every concept and tactic you learn in the books immediately To sum it up, Hooktheory I will teach you the essential basic techniques for crafting effective and compelling chord progressions and melodies. Reading Hooktheory I doesn’t require any previous music knowledge or the ability to read sheet music. On average, it takes about five hours to read so it isn't a huge time commitment. Dedicate only a few hours to reading this book and gain a lifetime of skills that will give your music that professional edge.
Sonofield Ear Trainer
This app helps musicians develop their ear by focusing on the feeling of individual notes within a key, rather than traditional interval training. It uses sustained drones and offers various modes like identifying scale degrees, melodies, and singing exercises. The app adapts to your skill level with an intuitive interface and progression path.
- Feeling-based note recognition
- Scale degree identification
- Melody recognition training
- Singing exercises
- Hands-free training mode
- Interactive exploration instrument
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Sonofield Ear Trainer (SET) is a revolutionary ear training app designed to help you intuitively play the melodies you hear and imagine. Instead of relying on traditional old methods like intervals, SET focuses on helping you feel the unique character of each note within a key. By using sustained drones to create a tonal foundation, you’ll learn to recognize scale degrees based on their *feeling*, not just how they sound. The app offers a variety of ways to train: * Degrees Mode - Identify individual notes against the drone by feeling. The heart of SET. * Melody Mode - Identify short melodic phrases, preparing you for real music. * Voice Mode - Sing the requested scale degree into your microphone. * Pocket Mode - Hands-free training for when you're on the go. * Free Play - An interactive instrument for exploration. With its intuitive, color-coded interface, thoughtfully designed progression path, and multiple difficulty levels, SET adapts to your skill level while keeping practice engaging. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced musician, SET is your guide to unlocking true musical fluency through intuitive, feeling-based ear training. No ads or forced payments. The free version contains full foundations for feeling-based ear training. Download the ear training app now!
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Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Sonofield Ear Trainer at Free against Hooktheory I's $14.99. Sonofield Ear Trainer also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.1) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Sonofield Ear Trainer is free to download; Hooktheory I costs $14.99 up front. Hooktheory I sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Sonofield Ear Trainer sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Sonofield Ear Trainer holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sonofield Ear Trainer has 376 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Hooktheory I's written reviews are positive against 89% of Sonofield Ear Trainer's.
Hooktheory I ships an update every 3 months, Sonofield Ear Trainer every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hooktheory I | Sonofield Ear Trainer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.1 (11 ratings) | 4.9 (376 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 63.4% of reviews | 88.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 376 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 140 MB | 105 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hooktheory LLC | Sonofield Ear Trainer Education Ltd. |
Customer experience
Hooktheory I
Sonofield Ear Trainer
Bugs and requests
Hooktheory I
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Sonofield Ear Trainer
Reported bugs
1 issue- None reported
Requested features
5 requests- Option to switch between 12TET and just intonation
- Ability to reduce octave range
- Incorporate more timbre options for drone and notes
- Tracking and visualization of progress and learned skills
- Add interactive tutorial for level 1
In-app purchases
Hooktheory I
- Full Version$14.99
Sonofield Ear Trainer
- Lifetime Pro$14.99
- Lifetime Pro$17.99
- Lifetime Pro2 variants$19.99
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- Lifetime Pro$24.99
Questions
Is Hooktheory I free?
Is Sonofield Ear Trainer free?
Which has better reviews, Hooktheory I or Sonofield Ear Trainer?
Do Hooktheory I or Sonofield Ear Trainer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hooktheory I or Sonofield Ear Trainer?
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