Bemol
Bemol is a free, open-source macOS app for music hobbyists and students practicing relative pitch.
What Bemol is
Bemol is a free, open-source macOS app for music hobbyists and students practicing relative pitch. Each exercise establishes a key with an I–IV–V–I cadence, asks the user to identify a note, and then plays a short melody that resolves the note to the nearest tonic. Practice starts with four notes in C major; reaching at least 90% accuracy in a level lets users advance. Later levels add chromatic notes and more keys. Once C major and C minor are mastered, users can practice across all 12 major and 12 minor keys or choose random keys. Bemol includes adaptive difficulty, but does not offer interval, chord, or rhythm exercises. The app requires macOS 26.4 or later. It uses sine waves unless a separate SF2 sound font is downloaded for piano sounds. The code and data files are licensed under GNU General Public License version 3. The latest version is available from the project’s releases page; building from source uses Xcode’s Bemol.macOS scheme and requires Xcode 26.5 or later.
Good
- Free and open source.
- Adaptive difficulty is included.
- Practice expands to all major and minor keys.
- Progression requires at least 90% accuracy.
Watch out
- Requires macOS 26.4 or later.
- Piano sounds need a separately downloaded sound font.
- No interval, chord, or rhythm exercises.
- No mobile app is available.
Who it suits
Bemol suits music hobbyists and students who want focused note-identification practice for relative pitch. It is for Mac users running macOS 26.4 or later.
Verdict
Bemol offers a focused path from basic note identification to broader key practice. Its narrow exercise scope and macOS requirement make it best suited to users seeking this specific kind of ear training.
Plans and prices
From Bemol's own pricing page, checked 7 Oct 2001.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Bemol | Free | Free and open-source ear training app · macOS 26.4 or later |
The facts
Each one read from Bemol's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Advanced practice
- Later levels introduce chromatic notes and additional keys, with practice covering all 12 major and 12 minor keys or random keys after C major and C minor are mastered.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Build from source
- The project can be built in Xcode using the Bemol.macOS scheme, and the stated minimum Xcode version is 26.5.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Download
- The repository directs users to its releases page for the latest version.checked 7 Oct 2001
- License
- The code and data files are licensed under GNU General Public License version 3.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Practice method
- It plays an I–IV–V–I cadence to establish a key, prompts the user to identify a note, then plays a short melody resolving that note to the nearest tonic.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Progression
- Practice starts with four notes in C major, and users can advance after reaching at least 90% accuracy in a level.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Purpose
- Bemol is a free, open-source ear training app for music hobbyists and students who want to develop relative pitch.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Sound options
- Piano sounds require a separately downloaded SF2 sound font; without one, the app uses sine waves.checked 7 Oct 2001
- System requirement
- The minimum macOS version required to run Bemol is 26.4.checked 7 Oct 2001
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