Better Ears

Better Ears is an ear-training and sight-reading app for musicians, students, and teachers who want to practise several core skills in one place. It suits self-directed learners and instructors who need adjustable drills more than a single-instrument course. The one-time mobile prices are straightforward, while the free Mac edition and trial are substantially narrower.

Overview

Better Ears combines 15 exercises in ear training and music reading, with a curriculum that runs from beginner work to preparation for conservatory study. Its mixed scope is useful when your routine needs rhythm, listening, and notation practice together, but it is not designed as a step-by-step course for mastering one instrument.

Key features

Exercises include rhythm recognition and rhythm reading. Rhythm work can add a count-in and metronome, use triplets, and cover 3/4, 4/4, and 5/4 time. That gives learners meaningful control over difficulty and feel instead of restricting practice to simple meter.

Responses can be sung, played on a real instrument, entered on a virtual keyboard or guitar fretboard, or sent from a MIDI device. This range makes the app practical for vocalists, instrumentalists, and people without immediate access to hardware. Four preset levels provide a ready starting path; the editor then lets you build custom levels, chords, scales, and chord progressions. Presets are convenient for beginners, while the editor is the more important feature for teachers and advanced musicians shaping targeted assignments.

Six instruments are included, with support for custom SoundFonts. Mac users also get more than 100 sounds through DLS SoftSynth. Better Ears records correct and incorrect answers for every exercise and question, so progress data can expose recurring weaknesses rather than relying on memory. Each exercise also displays a matching Wikipedia article, a useful point of reference when a term or concept needs quick reading.

Levels, sounds, and statistics sync among Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android; Dropbox syncing also covers levels, statistics, and settings. Live feedback is included. The website uses SSL and only technically necessary cookies, with no analytics or marketing cookies; purchases are handled by Paddle, which receives email, location, and payment information.

Pricing

The Mac free version is suitable only for sampling a single level and instrument. It omits the custom-exercise editor and microphone pitch detection, so teachers and serious learners should not judge the full app by that edition. The macOS trial costs nothing, but its unspecified duration makes it harder to plan an evaluation period. Android and iOS purchases avoid recurring billing and preserve the value of a compact practice tool, although the listed prices are platform-specific.

Platforms

Better Ears runs on Android, iOS, and macOS. Cross-device syncing is a strong reason to choose it when practice moves between phone, tablet, and computer; the iPhone and iPad option is sold as one universal app. Dropbox support adds a route for carrying levels, statistics, and settings between installations.

Who it's for

Musicians benefit from choosing how they answer and from building drills around their own instrument or theory goals. Students get structured preset levels and per-question results, while teachers can create custom levels, chords, scales, and progressions for particular lessons. Beginners can start with presets, but anyone seeking a complete instrument-learning curriculum should look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Fifteen exercises cover both listening and reading, including practical rhythm work.
• Singing, acoustic playing, virtual controls, and MIDI input accommodate different practice setups.
• Custom levels and musical materials give teachers and advanced learners control over assignments.
• Correct-and-incorrect tracking and cross-platform sync support an ongoing routine.
• Mobile access costs a one-time fee rather than a subscription.

Cons

• The free Mac edition is limited to one level and one instrument, and removes custom exercises and microphone pitch detection.
• The macOS trial has no stated duration, limiting certainty about how long it can be assessed.
• Its mixed ear-training scope is less suitable for learners wanting a guided, instrument-specific course.

Alternatives

Piano Marvel is the better pick for piano-led study with 150-plus songs, performance feedback, 200-plus lesson exercises, and 25 video lessons in its free tier; Premium is $17.99 a month.

flowkey suits learners who want song and course lessons across Android, iOS, and web, with a free account offering a few selections and a free trial.

Hoffman Academy is preferable for video-led piano instruction, lesson tracking, and downloadable material, with premium subscription pricing not listed.

Skoove is a stronger choice for guided courses on Android, iOS, and web; its free tier selects lessons, while annual Premium is $12.49 a month billed as 149.99 USD every 12 months.

Solfeg.io fits broad song, theory, and instrument-class practice, including a free school tier with songs, quizzes, lesson plans, and workouts.

ChordIQ is another Android, iOS, and macOS freemium option for chord-focused learning.

Guitar Tricks is the more natural choice for guitar-specific lessons, with a free basic membership covering 24 lessons and selected reference and community features.

Musicca is preferable when you want all content free forever, with an account unlocking all content and removing ads.

Verdict

Choose Better Ears if you want flexible ear-training and sight-reading drills, multiple answer methods, custom exercise design, and progress tracking across devices for a single purchase. Look elsewhere if you need a guided instrument course, a generous Mac free edition, or a clearly defined trial period.