A Comparison of Free Ear Training Software

Ear training is a great way of learning how to play music by ear. The Internet offers many free programs that teach you how to do it right. They range from free ware to open-source software.

GNU Solfege is the most comprehensive free ear training software I know of. It's a free and open-source program available for Windows and Linux. It's not the most user-friendly piece of software I've come across, but it is the most thorough.

It teaches intervals, chords, scales, music theory, and even rhythm. It will also show you how to play it on some instruments. Keyboard, guitars, and accordions are included examples.

It keeps track of how well you are doing with statistical presentations, and if you believe you're excellent, it also offers tests to help prove that belief.

The program updates often and offers detailed documentation for the project, a rarity for low-profile open-source software. I easily recommend this program

Another notable open-source program is This Ear Trainer 'Ere (otherwise known as Tete). It's much more stripped down than Solfege is, but it offers an interesting user-driven way to take tests. It lets you pick the questions. That way, you don't have to repeat anything you might know already.

Another plus is that in runs on Java, so it can be used on any computer that has the Sun program. Therefore, it can run on Macs, unlike GNU Solfege.

If you're running this program on windows, make sure you have the necessary sound library from the Java website. Go here to download a sound bank.

Ear Toner is the only other piece of open-source ear training software I have found. The documentation for this software is probably longer than the software itself, but don't let that bother you. It's not as expansive as Solfege, but it is easier to use, and it has a lot more options than This Ear Trainer 'Ere. I enjoy using this program more than the other open-source ones.

If you want a commercial ear trainer at freeware prices, I recommend Teoria. It's not being developed anymore, but many people think it's great to have a once costly product for no money at all.

With that said, it's nowhere near as advanced as Solfege, but if you're a keyboard or piano user you will probably appreciate it more than the other programs.

Functional Ear Trainer doesn't offer any more advantages over the other software other than it can be tweaked to achieve perfect pitch. Therefore, you can learn music without any reference at all.