Better Ears vs Complete Music Reading Trainer

Better Ears is an ear-training and sight-reading app for musicians, students, and teachers, with exercises spanning listening and music reading. Its 15 exercises include rhythm recognition and rhythm reading; rhythm practice can use a count-in, metronome, triplets, and time signatures including 3/4, 4/4, and 5/4. Answers may be sung, played on a real instrument, entered with a virtual keyboard or guitar fretboard, or sent through a MIDI device. Four preset levels are available, and an editor lets users build levels, chords, scales, and chord progressions. The app includes six instruments, supports custom SoundFonts, and the site says Mac can use more than 100 sounds through DLS SoftSynth. It records correct and incorrect answers for each exercise and question. Levels, sounds, and statistics are described as syncing across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android, with Dropbox syncing for levels, statistics, and settings. Better Ears runs on Android, iOS, and macOS. Android costs CHF 2.60, paid once; the iPhone and iPad app costs $4.99, paid once. A free Mac Beginner edition and a free macOS trial are listed.

Complete Music Reading Trainer helps users learn to read sheet music and build sight-reading skills through game-like practice. Its curriculum offers 270 progressive drills across seven clefs, three levels and 26 chapters, including key signatures up to six sharps or flats and common clef combinations. Notes can be entered with a note circle, virtual piano keyboard, connected MIDI controller or an instrument played near the device microphone. Learners can make custom drills and training programs, review global progress statistics, and use arcade mode, achievements and leaderboards. The app provides four sheet-music display styles, recorded grand piano sounds and six additional sound banks. It is available on Android, iOS, macOS, web and Windows; the desktop and browser versions are part of Complete Music Trainer, which bundles two other apps. Teachers and schools can organize students into classes, assign programs, track progress and manage students and licenses with the Teacher Companion App. A free plan and trial are listed; the full version costs 5.99 USD one time.