Ella vs Functional Ear Trainer

Ella is a free sight-singing app that trains the ear and voice through exercises, microphone feedback, and progress tracking. It listens through the device microphone, evaluates pitch, intonation, and intervals, and displays singing pitch in a detailed graph. An on-screen tuner and varied exercises support practice, while a guided learning path moves through musical concepts from beginner to advanced. Practice Mode lets users listen before singing; Play Mode tests skills and records personal-best scores. The App Store listing also describes global leaderboards and competition with friends. Ella runs on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with iOS and macOS listed as platforms. Its privacy policy says exercise data and other in-app activity may be sent to the company’s cloud and saved on the device. Users may choose to share usernames, scores, or exercise data in some exercises. The app does not access contacts, phone numbers, or messages. It is not intended for children under 13, and absolute security cannot be guaranteed.

Functional Ear Trainer is an ear-training app built around hearing tones in the context of a musical key. Its method asks users to recognize each tone’s function within that key, with exercises and audio tools intended to improve musical ear and understanding of music theory. The app listing describes it as suitable for beginners through professional musicians and says playing an instrument is not required. The maker recommends 10 minutes of daily practice. Features listed in the App Store version history include Melodic Dictations, Sound Plugins and Listener Mode. The app is available on Android, iOS, macOS and Windows, and is free to download, though some features may need a recurring subscription or one-time payment. Functional Ear Trainer is listed at free; Functional Ear Trainer Plus is listed at $19.99, paid once, with no detail on what it unlocks. Subscriptions and trials must be cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period or trial ends to avoid a charge. The service is intended for users aged 16 or older; minors require parental permission and supervision. Support is listed at [email protected].