In this app, Scale Ear Trainer will put you through some listening rounds designed to help you identify the scale being played. Simply use your computer keyboard (or your mouse if you prefer) to control the whole thing. By pressing certain keys on keyboard you can select your answers for a faster workflow. Basically, you hear a scale pattern being played and then have to pick right scale name from the list underneath the playback controls.
To get started, hit the Space bar or click the Play Scale button to hear a sequence of notes. You’ll hear a random-scale played each time, so it’s not a melody to remember but a pattern that, once learned, will help you identify the scale. Then click on the button you think is the correct one. On a keyboard, just press the numbers 1-9 (or zero for number ten) or the letter keys: Q-W-E-R. The buttons shows their keyboard shortcuts in the corner as well, which can come in handy.
How to Use the Scale Ear Trainer App
At the top is the Level Map where you follow along completing a set of challenges. Starting out, you’re given a basic decision about playing a minor or major scale. Answer right, and you start filling in the progress bar. When you hit the minimum accuracy needed to pass, that level will be automatically unlocked for you. If you click an already unlocked level, it will replay so you can work on mastering that concept. That means you can practice unlocked levels to ensure you spends more time on the concepts you find most difficult.
The Round Type selector let you vary the way scales are played. There is a full scale option that simply plays each note in turn, which is great if you’re learning. There’s an option for Melodic Fragment that picks out just a small phrase that shows how scales occur in actualy music. And Single Degree isolates any single degree following the tonic note so it trains you to hear certain intervals such as a flat seventh or a major third. These modes will help you build your ear from the ground up.
There are options for how you want things played back. You can choose a direction (ascending, descending, or both). You can choose the speed (slow or fast). There is also an option to play the home note first (Tonic First). Finally, you can choose to play the root note throughout the phrase on top of everything else (Tonic Drone). This is really helpful as it lets you hear color of each individual degree easy.
You enter your answer and get instant feedback from the widget. Is it a correct guess? The answer will appear as a green or red verdict below. Then it narrows down to the Spotlight section which highlights exactly what notes identifies the scale you’ve just heard compared with others nearby. These are the buttons you can push to listen to those key degrees played over the drone sound, comparing them like this is the quickest route to knowing how Aeolian differs from Dorian, for instance.
Pressing S or clicking on Start 60-second Sprint starts the timed challenge, which advances through each round as soon as you respond to them. Time is displayed with a timer bar and your score updates in real time. You can use this mode to practice building fluency and confidence under pressure. You should of checked out your results in the bottom Score panel, which displays your overall accuracy, current streak, and