GuitarManac

Ear training

25 stages in three tracks. Hear a sound, then find it on the neck.

Start

Scale degrees

0 of 13 cleared
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13

The core of playing by ear. A short chord progression sets the key, one note plays, and you find it on the fretboard. One new sound per stage.

  1. 1Home and away
  2. 2The major chord
  3. 3Steps from home
  4. 4Major pentatonic
  5. 5The tense 4
  6. 6Full major scale
  7. 7Two octaves
  8. 8Minor home
  9. 9Minor pentatonic
  10. 10Natural minor
  11. 11The blue note
  12. 12Rock colors
  13. 13All twelve

Chords

0 of 6 cleared
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

Why a song sounds happy, sad, dreamy or tense. A chord plays on the guitar and you name its type. Each stage adds a new chord color.

  1. 1Major or minor
  2. 2The seventh
  3. 3Jazz colors
  4. 4Suspended
  5. 5Tension
  6. 6Any shape

Melodies

0 of 6 cleared
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

The skill people mean by playing by ear. A short phrase plays and you tap its notes in order on the neck, from two notes up to real tunes.

  1. 1Two notes
  2. 2Three steps
  3. 3Pentatonic phrases
  4. 4Four-note melodies
  5. 5Blues licks
  6. 6Real tunes
How it works

How it works

  1. Learn a sound

    Each stage adds one new sound. Hear how it feels and where it pulls.

  2. Find it on the neck

    A few chords set the key, a note plays, and you tap it on the fretboard. Ten questions, about two minutes.

  3. Clear the stage

    Get 8 of 10 right to clear it. Your best score shows on the stage. Play the stages in any order.

Note labels

How notes are named on the fretboard.

How to train your ear for guitar

Players who learn songs by ear hear where each note sits in the key. A 3 sounds bright and settled, a 4 sounds tense and leans down, a 7 pulls up to the home note. This trainer teaches those sounds one at a time. A short chord progression sets the key, one note plays, and you find it on the fretboard. When you get it, the note walks home to 1, so every sound gets its own pull.

Three tracks

Scale degrees is the core: from the difference between 1 and 5 to all twelve notes in any key. Chords teaches you to hear chord types, from major and minor to sevenths, sus chords and diminished. Melodies puts it together: you hear a phrase and tap it on the neck, from two notes up to blues licks and real tunes.

Why find the notes on the fretboard

Most ear trainers ask you to name what you hear. This one asks you to find it where you play it. That is the skill you use to work out a melody, to follow a solo and to play the sound you hear in your head.

Tips

  • Hum the note before you tap. If you can sing it, you can find it.
  • Use headphones. Close sounds like 4 and 5 are easier to tell apart.
  • Five minutes a day does more than an hour once a week.
  • When two sounds blur together, play both in the key and listen to where each one wants to go.