Intervals
Identify the distance between two notes, heard upward, downward, or together.
What it can support
Supports melody recognition, singing in tune, transcription, and finding notes on an instrument by ear.
Try this training →Know what you are training.
Understand each listening skill, the language used in the exercises, and what your own results can—and cannot—tell you.
Four listening skills
What you can train
Each mode isolates one part of musical listening so you can notice patterns, get immediate feedback, and repeat with purpose.
Chords
Recognize major, minor, suspended, altered, and seventh-chord qualities across roots and inversions.
What it can support
Supports harmony recognition, arranging, accompaniment choices, and following chord movement in a mix.
Try this training →Rhythm
Hold a short timing pattern in memory and reproduce its event spacing by tapping.
What it can support
Supports pulse stability, rhythmic recall, ensemble timing, and noticing where a performance rushes or drags.
Try this training →Pitch memory
Remember a reference tone and detect a relative shift of 100, 50, or 25 cents.
What it can support
Supports fine pitch comparison, intonation awareness, tuning decisions, and short-term auditory memory.
Try this training →Deep glossary
Build the idea, not just the label
Start with pitch, then connect intervals, chords, rhythm, and memory. Open any term for its construction and a concrete example.
Sound foundations
The units used to describe how high a sound is and how far it moves.
Pitch and notePitch is perceived height; a note is its musical identity and duration.
Frequency is the physical vibration rate measured in hertz. Pitch is how high or low that frequency feels. A note name such as A4 places a pitch inside a musical system; A4 is conventionally tuned to 440 Hz in EarHabit.
Example: A 440 Hz tone and an 880 Hz tone are both named A, but the second is one octave higher.
Semitone and whole toneOne semitone is the smallest equal-tempered step; one whole tone is two semitones.
Twelve semitones divide an octave in twelve-tone equal temperament. On a piano, moving to the immediately adjacent key—white or black—is one semitone. Two such steps make a whole tone.
Example: C to C♯ is one semitone; C to D is one whole tone, or two semitones.
Cents and intonationCents measure fine pitch distance; intonation describes how accurately pitch is placed.
A semitone contains 100 cents and an octave contains 1200. Cents let musicians discuss changes smaller than a piano key. Intonation is contextual: a sung note can be sharp, flat, or well aligned with the harmony around it.
Example: A note 25 cents high is one quarter of a semitone sharp—clearly smaller than moving to the next piano key.
Intervals
How two pitches are measured, numbered, and given qualities such as major, minor, or perfect.
IntervalAn interval combines a number with a quality to name the distance between two notes.
The number counts letter names inclusively: C–E spans C, D, E, so it is some kind of third. The quality—major, minor, perfect, diminished, or augmented—specifies the exact semitone size. Intervals may be melodic (one after another) or harmonic (together).
Example: C–E is a major 3rd of four semitones; C–E♭ is a minor 3rd of three.
Major and minor intervalsFor 2nds, 3rds, 6ths, and 7ths, minor is one semitone smaller than major.
Major and minor are precise size labels here, not automatic descriptions of emotion. Keep the same interval number and lower the upper note of a major interval by one semitone to obtain its minor form. Unisons, 4ths, 5ths, and octaves use perfect rather than major/minor as their basic quality.
Example: C–A is a major 6th (nine semitones); C–A♭ is a minor 6th (eight).
Perfect intervalsUnisons, 4ths, 5ths, and octaves use the quality perfect in their basic form.
Perfect is a historical quality name, not a claim that the interval sounds better. Raising a perfect interval one semitone makes it augmented; lowering it one semitone makes it diminished.
Example: C–G is a perfect 5th (seven semitones); C–G♭ is a diminished 5th or tritone (six).
Chords & harmony
How several notes combine, and which interval changes create major, minor, suspended, diminished, and seventh colors.
Chord and triadA chord combines multiple notes; a triad is a three-note chord built as stacked thirds.
A basic triad is described from a root using a 3rd and a 5th. Its exact interval pattern determines the chord quality. EarHabit changes roots and inversions so the quality must be recognized rather than one memorized register.
Example: C–E–G is a C major triad: root C, major 3rd E, and perfect 5th G.
Major and minor chordsA major and minor triad differ only in the 3rd: four semitones versus three.
A major triad uses root + major 3rd + perfect 5th (0–4–7 semitones). A minor triad uses root + minor 3rd + perfect 5th (0–3–7). The one-semitone change in the middle note changes the chord quality. It is clearer to say major/minor interval or chord than the vague phrase ‘major/minor sound.’
Example: C major is C–E–G; C minor is C–E♭–G. Only E moves down one semitone.
Diminished, augmented, and suspended chordsThese qualities change the 5th or replace the 3rd, weakening the usual major/minor signal.
A diminished triad is 0–3–6; an augmented triad is 0–4–8. Sus2 and sus4 replace the 3rd with the 2nd or 4th (0–2–7 or 0–5–7), so they are neither major nor minor until another note resolves the ambiguity.
Example: C diminished is C–E♭–G♭; Csus4 is C–F–G and contains no E or E♭.
Seventh chordA seventh chord adds another stacked 3rd above a triad, producing four notes.
The triad quality and the size of the 7th both matter. Dominant 7th is 0–4–7–10, major 7th is 0–4–7–11, and minor 7th is 0–3–7–10. Their upper note creates different tension against the root.
Example: C7 is C–E–G–B♭; Cmaj7 changes only B♭ to B, one semitone higher.
Root and inversionThe root names the chord; inversion tells which chord tone is lowest.
Moving the lowest chord tone up an octave changes the bass and spacing but not the chord’s root or quality. Root position has the root in the bass; first inversion has the 3rd; second inversion has the 5th.
Example: C–E–G, E–G–C, and G–C–E are all C major, heard in root position, first inversion, and second inversion.
Rhythm & listening
How time is organized and how the ear remembers relationships rather than isolated labels.
Pulse, tempo, and meterPulse is the beat, tempo is its speed, and meter groups beats into recurring accents.
Tempo is commonly measured in beats per minute (BPM). Meter describes a repeating framework such as groups of two, three, or four beats. The pulse can remain steady even while the played rhythm becomes dense or sparse.
Example: At 120 BPM, quarter-note beats occur every 500ms; 4/4 groups them as ONE-two-three-four.
Subdivision and syncopationSubdivision divides beats into smaller units; syncopation emphasizes normally weak positions.
Dividing a beat into two creates eighth-note positions; dividing it into four creates sixteenth-note positions. Syncopation places attacks between strong beats, ties across them, or accents a weak subdivision, making the rhythm feel displaced without changing the underlying pulse.
Example: In a steady ‘1 & 2 &,’ striking only the ‘&’ positions creates an offbeat syncopated pattern.
Relative pitch and auditory memoryRelative pitch hears relationships; auditory memory holds a sound long enough to compare it.
Relative pitch does not require naming an isolated note. It tracks direction, distance, or chord quality from a reference. EarHabit’s pitch-memory mode asks whether a later tone moved after a delay; this practices comparison and short-term memory, not absolute-pitch diagnosis.
Example: You may not know that the first note is A, yet still hear that the second note is about a quarter-tone higher.
Difficulty map
What each level asks of you
Level names describe task complexity inside EarHabit. They are not certifications or universal musician grades.
Beginner
2 answer choices. Intervals cover unison through major 3rd; chords cover major and minor; pitch shifts are 100 cents; rhythms use clear half-beat patterns.
Useful practice targetBuild the sound-to-name connection slowly and consistently.
Intermediate
5 answer choices. Intervals extend through minor 6th; six triad and suspended qualities appear; pitch shifts narrow to 50 cents; rhythms add denser spacing.
Useful practice targetKeep accuracy stable as choices expand and differences become smaller.
Advanced
9 answer choices. All intervals through octave and all nine chord qualities appear, including harmonic intervals and sevenths; pitch shifts narrow to 25 cents; rhythms use syncopated spacing.
Useful practice targetMaintain detail, speed, and consistency across the full in-app set.
Reading your accuracy: Below 60% means keep building familiarity; 60–79% shows developing consistency; 80% or more over repeated attempts is a practical signal to try the next level. This is a training rule of thumb, not population research.
Your local evidence
What your results say
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