Tone bills itself as a perfect-pitch trainer, but you don’t need lofty musical ambitions to enjoy using it. The app turns a basic ear-training exercise—where you try to identity a note that’s played after hearing a reference tone—into a beat-the-clock game. It’s handy for budding musicians or anyone who aspires to belt out the harmony to “Happy Birthday” at a family gathering.
Tone starts each round by playing a reference pitch so your ears can get their bearings. Then it plays another note selected at random. Your goal: to tap the name of the note before the timer runs out.
The faster you do, the more points you earn. But be careful—once you make three mistakes, it’s game over.
Tone keeps things relatively simple in the beginning, playing one of only five notes—C, D, E, F, and G—by default. But you can easily modify the settings to increase the challenge.
Expand to a full eight-note major or minor scale, or a 12-note chromatic one. And if you’re feeling especially confident, lift the one-octave limit and have Tone choose notes spanning up to three.
Budding piano players will appreciate that the app displays notes on a keyboard, with each key labeled. And if you’d rather not be subjected to the pressure of the timer, turn on Practice mode and listen and ponder as long as you need to.
So can Tone bestow upon you the coveted gift of perfect pitch? Hard to say. But the app does make attempting to acquire the skill a lot of fun.