What “Ch!Ear” is and what it isn't
Ch!Ear is an ear training app for chord progressions.
Ch!Ear is about chord progressions. It is not about individual chords. But you will undoubtably learn a lot about individual chords, too.
Ch!Ear is about ear training. It is not a theory trainer. But you will undoubtably learn quite a bit about theory, too.
“I have a question, a suggestion or criticism. Should I write this in a review?”
I you have a question or suggestion, please send me a mail. I cannot reply to App Store reviews because I don't have your e-mail address.
Of course you are welcome to voice your thoughts in a review.
However, there is a chance that I might not completely understand a suggestion made in a review. Also, if you feel not satisfied with the app, please give me a chance to respond to that; it might simply be a misunderstanding.
“How long should I practice each level?”
As long as you feel it is necessary. You can freely decide when to proceed to the next level.
Ch!Ear will tell you when you are doing well (starting at version 1.4); but if you feel you should practice the current level longer or you think you are already doing well enough before you see any message, please follow your own judgement.
“I would like to choose which chords to practice on.”
Ch!Ear is organized in levels. Level 1 starts fairly easy and each successive level adds something new. That is how you can choose what to practice on.
Ch!Ear uses excerpts from real music (Mozart, Chopin, …) to give you realistic voice leading. It is not feasibly to cut single chords from those short excerpts. Neither would it be feasibly to disable all exercises that don't match your selection: You would quickly be left with very few or no exercises at all.
Ch!Ear is about chord progressions. Please don't think about individual chords too much. Think chord progressions, functions, voice leading.
“Why are chords entered as »chord over bass tone« rather than »chord inversion«?”
“Chord over bass tone” (e.g. C⁄G) is what you typically find in lead sheets.
Specifying the bass tone rather than the inversion makes it possible for you to start with the bass line before specifying the chords.
Ch!Ear is about chord progressions. Please don't think “chord inversion | chord inversion | chord inversion | …”. Think voice leading. Think functions. Think progressions.
“In the solution display, I would like to be able to also hear the wrong chord which I entered.”
Me too. But it's not possible.
While Ch!Ear could of course know which chord tones you might have incorrectly heard, it can't know this exactly:
- The software cannot know in which octave you heard a “non-existent” tone. This is important for voice leading, particularly for the bass line.
- In major and minor triads or seventh chords the fifth can be left out. This can make a big difference in some cases when it comes to why and how you misheard a chord. Ch!Ear has no way of knowing whether you did or did not hear the fifth of the wrong chord.
Rather than giving you a 50% solution I put in the tap-and-hold gesture for wrong chords. Please see “Examining the Solution” in the built-in help for more information about that.