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Frequency Identification Quiz

This frequency identification quiz plays a pure sine tone at a random frequency and you guess which band it sits in — from sub-bass right up to "air". Choose a difficulty (octave bands, half-octave, or one-third-octave precision) and a range, then listen and pick. After every answer you see the exact Hz, the correct band, and a one-line note, with a running score and streak.

🔊 Use headphones or good speakers at a moderate volume. This is an uncalibrated, ear- and device-dependent practice aid — your score is a personal practice metric, not a certification, test, or measurement. The tones are exact in pitch (12-TET, A4 = 440 Hz) but naming an exact frequency by ear is genuinely hard, so guessing the band is the realistic, trainable skill. Small speakers and earbuds can't reproduce the extremes (deep sub-bass below ~40 Hz or "air" above ~14 kHz), so those bands will be harder on modest gear. Your best score is saved only in this browser.

Set up the quiz

Difficulty

Frequency range

Volume: 22%

Pick a difficulty and range, then press Start quiz.

Which band is the tone in?

Session score

Correct 0

Answered 0

Accuracy 0%

Streak 0

Best accuracy is saved locally once you answer at least 5 questions.

How It Works

Each round, the quiz picks one band at random, then synthesises a clean sine tone at a random frequency inside it using the Web Audio API. The frequency is exact — pitches follow 12-tone equal temperament with A4 = 440 Hz — and the tone gets a short click-free fade in and out so nothing pops. Your job is to guess the frequency band that tone sits in by mapping what you hear onto one of the labelled choices. When you choose, the tool reveals the exact Hz, highlights the right answer, and shows a short note about what that part of the spectrum does. You can replay the tone as many times as you like before answering.

The bands come straight from how engineers carve up the spectrum. L1 uses the ten classic ISO octave centres — 31.5, 63, 125, 250, 500 Hz and 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 kHz — so each choice is a full octave wide and the differences are obvious. L2 halves that to roughly half-octave steps, and L3 goes to one-third-octave resolution, the same fine grid used on real-time analysers and graphic equalisers, where neighbouring bands are only about 26 % apart in frequency — about three semitones. The range selector (full, bass, mids, or highs) limits which bands appear, so you can drill the part of the spectrum you find hardest. If you want to explore what each of these bands actually sounds like on a real signal, the EQ Frequency Band Trainer lets you boost and cut each zone on programme material.

The labels — sub, bass, low-mid, mid, presence, brilliance, air — are the conventional, somewhat subjective vocabulary mixing engineers and audio engineers use; the boundaries between them are soft, not physical laws. What is exact is the frequency itself and the octave maths. Pitch perception is also not flat: the ear is most sensitive around 2–4 kHz and far less so at the extremes (a well-known result captured by the equal-loudness contours, ISO 226), which is part of why low and very high bands feel harder to place. This sensitivity curve also explains why psychoacoustic masking — where a loud tone hides quieter nearby sounds — is strongest in the same 2–4 kHz region. Treat this as Hz ear training practice, not a hearing test. To verify your actual hearing limits at the extremes, the Hearing Range Test sweeps from 20 Hz to 20 kHz so you can find where your personal frequency response truly starts to roll off.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I be able to name the exact Hz of a tone?

Almost no one can — naming a precise frequency by ear is extremely hard and is unrelated to musical talent. The realistic, trainable skill is placing a tone in the right band: knowing that a tone is "presence" rather than "bass". That is exactly what mixing and mastering engineers develop, and it is what this quiz drills. Start on L1 octave bands and only move to half- or third-octave once those feel easy.

Is this a hearing test or a certification?

No. It is an uncalibrated, ear- and headphone-dependent practice aid. Your score is a personal practice metric saved on your own device — not a diagnosis, an audiogram, or any kind of certificate. If you have a real concern about your hearing, see an audiologist; for calibrated work, use measurement gear.

Why do the lowest and highest bands feel so much harder?

Two reasons. First, your ears are naturally far less sensitive at the extremes than around 2–4 kHz (the equal-loudness contours, ISO 226). Second, most laptops, phones and earbuds simply can't reproduce deep sub-bass (below roughly 40–50 Hz) or the top "air" band (above about 14–16 kHz), so on modest gear you may be guessing at tones your speakers barely play. Use the best headphones you have, and consider sticking to the "mids" range on small devices.

Are the band names like "presence" and "air" official?

No — terms like sub, presence, brilliance and air are the conventional, subjective vocabulary engineers use to describe regions of the spectrum, and the lines between them are soft. What is exact here is the frequency in hertz and the octave maths behind the bands (12-TET, A4 = 440 Hz). Treat the labels as a shared shorthand, not precise definitions.

Where is my score stored? Is anything uploaded?

Nothing is uploaded and no audio is recorded — the tone is generated in your browser and played out to your speakers, full stop. Your best accuracy and your aggregate progress are stored locally in this browser's storage so the Audio Skills Progress Tracker can show your trend. Clearing your browser data, or using a private window, erases it. There is no account and no server.

How long does it take to develop reliable frequency identification skills?

Most engineers report meaningful improvement on L1 octave bands within 2–4 weeks of daily 10-minute sessions — enough to reliably distinguish bass from mids from highs. Half-octave fluency typically takes a further month. True third-octave precision, the kind needed for parametric EQ work on programme material, usually takes 6–12 months of consistent practice combined with real mixing experience. Progress is fastest when you immediately apply what you hear: after each correct answer, try generating that same frequency with a tone generator and listening in different contexts.

What does "one-third-octave" mean and why does it matter for mixing?

A one-third-octave band is a frequency range spanning a factor of 2^1/3 ≈ 1.26, meaning the upper edge is about 26 % higher than the lower edge — roughly three semitones. The full audible range fits into 30 such bands. This resolution matches the spacing on 31-band graphic equalisers and real-time analysers (RTAs), so being able to identify a tone at third-octave accuracy means you can point to the correct fader on a graphic EQ, or describe a problem frequency precisely enough for a colleague to find it. It is genuinely difficult and requires lots of practice.

Does frequency ear training transfer to real mixing on music?

Partly — and honestly less than people hope when they start. Pure-tone identification trains the perceptual categories and vocabulary (knowing "that harshness is in the 3–5 kHz presence region") but real programme material is complex: harmonics, masking, context, and room acoustics all shift how things sound. The quiz is a foundation, not a replacement for hands-on EQ practice on real tracks. For the transfer to stick, combine the quiz with the EQ Frequency Band Trainer, where you hear bands boosted on real audio, and with actual mix sessions where you correlate what you EQ with what you hear.

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