Relative Pitch Trainer
Hear a reference note (its name is announced), then a target note, and identify the target by its note name or by the interval between them. Every round picks a random key, so you train the skill that actually transfers to music: judging pitches relative to each other. Three progressive levels take you from simple intervals inside one octave up to short 2–3 note melodic patterns.
ℹ This is an uncalibrated, headphone- and ear-dependent practice aid, not a test, certification or diagnosis. The notes are exact in 12-tone equal temperament with A4 = 440 Hz, so the music theory is precise — but whether you hear a tone cleanly depends on your speakers/headphones and listening level. Relative pitch (hearing the distance between notes) is a learnable skill at any age; it is distinct from absolute (“perfect”) pitch, which is naming a note with no reference. Your scores are a personal practice metric and are stored only in your own browser. Use a moderate volume.
Your answer
Choose a level and answer mode, then press New round. Headphones or good speakers at a moderate volume work best.
Your best streak and lifetime accuracy are saved only in this browser. “End & log session” records the session to the Audio Skills Progress Tracker (also local).
How It Works
Every round, the trainer picks a random reference note somewhere in the comfortable middle of the keyboard and plays it — its name is shown and announced (for example, “C4”). It then plays a target note a chosen interval away. Because the starting key changes each time, you can’t lean on remembering an absolute pitch; you have to judge the target relative to the reference. That is exactly what musicians do when they play by ear, harmonise, or transcribe a melody.
All pitches are generated in 12-tone equal temperament with the standard concert reference A4 = 440 Hz. Each note’s frequency comes from the exact formula f = 440 × 2(m − 69)/12, where m is the MIDI note number (so A4 = 69). A semitone is one step of that ratio (21/12, about 100 cents); an octave is exactly a doubling of frequency. The tones are synthesised with the Web Audio API using a short click-free fade in and out, so changing notes never produces a pop.
The three levels
Level 1 keeps the target within one octave of the reference and draws from the friendlier intervals (unisons, thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths and the octave). Level 2 opens up to any interval within an octave in either direction, ascending or descending, including the trickier tritone, sevenths and minor seconds. Level 3 plays a short 2–3 note melodic pattern after the reference and asks you to identify where the pattern lands relative to the reference — a first taste of melodic dictation. In every level you can answer by note name (relative to the reference) or by interval, and replay the reference, the target, or both as often as you like.
Scoring
The scoreboard tracks your running score, accuracy and current/best streak for the session. Best streak and lifetime accuracy persist in your browser’s local storage so you can see progress over time, and “End & log session” writes a session summary that the Audio Skills Progress Tracker can aggregate. Nothing is uploaded; clearing your browser data (or using private mode) erases it. These numbers are a personal practice metric — a friendly way to measure your own improvement, not a certification or diagnosis.