I am a beginner music theory student. From my experience, this app can be used for beginners on to practice theory learned elsewhere. It does not include theory lessons but instead contains many different kinds of customizable testing and practice tools. Some of the tools are not configured for beginners, (or perhaps simply not configured is a better description), and can be overwhelming if you just start using them out of the box. You can simply change the parameters to fit your skill level. There are a number of different tools for practicing notation reading, keyboard and fretboard identification, ear training, and more. For me as a self study music theory student this is really an excellent tool, which I imagine will remain useful as I continue to get more and more advanced. My thanks to the developers for being so thoughtful, this is a really helpful app for me and I expect one of the best practice tools for music theory learners.
I’m not new to Tenuto as I purchased the app shortly after its original release years ago in order to keep practicing the skills I gained during my undergrad music studies. As a professional musician and guitar teacher now, I thought I’d finally leave a review for this magnificent app that is simply invaluable to anyone who is striving to become a well-rounded musician. If you are a musician, fledgling artist, music student at any level, get this app! The training you can put yourself through by adding a few minutes of ear training or sightreading training to your practice routine will be invaluable - you’ll really be on top of your game in theoretical knowledge, when playing with others, etc. It’s the real deal! As I continue using it in my routine, I always find it useful and recommend it to all of my students. It’s an app truly worthy to stay on your phone, unlike many other throwaway apps.
I love this app and the note identification ear training helps me a lot. I just wish there was a mode where it plays a chord and you have to choose exactly what chord it is, kind of like the note identification. There is a mode where you pick what type of chord (major, minor, etc) but there isn’t a mode where you chose what chord it actually is (c major, d# minor). For now I just have to close my eyes and press there random notes on the piano for that, so I hope that is something they add in the app later. But even without that this app is amazing and was 100% worth the purchase.
I’ve always had a passion for music and over the last year I‘ve been trying to learn Piano, Guitar and Bass guitar. I struggled with reading Grand Staff, fretboard identification and chord/scale identification on frets and piano. But this app’s customizable exercises let me practice all these things at ANY time. Waiting for lunch? Practice time. Long Uber ride? Practice time. Hiding from my boss in the bathroom? Practice time. After a few months I could read music and I could identify notes on the fretboard. Now I’m working on chord and scale identifications on the fretboard and my music theory has progressed substantially. I told my teacher about the app and he was excited that you even had the option to learn in Solfege. His only request from the Tenuto team is to update the Solfege to use di, ra, ri etc instead of Do#, Re#, Reb etc. My teacher has sold this app to 4 of his students so far and they have reported substantial improvement in sight reading. Must have app. Worth every penny.
This app by far is the best one there is. I think I paid $4 for it but I can use it forever. You can adjust the activity to a few things or everything. For example if you want to identify certain scales or chords you can select a few you want to practice on or practice all of them. One thing I wish they would add is an analysis activity. They have the analysis calculator (which helps a lot) but it’d be cool to add the analysis activity so we can practice on that instead of going to the calculator. Other than that everything is perfect. Will update in a few months if anything changes!
I love this app, it’s extremely useful! I really like how customizable all the exercises are. I just have minor suggestions for new content. I wish it had rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic dictation exercises. It’d also be cool to have learning and interactive part writing exercises, like writing a piece and being able to play it with a play button to see how it sounds. Also, maybe some exercises regarding form like periods, cadences, etc. More music theory 2 & 3 stuff basically. Teoría has dictation exercises but I have to go on their website and I like Tenuto’s style for personalization a lot better.
This is an awesome tool if you want to practice many events of music theory on the go - certainly worth the price of the app. The only feedback I could give would be in the “interval identification” section. It would be cool to be able to spread the notes more horizontally as they appear in real sheet music. In the current version the notes appear right on top of each other in a vertical line. Adding some horizontal space would be more applicable to reading music out in the wild.
This app is decent for ear training and maybe discovering new chords (as a beginner). That said, as many others have pointed out in the reviews for an actual decade, it does not provide explanations for anything. It really doesn’t teach except to be able to recognize intervals and chords etc. It’s like having an encyclopedia but with only images. There’s no explanation or details saying why that image is there, and what it’s used for. Additionally, why are there no 9th or 11th chords? And it would be very nice to add inversions as well. Please, considering this is $5, make some improvements to this because it has so much potential!
This app is highly sophisticated, allowing you to customize each exercise for difficulty and many other parameters. It performs flawlessly ( the developer worked for Apple ), and the graphics are stunning. Each exercise is realistic and as demanding as you wish... you can go to advanced levels if you wish. Everything that is important and relevant to music theory is here. I grade this app A++, and I am very happy that I found it, I’m using it every day.
Idk why I’m just now writing a review for this app as I’ve had it for years lol but this is the only thing that kept me going in my music degree. It helped me immensely with music theory and ear training classes. I even double checked my work in this app using the calculators. I recommend this app to anyone I come across who is a musician or music major. Best app ever, I don’t know if I could live without it!!
I have dozens of music apps on my phone. By far, this is the one I open and use the most. It offers so many things and the look, layout and design is wonderful! It’s Easy to use and intuitive. I’m a guitar player and the hours I’ve spent doing fretboard exercises alone has made this app priceless to me. I credit this app with helping me finally memorize the notes on the fretboard. Thanks to the developers. Keep up the great work!
First thing you'll notice is the simplicity of the menu. No frills. Gets you right in the action. So much stuff to do without feeling overwhelming. Exercises for keyboard and fretboard. Very fast response, no slow down what so ever. Every exercise I've tried so far has a practice mode and challenge mode. Ear training is fun to use. No complaints whatsoever. Well worth $3.99
This is a great app - one of the best sight-reading/ear-training apps on the market. However, it REALLY needs an autoplay function. Having to press buttons on the screen makes this app impractical for sight-reading practice with an instrument. If the user had the option of an ‘autoplay’ function, in which notes/intervals/chords were flashed at a rate of say, one per second, without having to touch the screen, the app’s usefulness as a practice aid would be hugely improved. Please consider!
Probably, the best of its kind. Improvements? Key change customization in the Keyboard Chord Identification exercise. Nice dark theme, but the exercise staffs, clefs, notes, etc., should be white on dark grey or black. Because the dark mode as it is, defeats the purpose: one’s eyes adjust to a dark room, you launch the app in dark mode and your eyes are fine, but once the exercise is presented your shocked with bright white light and the entire dark mode thing is moot.
This app has not only helped me, an experienced piano player, but I have used it with my piano students for ear training and reading and it has helped them a lot. The only thing I think could improve the app was that if there was a teaching mode. For example, if someone doesn’t know what the Aeolian scale is, there could be a place in the app where they can go for a reference. Other than that, the app is simply a blessing. Thank you
Hi, Love the app so much, it’s taught me a bunch. I like how for example in sheet music interval identification the treble and bass are lined up by middle C so it gives you a sense of that link between them, but it would also be wonderful to have a setting making them farther apart, as they usually are in sheet music, and practice naming those intervals between clefs even with that extra distance.
No doubt, the app is well laid out and super helpful. Wether you are just brushing up sight reading or pushing your theory brain a little there’s plenty good. I would love to be able to have the same app with SRS learning built into it’s quizing. Essentially the stuff you get right you see less often, the stuff you get wrong comes up more frequent. Just that little tweak to the next-in-queue selection process would really be helpful.
I’d recommend it to anyone interested in learning music
I got this app because the online version had so many features, I thought the app would have more than I could imagine. It was very close, I would like it to have a rhythm transcriber with a metronome in the calculator section. Other than that, it’s a great app, worthy of every star.
It’s the perfect way to reinforce what I’m learning while I’m away from the keyboard. I went from functionally illiterate to having a fluid ability to read within a couple weeks. I’m getting key signatures down, and reinforcing my understanding of modes along the way! But MOST importantly, this app didn’t spam me for a review ONCE!
This app is simply awesome. I had tried the web version and was very impressed by all the possibilities. However, in order to be the ultimate app for music learning for all levels, it should enable the use of instruments through MIDI, so that the users can learn to sightread. In addition, some rhythm exercises would be a great addition to the app. Looking forward to future updates!!!
If you are a guitarist and you are purchasing this app to use the various calculators, be aware, there is no fretboard tool included at all. There is only staff or a keyboard. If you are trying to find a tool to help you calculate and visualize chords, scales, intervals, etc on a guitar fretboard, this isn’t going to do it for you. If you are a pianist, or you are quite knowledgeable about staff and written music, this app could be a life saver. As a guitarist not very familiar with a keyboard or written music, i’m very disappointed with this app.
It has everything you need! So much customization allows you do hit your weeks spots. The only features I would add is maybe some sort of way for the app to suggest areas where you are weak. Maybe a guided path to master some things like intervals. And maybe some explanations.
I love how many little settings you can tweak here and there. By removing the reference tones at the beginning of some of the exercises, I've been able to brush up on my pitch memory and relative pitch to get an approximation of perfect pitch. I love how many instruments it gives you to pick from. No other ear training app comes close to the quality of this app.
I really enjoy this app. I have had it for around eight years and have been consistently satisfied with its performance. I love how customizable it is so that any user can make meaningful progress. I would like it if there were a chord progression ear training exercise, but otherwise I can’t think of any way this app could be better. Excellent!
Normally I don’t write reviews but my God I’ve been wanting an app like this for the longest time. I’ve gone through so many bad music theory apps I almost gave up but this is completely worth the money. Beautiful interface, perfect for guitarists/piano players wanting to learn music theory/read music or even vocalists as well.
I use most of the tools in this app and they have been very helpful. I have played guitar for decades but didn’t put in a lot of time in theory. This app helps with things like interval identification and even note identification on the neck, among other things. Very nicely made. I recommend it for a useful way to improve your knowledge of sight reading and general theory.
I love this robust, straightforward app -- it's a fantastic way to learn even if you only put in a few minutes a day. When I've got a little free time, instead of popping over to my favorite news sites to see how the world is falling apart, I open up Tenuto and learn some music stuff. Great app all around!
The exercises in this app are great for someone approaching music theory, or for someone wanting to touch up on chord ID or ear training. The calculators are indeed handy, but there should be exercises for Roman numeral analysis, or cadence ID, and other advanced music theory practice. Other than that, great app. Would recommend for beginner music theory study.
As a person who plays the drums, I don’t really get to train my ears or read notes in terms of scales, chords and so on. This app is a perfect little tool to help my eyes and ears become more familiar with, recognizing, and understanding different sounds besides what the drums can produce. The app is simple and clean, easy to use and you can customize many things in it.
I use this app primarily for learning to read C-clefs as part of my conducting endeavors, and this app has helped me so much with my reading speed. There are so many different modes to train yourself and you can be fully in charge of what you want the challenges to be (time, accidentals, line/space notes etc.)
I think Tenuto has great ear training exercises. I use them almost everyday 10 minutes on chords, scales, intervals, and notes. It has great benefits from training that can really be translated into real world hearing experiences. I love this app. I’d buy it 5 times the price of it now and the ear training works very well. 4 stars since it doesn’t have as many scales and chords as id like it to.
Every musician should have this app under their belt. You can’t beat the knowledge and the skills you get with consistently using this app. Do it for like 5 minutes instead of checking social media, and you’ll thank yourself that you did.
I'm not a teacher, but I love using this app to keep my ear training sharp. Also the guitar fretboard exercise is AWESOME. The ability to improve your guitar skills without a guitar in your hand is such a valuable resource. Only adjustment I would make is have the user name specific chords on the chord fretboard exercise, not just chord types. And add bass and mandolin/violin :)
I would urge my school district to purchase this if: - completed assignment score would automatically be entered into the district gradebook - the piano pop-up from the website (especially the mark feature) was included - more control over levels for excercises. For instance, level 3 to level 4 can be quite a leap!
I'm using this right now to review notes since I haven't played my clarinet since high school(on a regular basis). I'm now learning more music theory so these exercises will be a big help. The key signature recognition is great. As soon as I get a chance to use the rest of the exercises I will leave a second feedback.
I have a bunch of other piano and sight reading apps. This one does everything they do and more, and does most of it better than any of the others. Stop looking and just download this one - it’s the best one, and it’s cheaper than buying all the others that I bought.
My experience with Tenuto has been great. As a guitar player (also working an 8-5) having the opportunity to train my ears while I'm away from the axe has proven invaluable in my overall improvement as a musician. The app is incredibly user-friendly and customizable. Keep up the great work guys!
There are so many different ways to quiz your brain on identification and reverse identification of chords, scales, notes, etc. Daily use of this *will* especially strengthen your aural identification of intervals, and of everything else. Customization is generously allowed; no part of this app needs improvement!
The user interface is smooth and clean with no lag. The exercises in this app are very helpful! Each exercise is straight forward and helps drastically with memorizing notes, chords, and basically anything to do with music since this app has it all.
This app has been absolutely phenomenal for me especially as a music major! Whenever I was having trouble identifying an interval or chord, I could literally get on the app and drill myself over and over until I callus hear the difference and it has made me a better musician!!
The exercises work great for my ear training and theory practice. However, I’d like to see a better way of measuring and viewing score progress over a longer period of time. You should be able to see old scores within the app and something like a graph that shows your progress would work too.
I’m learning electric bass and this is helping so much! Instead of playing solitaire or Tetris, or doomscrolling IG, I work the fretboard ID exercises. Turns idle time into music practice even when I’m miles away from my guitar. I’m so glad I found this!
I’m an adult music baby. Been playing piano just over 2 years and am finally learning theory 🤩 I’ve been using this app to help my ear training mostly, but now that I have learned a small bit of theory, this app is proving to be very useful! Absolutely worth it.
I tried a couple of free ear training apps and found them frustrating and discouraging. I won’t say it’s fun but it doesn’t turn me off of the process of ear training.
Been using the website for years so I decided to support them and buy there app. Now I don’t need an internet connection. Great app for teaching I use it for all my students
This app is amazing for so many applications! I love it as a memorization tool for sight reading fretboard and sheet music notes. By gamifying the practice sessions, you can master these areas, which are tough to practice as effectively via any other means.
I’ve found Tenuto helps me a great deal in ear training. I’m at an elementary level, so do only intervals and occasionally scales. In short, I’m so far using only a small fraction of the app’s potential. One suggestion: it would be useful to be able to train descending intervals as well as ascending.
Honestly I’m blown away by how much settings you can adjust with each exercise. I’m a total beginner and I recognize how far this will take me. I tried a few free ones and nothing comes close. If you are serious about music get this app.
The functionality of this app could not be any better. From learning to mastering notes this app will do everything you need it to and more. So helpful! I could not have spent my money in a better way!
This app helps you learn everything you need to play your instrument and understand music theory. My piano teacher recommended it and she’s the best, but if I had to go without one of them for a while, I’d keep this first!
Tenuto is a collection of 24 highly-customizable exercises designed to enhance your musicality. From recognizing chords on a keyboard to identifying intervals by ear, it has an exercise for you. Tenuto also includes six musical calculators for accidentals, intervals, scales, chords, analysis symbols, and twelve-tone matrices. A short description of the exercises and calculators follows. For a full list of all available customizations, visit the "Developer Website" link on this page or open http://tenuto.link/features/ in your web browser. –––––– • Note Identification • Key Signature Identification • Interval Identification • Scale Identification • Chord Identification Tap the button corresponding to the written staff line. For example: if shown a C, E, and G with a sharp; tap the "Augmented Triad" button. –––––– • Note Construction • Key Signature Construction • Interval Construction • Scale Construction • Chord Construction Construct the specified label by moving notes and/or adding accidentals. For example: if shown a C and an "Augmented 4th" label, move the second note to F and add a sharp. –––––– • Keyboard Reverse Identification Tap the piano key corresponding to the written note on the staff. While similar to Note Identification, this exercise uses a piano keyboard rather than note name buttons. • Keyboard Note Identification • Keyboard Interval Identification • Keyboard Scale Identification • Keyboard Chord Identification Tap the button corresponding to the highlighted piano key(s). If the C and G keys are highlighted, tap the "P5" (Perfect 5th) button. –––––– • Fretboard Note Identification • Fretboard Interval Identification • Fretboard Scale Identification • Fretboard Chord Identification Tap the button corresponding to the marked fretboard position(s). If the 2nd fret of the D string is marked, tap the "E" button. –––––– • Keyboard Ear Training • Note Ear Training Listen to the played reference and question notes. Select the piano key or note button corresponding to the question note. • Interval Ear Training • Scale Ear Training • Chord Ear Training Tap the button corresponding to the played notes. If E and F are played, tap the "Minor 2nd" button. –––––– • Accidental Calculator Display the accidental for a note and key. • Interval Calculator Display the interval for a note, type, and key. • Chord Calculator Display the scale for a tonic and scale type. • Chord Calculator Display the chord for a note, type, and key. • Analysis Calculator Display the chord for a symbol and key. • Matrix Calculator Display the twelve-tone matrix for a specified tone row.
