App Detail » EarMan HD

Published by: Arthur Roolfs

iPad App - Designed for iPad

Price: $3.99
Current Version: 1.7.6
Released: April 15, 2010

What's New

This version adds a user selectable playback indicator option and further improves support for iOS 10.

App Description

A good ear is the key to musicianship and it all starts with intervals. This is why we made EarMan. EarMan is an affordable, no-nonsense application that can help anyone improve their skills with a structured curriculum and fully customizable practice sessions. Completing a training session in EarMan takes about 1-2 minutes, only a fraction of a typical tutored lesson. All sessions are graded immediately and results are made available in the results section of the application.

Beginners need not worry about the terminology of ear training, intervals and the such. Before any session, the answer buttons (and mostly there are only two at first) can be used to play back an interval so one can memorize it.

There are two basic training modes in EarMan, the Quick Session and the Curriculum.
Quick Sessions offer a way for “spot learning”. Interval set, range and playback direction are configured on the fly. These sessions are available at any time and can used to practice just in between or to prepare for the next Curriculum session.
EarMan's Curriculum is a structured lesson plan of 105 sessions that begins with one interval set in a narrow range. Once a Curriculum session is completed with a grade of 80% or higher the next interval set is introduced, eventually the range is widened and the playback mode advanced.

A major key concept in EarMan is that of the interval set. Taking sevenths as an example, a session will first test you on major and minor sevenths. Eventually however unisons and octaves will be introduced as well and finally complementary intervals.

Range is another topic EarMan focusses on. Intervals smaller than an octave are typically easier to identify than wider ones. Therefore EarMan lets you customize Quick Sessions in regards to range and introduces wider ranges gradually in the Curriculum.

Much thought went into the design of this application. There are high resolution playback samples, a "calm interface" designed to keep you focussed on the sound, interval songs to help memorize the base intervals, but above all EarMan is meant to be a constant companion. Like many things ear training needs to be done on a regular basis to truly yield results and that makes the iPhone an ideal platform for this program.

Features
- Structured Training Program with 105 Sessions
- Fully Configurable Quick Sessions
- High Quality Samples
- Music Notation
- Silent Mode (for Practicing Intervals Visually)
- Interval Songs as Mnemonic Aid
- Calm Interface
- Incorporation of Complementary Intervals
- Selectable Playback Range and Direction
- Automatic Grading of Sessions
- Detailed Reports

For additional screenshots and videos of the application in action, please visit the website indicated below. You also might want to download EarMan's free companion application EarTester to gauge your current skill level.