Music theory and ear training for iPhone
Learn music theory by ear, five minutes a day
Daily lessons for songwriters, guitarists and pianists who already know their chords. Every question plays real piano before you answer it, from intervals to tritone substitution.
- Section 1 free forever
- Recorded grand piano
- No notation required
Section 1 · 1.2.2
What quality is this?
Recorded grand piano
Real piano samples, the same in every lesson. No synth beeps.
Every answer checked
Questions are generated by a music engine and each answer is verified by it.
78 skills
Six sections, from intervals to reharmonization.
Five minutes
One lesson a day is enough to keep a streak and move forward.
How it works
Hear it, name it, keep it
Hear it
Every question starts with sound: an interval, a chord, a cadence, a progression, played on a recorded grand piano. Replay it if you need to.
Name it
Answer in the vocabulary musicians use. Plagal cadence, V7/vi, Dorian, tritone substitution. The explanation comes after you answer, never before.
Keep it
A five minute lesson keeps your streak. Skills come back for review on a schedule that stretches as you remember them: a day, then two, four, eight.
Chord progression ear training
Hear progressions, not only intervals
The cadence jazz is built on. Each root falls a fifth, so the ear always knows where the next chord is going.
- Dm7ii7
- G7V7
- Cmaj7Imaj7
Key
- subdominant
- dominant
- tonic
Every progression in every key:chord progressions in all 12 keys.
The curriculum
Six sections, from intervals to reharmonization
Section 1Free forever
One key
Intervals, triads, the seven chords of a key, cadences and sevenths, heard until they are obvious.
- Intervals as distance
- Triads
- Diatonic harmony
- Cadences
- Seventh chords in the key
Authentic cadence, in C major
FIVG7V7CI16 skills, each a five minute lesson.
Section 2
Minor and mixture
The three minors, secondary dominants, and why a borrowed flat six sounds the way it does.
- Three minors
- Minor harmony
- Modal mixture
- Secondary dominants
- Relative and parallel
Secondary dominant, in C major
CIE7V7/viAmvi12 skills, each a five minute lesson.
Section 3
Modes
All seven modes as degrees of major, then the melodic and harmonic minor modes most courses never reach.
- Modes of major
- Hearing modes
- Avoid notes
- Modes of melodic minor
- Modes of harmonic minor
- Modal interchange
Dorian vamp, in D Dorian
Dm7i7G7IV7Dm7i7G7IV714 skills, each a five minute lesson.
Section 4
Extensions
Ninths, elevenths and thirteenths, alterations, shell voicings and tritone substitution.
- Ninths
- Elevenths and thirteenths
- Alterations
- Chord scale relationships
- Shell voicings
- Substitution
Tritone substitution, in C major
Dm7ii7Cmaj7Imaj715 skills, each a five minute lesson.
Section 5
Voice leading and modulation
Move one voice at a time. Find the chord two keys share, and plan a route from any key to any other.
- Parsimony
- Pivot chords
- Modulation types
- Routes
- Sequences
Pivot into G major, in C major
CIAmviD7V7/VGV11 skills, each a five minute lesson.
Section 6
Arrangement
Drop 2, register, reharmonisation and bass motion: the choices that turn chords into an arrangement.
- Voicing density
- Range and register
- Reharmonisation
- Bass motion
- Orchestrating a progression
ii V I in drop 2, in C major
Dm7ii7G7V7Cmaj7Imaj710 skills, each a five minute lesson.
Explore
Every chord around the one you are on
Tap any chord
Hear the move from C, and read why it works. Every line here is a relation the app computes: diatonic, secondary dominant, borrowed, chromatic.
- subdominant
- tonic
- dominant
- borrowed
- chromatic
Four lenses on one engine
Harmony
Every chord around the one you are on, grouped by what it does.
Modes
Brightness from Lydian to Locrian, and the one note that makes each mode itself.
Extensions
Which ninths, elevenths and thirteenths a chord can take, and which it cannot.
Arrangements
Four voices moving through a progression, each one soloable.
Five minutes a day
Built to be opened every day
A daily streak
It counts the days you meet your goal. Dates follow your own timezone, so midnight is yours.
A daily goal
One five minute lesson a day, or two or three if you want more.
XP
Earned for a right answer the first time you see a question, so guessing never pays faster.
Hearts
Five of them. A wrong answer costs one, and they refill on a clock.
This week
7 days
- M
- T
- W
- T
- F
- S
- S
Nothing left to do today. When the day's lesson is done, the mascot goes to sleep, and so can you.
Who it is for
Made for players, not beginners
For when the progression stalls
You know your chords and you have a verse. Tonalia teaches what usually comes next and why it works, by ear, so the next move is one you can hear before you play it.
- Secondary dominants, borrowed chords and modal mixture, heard in context
- Every chord around the one you are on, in Explore
- Copy in your vocabulary: chord symbols and roman numerals, no staff
Pricing
Section 1 free forever. One subscription for the rest.
Free
$0forever
No card, no trial clock
- All of section 1: intervals, triads, diatonic chords, cadences, sevenths
- Streaks, XP and the daily goal
- The Explore regions section 1 opens
- Best value
Annual
$89.99a year
7 days free, then $7.50 a month billed yearly
- All six sections
- Every Explore lens: Harmony, Modes, Extensions, Arrangements
- Every key, every review
Monthly
$14.99a month
Cancel any time
- Everything in Annual
- No trial, no commitment
Lifetime access is $199 once, offered for the first 90 days after launch. Prices are in US dollars; the App Store shows yours in your own currency.
Questions
Questions musicians ask
Is there an app like Duolingo for music theory?
That is close to the idea: short daily lessons, a streak, XP and hearts. The difference is that every question in Tonalia is something you hear before you answer, so what you are training is your ear, not your memory of a chart.
Do I need perfect pitch?
No. Everything in Tonalia is relative pitch: hearing what a chord does in a key, how two chords connect, which cadence you just heard. Nothing asks you to name a note out of thin air.
Do I need to read music?
No. There is no staff notation anywhere in the app. Chords are written as chord symbols and roman numerals, the way they appear on a lead sheet or a chord chart.
What should I already know?
You should be able to play a few chords on guitar or piano. Section 1 covers intervals, triads and the chords of a key; if you know them, it goes quickly. Tonalia is not built for someone who has never played.
Is section 1 really free?
Yes, forever, with no card and no trial clock. Sections 2 to 6 and the Explore lenses beyond section 1 need the subscription.
How much does it cost, and can I cancel?
Annual is $89.99 with a 7 day free trial, monthly is $14.99, and lifetime is $199 for the first 90 days after launch. Cancel any time in your App Store settings; cancel within the trial and you are not charged.
Why do I need an account?
So a subscription follows you, not your phone. Sign in with Apple, Google or an email address, and a reinstall or a new iPhone keeps what you paid for. Your lesson progress is stored on your phone.
Is it on Android or the web?
iPhone only, for now.
When can I get it?
Tonalia is in beta on TestFlight. Join the waitlist for one email when it is on the App Store, and tick the box if you want a beta invite before that.
Coming to the App Store
Start hearing harmony
Tonalia is in beta. Leave your email and we will tell you the day it is out, once.
