Yes, the iPhone/iTouch is amazing. 100,000+ Apps. A lot for free. There are a few diamonds in the ruff, and this one is looking like another find.
RelativePitch is an an iTouch/iPhone app that will drill you on intervals. There is a lite version of it as well. The interface is OK, but I have a few complaints about it. The application does not, at least in the lite version, allow you to vary the root note. Maybe the full version does this, I dunno. Second, the intervals are always UP, as in root then the note above. Down would be a great thing to have in this app as well. Perhaps the full version does it. It would be simple enough to add in an update.
The price? $7.99. Forget that. If the developer knocked it down to $1.99, maybe. You’d be better off searching the web for various free trainers, like http://www.trainear.com/. Hopefully someone will do a better version for the iTouch/iPhone soon. Or a cheaper version. $7.99. Come on people!
Hi Eric,
Thanks for posting about RelativePitch. I can confirm that the full version does support both random, and chosen root notes. It also lets you train and test ascending, descending and harmonic intervals.
RelativePitchLite is meant as a free and easy introduction to interval training, so it doesn’t provide the full feature set. I think most people who spend time training with RelativePitch find that $7.99 isn’t all that much to pay for the improvements you’ll find in your hearing!
I hope you’ll give it a try 🙂
Christopher Sutton
(Developer of RelativePitch)
Ok, this is good to know.
Sadly, I’d disagree on the price. That is still highway robbery. If you’d price it $1.99, or $2.99 that would sell. I mean, I can get Harmonic Ear Trainer for $1.99…which also does chords. Or Maestro Music Trainer for $1.99…..
So….$7.99? Really?
Ah, App Store pricing… It’s a really interesting debate. There’s been a ‘race to the bottom’ in terms of pricing, and I think it’s set the expectation that phone apps aren’t worth much – When in fact they can be far more useful and rewarding than a lot of full-price desktop software!
Of course you’re entitled to your opinion, but in the case of RelativePitch, I think ‘highway robbery’ is putting it a bit strongly!
Yes, there are other apps priced lower – but that doesn’t mean that’s all each app is worth. To be perfectly honest, I would say both of the apps you mention are worth more than their asking price, but that’s up to their authors to decide.
RelativePitch is a tool that can really help musicians get more out of music. It’s not an overstatement to say that the benefits it can provide when used regularly can last a lifetime. I think that’s worth the price of a CD!
The fact that a lot of apps in the App Store are priced very low doesn’t change the value of this app. There are a lot of ‘throwaway’ apps, which you might buy, use briefly, and then never spend time with again – $1-$2 is a good price point for these.
I think the free RelativePitchLite lets users determine whether they’ll get a lot of use out of RelativePitch – and if so, $7.99 really isn’t that much to spend!
That’s my opinion, anyway 🙂
Well, I think $7.99 for the limited features that the program has makes it not worth it. Maybe $2.99. Or $1.99.
For a $7.99 program I expect a lot more. Heck, IamTPain has more features and I paid $1.99.
Oh, and who buys CDs anymore? I mean, really, I haven’t bought a physical CD in about 4 or more years.