The test uses the same adaptive staircase method used in hearing research: answer correctly and the gap between the two tones shrinks; miss, and it widens. After twelve rounds the gap has zeroed in on your personal threshold. Most people land between 5 and 15 cents on a first attempt — and improve quickly, because pitch discrimination is a skill, not a fixed talent.
Two tones will play, one after the other. Your job: say whether the second one was higher or lower. Each correct answer shrinks the gap — 12 rounds zero in on the smallest difference your ear can catch. Headphones recommended.
Tips for an honest score
- Use headphones — laptop and phone speakers smear fine pitch differences.
- Quiet room. Background noise masks exactly the subtleties you’re listening for.
- Don’t rush the answer. Let the second tone finish, then decide. You can replay the pair.
- Guess when unsure — that’s part of the method. The staircase expects it and corrects for it.
What your number means
A cent is 1/100 of a semitone, and a tuner considers a string “in tune” within about ±3 cents. If your threshold is 10 cents, differences smaller than that are invisible to your ear when notes play in sequence — but here’s the encouraging part: when two notes ring together, beating makes far smaller errors audible to anyone. That’s the trick behind tuning by ear, and it’s why training with this game transfers directly to real tuning.
Come back tomorrow and beat your best. When you’re ready to put your ears to work, the chromatic tuner is one tap away.