# Piano by ear memory game

35 Hacker News commenters recommended Piano by ear memory game and 17 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** A fun, simple Simon-style game for practicing playing piano by ear, especially useful for beginners. Critics say the wrong-note feedback feels punitive and the interface feels unpolished.

## Why people recommend it

- Fun, engaging Simon-style practice (3 comments): "This is really cool! As someone who has basically no piano training, this is fun!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46558741)) "this Simon-style approach seems way more engaging than traditional exercises" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46559252)) "This is great, and fun, and rewarding" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46563743))
- Good ear training and learning tool (4 comments): "I could see this immediately as something to improve my skills and playing by ear" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46557273)) "I do think it's a good practice tool." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46559033)) "This is excellent training mode!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46561484))
- Simple and quick to use (2 comments): "I like the simplicity of this one." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46556775)) "much cleaner for a quick exercise" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46558912))
- Fills a gap for beginners (3 comments): "I love it. Just bought piano to my apartment in SF and always wished simple tool like this existed." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46559057)) "great work by OP, I really needed this since a long time!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46559290)) "Very nice, always wanted something like this." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46556838))

## What people warn about

- Punitive wrong-note feedback and restarts (4 comments): "it's frustrating that if you enter a wrong note, it shows a message" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46557738)) "Feels almost punitive when I make a mistake." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46558341)) "your app makes me start from the beginning for every mistake, so it becomes a little difficult" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46563036))
- Unpolished, frustrating user experience (2 comments): "the user experience is incredibly frustrating for amateur players like myself" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46557297)) "Great technical demo, but the usability feels unpolished." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46557815))
- Help button overlaps the keyboard (3 comments): "Absolutely awesome. Move the help button off the keyboard." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46559169)) "Click the "?" on the game to see the AI slop popup dialogs blocking other popup dialogs." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46558004)) "The help question mark over part of the keyboard isn't great." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46558584))
- Doesn't explain rules or teach (2 comments): "But you don't get the concept of a 'fourth' or a 'fifth' and there's never a moment where the actual rules are explained." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46557966)) "there's no attempt to actually teach you and it's all very generic" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46557168))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [OnKey](https://hackerapproved.com/p/onkey.md): 23 recommend
- [Music Theory for Programmers](https://hackerapproved.com/p/music-theory-for-programmers.md): 13 recommend
- [Soundslice](https://hackerapproved.com/p/soundslice.md): 9 recommend
- [Vocal Guide](https://hackerapproved.com/p/vocal-guide.md): 7 recommend
- [musictheory.net](https://hackerapproved.com/p/musictheory-net.md): 6 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Piano by ear memory game", https://hackerapproved.com/p/piano/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).