Piano by ear memory game
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 7 music learning apps
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.
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.
52 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 35
- criticize it
- 17
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 35 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun, engaging Simon-style practice
“This is really cool! As someone who has basically no piano training, this is fun!”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” “this Simon-style approach seems way more engaging than traditional exercises”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” “This is great, and fun, and rewarding”
Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” Good ear training and learning tool
“I could see this immediately as something to improve my skills and playing by ear”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” “I do think it's a good practice tool.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” “This is excellent training mode!”
Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” - Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear”
Simple and quick to use
“I like the simplicity of this one.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” “much cleaner for a quick exercise”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” Fills a gap for beginners
“I love it. Just bought piano to my apartment in SF and always wished simple tool like this existed.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” “great work by OP, I really needed this since a long time!”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” “Very nice, always wanted something like this.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Punitive wrong-note feedback and restarts
“it's frustrating that if you enter a wrong note, it shows a message”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” “Feels almost punitive when I make a mistake.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” “your app makes me start from the beginning for every mistake, so it becomes a little difficult”
Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” - Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear”
Unpolished, frustrating user experience
“the user experience is incredibly frustrating for amateur players like myself”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” “Great technical demo, but the usability feels unpolished.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” Help button overlaps the keyboard
“Absolutely awesome. Move the help button off the keyboard.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” “Click the "?" on the game to see the AI slop popup dialogs blocking other popup dialogs.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” “The help question mark over part of the keyboard isn't great.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” Doesn't explain rules or teach
“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.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear” “there's no attempt to actually teach you and it's all very generic”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear”
Other music learning apps people recommend
The four most recommended other music learning apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piano by ear memory gameThis page | 35 | 17 | 67% | 4 | — | Approved |
| OnKey | 23 | 4 | 85% | 1 | — | — |
| Music Theory for Programmers | 13 | 4 | 76% | 2 | — | — |
| Soundslice | 9 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Vocal Guide | 7 | 4 | 64% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 56 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“specifically to help some of my more classically trained friends get better at playing piano by ear”
“It's a really great experience, exploring to fill out the notes.”
“This is great, and fun, and rewarding”
“your app makes me start from the beginning for every mistake, so it becomes a little difficult”
“too complicated for a beginner”
“This is excellent training mode!”
“Great idea! Small nitpick, on my phone the last played key remains highlighted after the "Wrong" message.”
“great work by OP, I really needed this since a long time!”
“this Simon-style approach seems way more engaging than traditional exercises”
“the fidelity of the sound is superb”
“not being able to select a subset of intervals to train heavily limits how useful this is”
“Absolutely awesome. Move the help button off the keyboard.”
“I love it. Just bought piano to my apartment in SF and always wished simple tool like this existed.”
“I do think it's a good practice tool.”
“What a fantastic way to engage kids in particular.”
“I recommend going into settings and only choosing the key of C major”
“much cleaner for a quick exercise”
“This is really cool! As someone who has basically no piano training, this is fun!”
“I don't think any of that diminishes the utility of what's here.”
“The help question mark over part of the keyboard isn't great.”
“Feels almost punitive when I make a mistake.”
“Fun app! One of the things I wish it had if it can record the ambient notes and match it”
“I think you really created something awesome”
“Click the "?" on the game to see the AI slop popup dialogs blocking other popup dialogs.”
“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.”
“Great technical demo, but the usability feels unpolished.”
“it's frustrating that if you enter a wrong note, it shows a message”
“There is a big difference between failing to do the whole pattern and failing the first note”
“I generally think this particularly one is a good thing.”
“This is great - bookmarked!”
“Often it's not dumb or trivial, you're missing context and experience to see the value.”
“this is a great learning tool”
“the user experience is incredibly frustrating for amateur players like myself”
“I could see this immediately as something to improve my skills and playing by ear”
“I get a Cloudflare SSL handshake failed error -- feels like a classical vibecode bug”
“the frequent blinking feels a bit distracting”
“there's no attempt to actually teach you and it's all very generic”
“This is a nice way to try to improve it.”
“Very nice, always wanted something like this.”
“I like the simplicity of this one.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.