Maqam Ear Trainer
A daily ear-training app that teaches musicians to hear and produce the exact intervals of Arabic Maqam, Indian Raga, and Renaissance Just Intonation tunings, not just Western 12-TET, with reference tones drawn from each tradition.
Serious amateur musicians exploring non-Western or historical tuning systems
- Tuned interval reference tones for Bayati, Hijaz, Raga Yaman, Pythagorean thirds, and other maqam/raga intervals
- Adaptive drills that match your instrument (voice, oud, sitar, fretless strings, violin)
- "Match the drone" challenges that tune you against a tanpura or tambura
- Progress reports flagging the exact commas you consistently mis-tune
Open-source libraries like xenharmlib 0.4.0 now make authentic microtonal playback a small-build reality, and a growing wave of classical and experimental musicians are seeking authentic intonation beyond equal temperament.
Niche but proven: Bonjour Maqami launched explicitly as the 'first' maqam ear-trainer, Intonalogy is academically backed, Reelear microtones has been live since 2020, but HEE.fun shows only ~2,271 unique visitors since 2023 and microtonal trainers are absent from mainstream 2026 ear-training roundups — audience is real but small.The Best Ear Training Apps of 2026 | Sonofield Blog ↗HEE.fun - Ear Trainer ↗
Already crowded by niche direct competitors: Bonjour Maqami (Arabic), Reelear Microtones (raga/JI/bagpipe), Intonalogy (JI/ET), Xentone, Tanghīm, Maqam Notes Player — combining all three traditions is incremental differentiation, not white space.Taqsim Labs Inc. — Preserving Maqams Through Technology ↗online ear training microtones - reelear.com ↗
Limited willingness to pay — Reelear offers only 15-day free trial, Intonalogy Lite is free, most microtonal resources (Tanghīm, Maqam Notes Player, HEE.fun) are free/open-source; serious amateurs are small in number and accustomed to free tools.online ear training microtones - reelear.com ↗Intonalogy Lite - Apps on Google Play ↗
Traditions are centuries old and academic microtonal interest persists (Vanderbilt, xenharmlib on HN), but adoption outside experimental/classical niches remains slow — durable but not a growth curve.Intonalogy - Home ↗Just Intonation Network | Microtonality in 56 Keys book ↗
Technically buildable — xenharmlib 0.4.0 and Web Audio API handle microtonal playback, but sourcing culturally authentic reference tones for Arabic/Indian/Renaissance traditions requires domain experts and licensing, raising real cost.tanghim.app - Tanghīm: Arabic Maqām Tuning for any DAW ↗Hπ Instruments | xentone ↗