No headphones · 4 levels · 10 notes a round
Pitch matching game
Hear a note, hold it in your head, then sing it back: straight away at first, then after a longer wait at each level. No headphones needed, because the note stops before you sing.
How to use it
- Pick Low voice or High voice, tap Play note and allow the microphone. Listen to the note; from level 2, a countdown follows while you hold it in your head. At Sing now, sing it back and hold it steady until the ring fills.
- You see how close you were, in cents, and Next note plays another; Hear it again repeats the last one. Ten notes make a round. Level, at the top, sets the wait: none, 2, 5 or 10 seconds.
The levels
Each level makes the silence between hearing the note and singing it longer. Level 1 is plain pitch matching; the waits turn it into pitch memory. Low voice picks notes from C3 to C4, High voice from A3 to C5, never the same note twice in a row.
| Level | The wait | What it trains |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | None: sing straight back | Matching a note you've just heard |
| 2 | 2 seconds | Holding a note for a breath, like a starting note after the pitch pipe |
| 3 | 5 seconds | Keeping a note in your head while you get ready |
| 4 | 10 seconds | Remembering a note through a long silence |
How close counts
A cent is a hundredth of a semitone, so 50 cents is halfway to the next note. The game waits until you've held a note steady for just over half a second, so the slide in at the start doesn't count, then judges it.
| Result | How far from the note | Counts toward the score |
|---|---|---|
| Spot on | Within 15 cents | Yes |
| Close | Within 35 cents | Yes |
| Nearly | Within 50 cents | No |
| Off | More than 50 cents | No |
How to get better at matching pitch
Hear it, think it, hum it, sing it. After the note plays, hear it again in your head before you make a sound. Humming first helps many people find the note gently. If you land off, slide until it matches, then try again from silence without sliding.
Stay in your easy range: pick Low voice or High voice to suit you. If nothing registers for a few seconds after Sing now, the game says so; sing a little louder or come closer, and Try again plays the same note.
Pitch matching, relative pitch and perfect pitch
Pitch matching is singing back a note you heard. Relative pitch is hearing the distance between two notes, the skill an interval trainer builds. Perfect pitch is naming a note with no reference at all, which few people have.
In a choir pitch memory counts for a lot: the pitch pipe sounds, you find your starting note, and you keep it in your head through the count-in while every other part finds theirs.
Free tools by Stackapella
You matched one note. Now match a whole part.
Stackapella teaches you to sing harmony one part at a time, right in your browser.
- A guide sings your partHear your line over the others, slow it down, then take your turn.
- Your notes light upEach note shows where you landed, and a hint when to go up or down.
- Record every part yourselfStack your takes in time until you're the whole choir.
- Every course free
- Open source
- No ads, no tracking
Questions
What is pitch matching, and why does it matter for singing?
Pitch matching is singing back a note you've just heard, at the same pitch. It's the first step to singing in tune: in a choir you match the note you're given, then hold your own while the other parts move. It's a skill, so it gets better with practice.
How do I get better at matching pitch?
Practise a little and often, on notes in your easy range. A method many teachers use: hear the note, think it, hum it, then sing it, and if you're off, slide until it matches, then try again without sliding. Start at level 1 here, and move up a level once most of your notes come out Spot on or Close.
Why can't I match pitch? Am I tone deaf?
Probably not. True tone deafness, called amusia, is uncommon; most people who struggle to match pitch can hear that two notes differ, and haven't yet learned to steer their voice onto the note. This game tests singing a note back, not hearing, so a low score is a starting point, not a verdict.
What is pitch memory, and how is it different from perfect pitch?
Pitch memory is holding a note you've just heard in your head long enough to sing it back. Perfect pitch, or absolute pitch, is naming or singing a note with no reference at all. This game trains pitch memory, and its higher levels make you hold the note longer.
Is this a perfect pitch test?
No. Perfect pitch means knowing a note with nothing to compare it to, and here you always hear the note first. It tests how well you sing a note back, which is what singing in a group needs.
Can you learn perfect pitch as an adult?
It's debated. Full perfect pitch is usually linked to musical training in early childhood, but adults can get much better at remembering pitches, such as a song's starting note, with regular practice. That kind of pitch memory is what this game and Perfect your pitch, in the app, train.
Do I need headphones?
No. The note stops before you sing, so the microphone never hears it: a phone speaker is fine. That's the difference from sing-along tests, which play while you sing and so ask for headphones.
Why does it say I sang an octave lower?
You sang the right note in a different octave, and that counts: it says "an octave lower, fine". It's common when a lower voice sings back a higher note. To make the octave count, turn on Strict octave under More.
How close is "spot on"?
Within 15 cents of the note, a cent being a hundredth of a semitone. Within 35 is Close, within 50 is Nearly, and more than 50 is Off, nearer the next note than this one. Spot on and Close both count toward your score.
Is my singing recorded?
No. The microphone opens on your first Play note, your pitch is worked out on this device, and nothing is recorded or sent. Your level, your voice and your best score at each level, for each voice, stay on this device.
More free tools
No account, no ads. Each one keeps working offline once you've opened it.
See all 17 tools