Today I wanted to introduce you guys to an awesome application that I found for my smartphone (yes, I finally caved and purchased a smartphone). I came across this great application called Quiztones (it is all one word if you were wondering if I typed it right) which is an ear training app for audio professionals to learn to identify specific frequencies.
Being able to recognize these specific frequencies will greatly help when mixing projects and being able to discern what frequencies you want to boost or cut from specific instruments. It was originally developed on the iOS platform for use on MAC computers and Apple mobile devices. It has since been released on the Android platform. The iOS platforms currently have more features which I am pretty disappointed about but I have already sent a request to the developers to incorporate these features into the Android version.
Let’s take a look at the features that are offered for each of the three programs. First we’ll tackle the Android app since it has the least amount of functionality. This version of the app includes two different multiple choice quiz types; Tones and EQ. The Tones function is conducted by playing pure sine wave tones and identifying what the frequency is in Hertz. The EQ function takes sampled instrument parts (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, drums, & bass) or noise (pink and white from what I can tell) and boosts or cuts a frequency from it. This version of the app will cost you $3.99 from Google Play.
Next up is the Apple mobile device platform which includes the features from the Android app as well as being able to create tests from audio from your music library and gain boost and cut quizzes. This version of the app will cost you $4.99 from the Apple App Store. Two more functions are available as an in-app purchase; Expert Mode which quizzes on 1/3 octave frequency boost and gain level comparison quizzes. I’m not sure of the cost of the in-app purchases are since that information isn’t readily available but I can only assume that it is about $2.49 each since that would add to the price of the full app for Mac computers.
The last version developed for Mac computers contains all of the previous functions as well as a score log. This version can be purchased from the Mac App Store for $9.99.
Overall, this program is great! It may seem kind of trivial when you first start using it but as you start to get better at identifying frequencies it will definitely shine through while you’re mixing your music. Even though the functionality is limited in the Android version; it is fully worth the investment.
For more information or purchasing visit their website at: http://www.quiztones.com
Happy synthesizing!
Jared,
ReplyDeleteWhen you take the frequency test, are you listening through headphones, or your phone's speaker? Just curious because my phone has the worst speaker imaginable and does not at all accurately represent a flat frequency response.
Kyle Schroeder
Tubes and Transistors
I typically use headphones but there have been a few occasions where I have used the phone's speaker and you're absolutely correct in that it can prove to be difficult to perceive the correct tone due to the frequency response of the speaker.
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