Music Theory Basics - Interval Training Complete

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on November 06, 2009

Music Theory Basics - Interval Training Complete has a focused set of tools for learning musical intervals. By offering a few basic options and some great tests, this program will appeal to anyone learning or relearning music theory.

The program's interface is surprisingly simple and intuitive, considering the complex material it covers. The layout consists of large buttons and onscreen directions that shouldn't require a trip to the Help file, which is fortunate, because there's no Help file to consult. Music Theory Basics opens with a simple menu asking how you want to learn. You can choose between Ear Training, Interval Diction, and Other Programs. Ear Training is a series of audible exercises where users listen to a clip and determine its scale and octave. Interval Diction allows users to hear a note and then click and drag an animated note to find its proper place on a scale. Other Programs contains four tools, each geared toward helping a specific area of intervals with a game to guess interval speed, a game to place three in order, and another ear-training game. The program's lone special feature is a bilingual option: you can simply click a radio button to learn intervals in English or Spanish.

Those who are learning music theory will find this free program useful for discovering all the details associated with intervals. It has a variety of choices and ways to test your musical knowledge, and you can get a lot out of these simple but effective tools.