Music Theory and Ear Training Tests
New questions every time, made and graded in your browser: notes on the staff, rhythm and time, keys and scales, intervals, chords and cadences, Italian terms and signs, transposition, fingering for your own instrument, ear training and practical tests you play, tap or sing. Five levels, like Grades 1–5. No sign-in and no ads.
Loading the tests…
How the questions are made
Every question is made by rules in your browser from a short code called a seed – so there is no bank of questions to run out of, and the same test code always gives the same test. Each question is then checked a second time by a separate set of rules built from hand-typed tables (staff positions, key signatures, interval names, chord shapes and fingering charts). If the two ever disagree, that question is never shown. Facts such as Italian terms, key signatures, transpositions and fingerings come from checked tables, with their sources listed in the code.
The five levels
Pick the level that suits you. Each one adds to the level before.
| Level | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Level 1 (like Grade 1) | Treble and bass clef notes with one ledger line; whole note to eighth note and their rests; 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4; completing a measure; C, G, D and F major; intervals by number; tonic triads; first Italian terms and dynamics. Ear training: higher or lower, major or minor, simple intervals, rhythm. |
| Level 2 (like Grade 2) | More ledger lines; dotted notes and sixteenth notes; keys up to 3 sharps or flats and A, E and D minor; harmonic minor scales; half steps and whole steps; more terms. Ear training: melody dictation, more intervals. |
| Level 3 (like Grade 3) | Sharps and flats on the staff; 6/8 and 3/8; dotted eighth notes; keys up to 4 sharps or flats; melodic and natural minor; major, minor and perfect intervals; triads on I, IV and V; transposition. Ear training: chord types. |
| Level 4 (like Grade 4) | Up to 5 sharps or flats; every interval quality including augmented and diminished; inversions; chord symbols; Roman numerals; cadences; 2/2, 9/8 and 12/8; the alto clef for viola. Ear training: cadences, falling and harmonic intervals. |
| Level 5 (like Grade 5) | All keys; Roman numerals in minor keys; cadences from chord names; transposing for B♭ and E♭ instruments and the recorder; 5/4 and 7/8; harder terms. Practical: wider melodies, quicker scales, tuning within 10 cents. |
These are Classfern’s own levels. They are not an exam board’s syllabus or papers, and scores are a guide for practice, not an exam result.
Learning mode and test mode
Learning mode gives you a hint if you want one, two tries at each question (half a grade for a right second try), and a friendly reason why for every answer – right or wrong. If you get one wrong, Classfern quietly adds another question like it later on, so you practice what you need. Test mode gives one try per question and the score at the end, with every answer explained. Either way, the end screen shows a test code to repeat the same questions.
Ear training
The sounds are made by your browser, so they work offline once the page has loaded. Ear training questions ask whether the second note is higher or lower, which interval you hear, whether a chord or scale is major or minor, which chord type it is (major, minor, diminished or augmented), which rhythm you heard after a count-in, which short tune was played, and which cadence ends a phrase (authentic, plagal, half or deceptive). In learning mode you can play each sound as often as you like; in test mode, three times.
Practical tests: play, tap and tune
Choose Practical to play the note shown, sight-read a short tune made for your level and instrument, play a scale at a steady speed, tap a rhythm in time, or hold a note in tune (measured in cents – 100 cents make a half step). You can answer with the on-screen keys, the letter keys on a computer keyboard, a MIDI keyboard, or your own instrument or voice through the microphone. B♭ and E♭ instruments and the recorder are handled for you: you read your written notes, and Classfern listens for the right sound.
The microphone is used only to hear which notes you play, on this device. Nothing is recorded, saved or sent. It starts only when you press a button, there is always a Stop button, and it stops if you leave the page.
Results say honestly how they were graded: notes heard through the microphone or played on a MIDI keyboard are “graded by Classfern”; notes picked on the on-screen keys say so, because they show you can find the note, not that you played it on your instrument; and if you play without the microphone you can check yourself, which is saved as “self-assessed”, never as a Classfern grade. Room noise can affect listening – a quiet room works best.
For teachers
- Class quiz on the board: big type for a projector or interactive whiteboard, one question at a time. Space shows the answer and the reason, ← → move between questions, P plays the sound, K switches kids’ mode, Esc closes. Nothing is saved.
- The same test for everyone: start a test, then give your class the test code from the end screen (or write it on the board). Typing the code gives exactly the same questions.
- Printable worksheets: “Print a worksheet” makes a sheet of questions with staffs drawn in, plus an answer key on its own page with the reason for each answer. Choose “Save as PDF” in the print box for a file.
- Student codes, never names: results are kept in the browser under a class code such as 7K-04. A student can save a progress file to share with you. (Classfern Pro will add class reports later.)
- Kids’ mode: bigger buttons, color notes on the staff, Level 1 and five questions at a time.
Test yourself on your instrument
Choose your instrument above, or start from its page: Recorder · Flute · Clarinet · Saxophone · Trumpet · Violin · Guitar · Ukulele · Singing. The fingering questions use the same charts as those pages, and the practical tests keep to the notes your instrument can play.
Questions and answers
Are the questions always the same?
No. Classfern makes every question by rules in your browser, so you get new questions each time. A test code (like L3-keys-recorder-10-k7q2) brings back exactly the same questions, so a teacher can set one test for a whole class.
How do you know the answers are right?
Every question is worked out twice, by two separate sets of rules: one does the music arithmetic (letter names and half steps), the other uses hand-typed tables of staff positions, key signatures, interval names, chord shapes and fingering charts. A question is only shown when both agree and exactly one answer is right. The automatic tests check hundreds of thousands of questions this way before anything goes live.
Are these exam papers?
No. Levels 1–5 are Classfern’s own levels, like Grade 1–5 theory (beginner to about high-school level). They are good practice for any music course, but they are not an exam board’s papers and scores are a guide, not an exam result.
Is the microphone safe to use?
The microphone is used only to hear which notes you play, on this device. Nothing is recorded, saved or sent. It starts only when you press a button, there is always a Stop button, and it stops when you leave the page.
Where are results kept?
In this browser on this device, under the class code you type (such as 7K-04 – never a name), or under “just me”. You can save a progress file and add it on another device. Nothing is sent to Classfern.
Can I use it with a whole class?
Yes. “Class quiz on the board” shows one big question at a time for a projector or interactive whiteboard – Space shows the answer and the reason, the arrow keys move on, and nothing is saved. “Print a worksheet” makes a sheet with an answer key, and the test code on it gives the same questions on screen.
Which instruments are covered?
Fingering questions for descant (soprano) and treble (alto) recorder, flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet and violin; tab and chord shapes for guitar and ukulele; the alto clef for viola; and practical tests for any instrument or voice through the microphone, plus piano and keyboard players with on-screen keys or a MIDI keyboard.