Free · no microphone · about three minutes
Am I tone-deaf?
Twenty rounds of listening. First: was the second tone higher or lower? Then: were two short melodies the same or different? You get a score and what it means.
These are not only piano notes: the steps shrink to a tenth of a semitone, between the keys. Headphones and a quiet room help a lot. On an iPhone the silent switch mutes the tones.
Part 1 · Higher or lower
Was the second tone higher or lower?
What tone-deaf means, and what it doesn't
Tone-deaf, properly, means not hearing pitch: two notes a semitone apart sound the same, a wrong note in a familiar tune goes unnoticed. Researchers call it amusia, and they estimate it in a few people out of a hundred. Far more people say they're tone-deaf. When they're tested, most of them hear pitch fine. What they can't do yet is sing what they hear, and that is a separate skill: practice, not hearing.
This test is a quick look, not a diagnosis. Guessing gets about ten of twenty. Headphones, a quiet room and a rested evening all raise the score, so if it surprises you, take it again.
How it works
Part one plays two tones and asks which way the second went. The steps shrink each round, from three semitones down to a tenth of one, on purpose past where most ears can tell; then "Sounds the same" is the honest answer, and it counts as not heard. A hundred cents is a semitone; most people hear twenty-five, trained ears ten or less. Part two plays a five-note melody twice; sometimes one note moves. Early on the move changes the tune's shape, later only its size. The tones come from your browser, so nothing is downloaded and nothing leaves your phone.
Questions
Is this a pitch test or a tone-deaf test?
Both: part one is a pitch test (can you tell which way a tone moved, and how small a step), part two a musical ear test (do you notice one note moving in a short tune). Together they answer "am I tone-deaf?", and for most people the answer is no.
How good is my ear?
Read the two rows under your score. Hearing steps of about 25 cents with headphones is a normal ear; 10 cents or less is a trained one. Catching most moved notes in part two is the part that matters for music.
Is this a hearing test?
No. It checks how you hear differences in pitch, not how loud a sound has to be before you hear it. If you think your hearing is getting worse, see an audiologist or your doctor.
Then make something of it
Your ear is probably better than you think. Sing a note and see where it lands, or hum a whole line into Brumm and it becomes an instrument inside a club track. No account, no upload.
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