Scale Degree
Scale Degree
A I-IV-V-I cadence establishes C major, then a test note plays. Pick which scale degrees you want to practice — start with 1/3/5, add more as you get fluent.
Scale degrees to practice
Selected: 3 / 7
How to Play
Each round, a short chord progression plays first to establish a key (always C major in this game). Then a single test note plays — pick which scale degree it is. Easy mode tests only 1 (Do), 3 (Mi), and 5 (Sol) — the three most stable, easy-to-identify notes. Standard adds 2 (Re) and 4 (Fa). Hard tests all seven scale degrees including the leading tone (7/Ti). This is functional ear training, the method behind Functional Ear Trainer (Alain Benbassat) — research suggests it transfers more directly to playing music by ear than abstract interval recognition.
Controls
Click the scale-degree buttons (1 through 7). Use the replay buttons to hear the cadence again or replay the test note. After picking, the correct option flashes green; a wrong pick flashes red.
Tips & Strategy
Scale degrees have characteristic feelings within the key. 1 (Do) feels home/resolved. 5 (Sol) feels open/strong, like a frame. 3 (Mi) feels gentle/sweet. 7 (Ti) feels desperate to resolve up to Do. 4 (Fa) feels like it wants to fall to Mi. Sing the cadence back in your head, then sing your way up the scale until you land on the test note — that's the trick. Daily 3-minute sessions are enough; this skill compounds rapidly.