Bemol

What Bemol is

Bemol is a free, open-source ear training app for macOS, designed for music hobbyists and students developing relative pitch. A practice exercise establishes a key with an I–IV–V–I cadence, asks you to identify a note, and then plays a short melody that resolves that note to the nearest tonic. Practice begins with four notes in C major. You can advance to the next level after reaching at least 90% accuracy.

Later levels introduce chromatic notes and additional keys. After mastering C major and C minor, practice can cover all 12 major and 12 minor keys or use random keys. Bemol has adaptive difficulty, but its exercises do not cover intervals, chords, or rhythm. The app requires macOS 26.4 or later. It uses sine waves unless you separately download an SF2 sound font for piano sounds. Its code and data files are licensed under GNU General Public License version 3. The project’s repository directs users to its releases page for the latest version. You can also build the app in Xcode using the Bemol.macOS scheme; the stated minimum Xcode version is 26.5.

Who it suits

Bemol suits macOS users who want structured note-identification practice for relative pitch, including music hobbyists and students. Its staged progression and adaptive difficulty fit learners who want to advance from a small set of notes toward practice across major and minor keys.

Limits

Bemol requires macOS 26.4 or later. Piano sounds require a separately downloaded SF2 sound font; without one, the app uses sine waves.

Getting started

1. Visit the Bemol website and follow the repository’s link to its releases page.
2. Download the latest version from the releases page.
3. Run Bemol on macOS 26.4 or later.
4. Optionally download an SF2 sound font separately for piano sounds; without one, Bemol uses sine waves.
5. To build from source, use Xcode 26.5 or later and select the Bemol.macOS scheme.

Verdict

Choose Bemol if you use macOS and want free, open-source practice identifying notes in a musical key, with progression into more keys and chromatic notes. Look elsewhere if you need interval, chord, or rhythm exercises, or a mobile app.