Free music games for music students and teachers
Free music games you play online in the browser. Each one drills one music theory skill — reading notes, finding them on the keyboard, naming chords, hearing intervals — in scored rounds of about a minute. Nothing to install, no account, every level open.
Pick a game
Every game here can be put on your own site: open a game and copy the embed code at the foot of the page. Free, no account, no ads inside the frame.
Why short rounds work
Music skills are recognition skills. You do not learn to read a staff or hear an interval by understanding it once; you learn it by meeting it a few hundred times until the answer arrives before the reasoning does.
That is why every game here is timed and scored. A round of about a minute fits a practice break, and a score gives you a reason to come back tomorrow.
How to use these games in practice or in class
Play one round before you start practising, not after. It warms up the attention that reads and listens, and it costs a minute.
Stay on one level until you are fast and accurate, then move up. Accuracy first: a high score built on guesses teaches guessing. In a class the same round works as a warm-up on a school computer, a tablet or a phone, and each game can be put on your own lesson page.
A music training app for iPhone and Android
ChordIQ is the app the games here are drawn from. It runs more than thirty modes across staff reading, rhythm, singing, ear training, chords, scales and theory, works offline, and keeps your scores on a global leaderboard.
- Read notes on treble, bass, alto and grand staff, plus marathon and survival runs.
- Key signatures, note values and rests.
- Rhythm: read a written bar and tap it in time, or hear a rhythm and echo it back.
- Singing: hold a pitch into the microphone while a live cents meter scores you.
- Ear training: intervals, chords by ear, perfect pitch, solfege and melodic dictation.
- Chords and scales on piano, guitar, ukulele or bass, with MIDI keyboard input.
ChordIQ is free to download on iPhone and Android, and most of its modes are free to play.
More free tools on Songtive
- Music theory exercisesBrowser quizzes on note names, intervals, chords, scales and key signatures.
- Music notes referenceEvery note name with its keyboard position, frequency and other spellings.
- ScalesEvery scale in every key, with notes, formulas and diatonic chords.
- Intervals chartInterval names, semitones, inversions and audio.
- Virtual pianoA free online keyboard — play what you just named.
Get ChordIQ — free
More than thirty game modes for staff reading, ear training, rhythm, singing, chords and scales. Piano, guitar, ukulele or bass.
Frequently asked questions
Are these music games free?
Yes. Every game and every level is free, there is no signup, nothing to install, and nothing is kept behind an account.
Do they work on a phone?
Yes. The boards are built for a phone screen first, with buttons sized for thumbs. On a computer you can also answer with the keyboard.
Can I use these music games in a classroom?
Yes. They are free, they ask for no account, and they run on a school computer, a tablet or a phone. Each game also carries an embed code, so you can put the board itself into a lesson page or a learning platform.
Which game should I start with?
Start with note reading if you are learning to read music, and with ear training if you already read but cannot name what you hear. Younger children usually do best on the note reading and piano notes games, where one tap answers.
Are these music games good for kids?
Yes, from about the age a child can read letters. The rounds are a minute long, every level is open from the start, and nothing asks for an account or a card. Note reading and piano notes are the two to begin with; ear training and chord recognition assume a little theory already.
Which music theory topics do these games cover?
Reading notes on the treble and bass staff, including ledger lines and accidentals; reading a phrase left to right; finding a written note on the piano keyboard; naming chords from triads up to sevenths and inversions; and hearing intervals and chord qualities. Rhythm, key signatures and singing are in the ChordIQ app rather than here.
Do I need to download or install anything?
No. The games run in the browser on a phone, a tablet or a computer, and they work on a school network without a plugin. Teachers can also paste a game into their own page with the embed code at the foot of each game.
Is there a music theory game app?
Yes. ChordIQ is a music training app for iPhone and Android with more than thirty game modes, free to download. The games on this page are free browser versions of the same idea, so you can try the format before you install anything.
