Hear jazz voicings like a professional pianist
The voicings real jazz pianists use, drilled the way your ears learn fastest. The live demo below uses rootless left-hand voicings - one of three voicing categories that are free in Practice Mode (Closed Position 7th Chords, Shell, and Left Hand). PRO unlocks Drop 2, Drop 3, Quartal, So What, Upper Structure Triads, and Spread voicings inside the same module.
Free to start. No card required. PRO unlocks advanced content.
A gamified ear training app, built by a professional jazz pianist
Earonman trains your ear from your first interval up to advanced jazz harmony. Real grand piano sound, structured curriculum, no ads. Web in any browser, native iOS, Android landing soon. Free to start, no card required.
The feature,
explained clearly
The Jazz Voicings module in Earonman Practice Mode plays a voicing and asks you to identify the notes it uses. The root is given - you select the rest by tapping the staff, clicking the on-screen piano, or playing a MIDI keyboard. You pick which voicing categories to include and Earonman feeds you randomised exercises. No daily cooldown. Three categories are free; the rest unlock with PRO inside the same module.
Closed Position (7th Chords) (Free)
Root-position seventh chords with all four notes stacked inside an octave. The starting point for every jazz pianist - hear what major 7, dominant 7, minor 7, half-diminished and diminished 7 feel like as a tight stack.
Shell Voicings (Free)
Two- and three-note voicings built from guide tones (root, 3rd, 7th). The skeleton under everything else jazz pianists play - minimal, instantly recognisable, the building block of comping.
Left Hand Voicings (Free)
Voicings arranged for the piano left hand alone - the rootless A/B forms and other compact textures used while the right hand solos or comps melody.
Drop 2 Voicings (PRO)
The most common four-note voicing in jazz piano and guitar. Take a close-position seventh chord and drop the second-highest note an octave. Open, airy, sits well at any tempo.
Drop 3 Voicings (PRO)
Wider intervallic spread than Drop 2 - the third note from the top is dropped an octave instead. A distinct fifth-in-bass feel that contrasts with Drop 2 in the same chord.
Quartal Voicings (PRO)
Voicings built in stacked fourths instead of thirds. The signature post-bop and modal jazz comping colour - hear quartal stacks against tertian voicings until the difference is automatic.
Upper Structure Triads (PRO)
Triads played over bass notes to imply complex altered chords. The vocabulary jazz pianists use to suggest 9, #11, b13 colours without spelling out every tension.
Spread Voicings (PRO)
Voicings stretched across a wide range, with big intervals between voices. The orchestral end of the jazz piano sound - Bill Evans ballads, McCoy Tyner intros, modern arranging.
So What Voicings (PRO)
The quartal stack popularised by Bill Evans on the Miles Davis tune So What. Four perfect fourths topped by a major third - the signature modal jazz comping sound.
More voicings coming
New voicing categories and named voicings are added regularly. Block chords, Kenny Barron voicings, and more are in the pipeline - all unlocked together with PRO.
Three steps.
Repeated until it sticks.
Every voicing exercise follows the same loop so your ears get repeated, focused exposure to one voicing family at a time.
Hear the voicing
A voicing plays automatically when the exercise loads. Tap Play Harmonic to repeat it as a chord, or Play Melodic to hear the notes one by one. The root is shown on the staff so you know where the voicing sits.
Enter the remaining notes
Select the notes you hear by tapping them on the staff, clicking the on-screen piano, or playing a MIDI keyboard. The number of notes you need to add depends on the voicing.
Earonman checks automatically
As soon as you have entered the correct number of notes, Earonman checks your answer. Correct: the voicing name appears and the next exercise loads. Wrong: try again, or replay the audio as many times as you need.
Skills you walk away with
Recognising jazz voicings by ear is what separates pianists who can call out changes from pianists who only play what is in the chart. It is the skill that unlocks real comping, real transcription, and real understanding of what your favourite jazz pianist is doing.
Spell voicings note by note
You do not just identify the family - you write the actual notes back. That is what makes voicing recognition useful for transcription instead of just abstract pattern-matching.
Hear shell voicings against fuller textures
Shell voicings sound minimal; full Closed Position chords sound dense. Train both side by side and you build the contrast professional pianists use intentionally.
Hear the inner voices of a chord
The root is given. You hear the rest and write down every note above it. That trains your ear on the actual voicing - which tensions are in, which are out, how high the top voice sits.
Distinguish Drop 2 from Drop 3 (PRO)
These are the two most common four-note voicings in jazz. They share the same chord notes, but the intervallic spread is noticeably different - Drop 2 is tighter, Drop 3 has a wider bottom. Daily reps make the difference audible without thinking.
Recognise quartal stacks (PRO)
So What, Maiden Voyage, Impressions, countless ECM albums. Quartal voicings define modal jazz comping - hearing them transforms how you understand the style.
Notation on the web
On the web, each voicing appears on a real notation staff alongside the audio. Useful for transferring voicings from your ears to your instrument.
Daily reps.
Compound results.
Voicing recognition is a specialist ear skill. Even strong jazz musicians who can call out changes often struggle with voicings because they require hearing relationships among inner voices. Daily 10 minutes is the only way to make it reliable.
Voicings are the bandstand currency
If you play jazz piano, voicings are what other musicians hear from you. Hearing your own playing back through trained ears is the feedback loop that makes you better.
Each voicing family has a personality
Shell voicings sound minimal. Closed Position sounds tight. Drop 2 sounds open. Quartal sounds suspended. Spread voicings sound orchestral. Daily reps make these personalities instinctive.
Transcription gets dramatically easier
Once you can hear voicing families and spell their notes back, transcribing a Bill Evans or Brad Mehldau passage stops being a guessing game. You hear the voicing, you write it down.
Shell + Closed Position free is rare
In most ear training apps, jazz voicings are completely paywalled. Earonman makes the foundational vocabulary - Closed Position 7th chords, Shell voicings, and Left Hand voicings - free unlimited.
Not just jazz musicians
Jazz voicings are a specialist topic but the audience is broader than you might think.
Jazz pianists
The core audience. Voicings are what you play every night. Hearing them sharpens your comping, transcription, and harmonic instincts.
Jazz guitarists
Drop 2 (PRO) is the bedrock of jazz guitar voicing. Hearing Drop 2, Drop 3, and quartal voicings is essential vocabulary for chord-melody and comping.
Jazz vocalists
A vocalist who hears voicings comps better, knows when the pianist is voicing wide, and can request specific colours intelligently.
Arrangers and big band writers
Voicing is what makes a horn arrangement sound professional. Hearing voicings teaches voice leading by example - Drop 2 and Spread voicings translate directly to four- and five-part horn writing.
Producers working with jazz harmony
Lo-fi, neo-soul, and jazz-influenced pop production uses these voicings constantly. Hearing them lets you write convincing changes.
Composers borrowing jazz language
Film and game composers borrow jazz vocabulary all the time. Hearing voicings gives you the tools to deploy them intentionally instead of imitatively.
Free forever.
PRO when you want more.
Real free tier, not a trial. Practice Mode is open to everyone with a usable foundation library across Intervals, Chords, Scales, and Jazz Voicings - no daily cooldown.
Built so any serious musician can train their ears forever, free.
- Basic intervals, triads & major/minor scales
- Jazz Voicings game mode
- Practice Mode: free training for core intervals, triads, 7ths, major scale modes and basic jazz voicings
- 3 exercises per 8-hour window
- Basic stats and achievement badges
Or €59.99/year (~€5/mo, save 28%)
- Unlimited exercises (no cooldown)
- All intervals, chord types and scales (incl. 7ths, altered, modes)
- 6 advanced quest modes: Slashmaster, Functioneer, Harmonic Quest, Guido, Hybrid Lab, Polychordist
- Open Mic: answer by singing or playing into your microphone (mobile app)
- Practice Mode: full library of intervals, chord types, scales and voicing categories
- Advanced stats: per-quest-type analytics & session breakdowns
- Weekly Leagues with full history
- Full achievement & badge system
- All 8 instrument sounds (Rhodes, strings, harp, e-guitar, flute, clarinet, French horn)
- Priority support
Cancel anytime. No charge during PRO trial. Card only required at trial start.
What makes this
different
Real grand piano sound
Voicings are recorded from a Petrof III grand at Baracca Records. You train your ears on the same timbre you hear on professional jazz albums.
Spell the voicing, do not just label it
Most apps ask you to pick a label from a list. Earonman gives you the root and asks you to enter every remaining note. The recognition transfers to actual transcription.
Closed Position + Shell + Left Hand free
The foundational voicings most jazz pianists start with are free in Practice Mode. PRO adds Drop 2, Drop 3, Quartal, Upper Structure Triads, and Spread voicings inside the same module.
MIDI keyboard support
Plug in any MIDI keyboard - on web or Android - and play your answer. Tactile, fast, and matches how you would actually use the voicings in real playing.
“The structured progression from basic intervals to complex jazz harmonies is brilliant. This is a game-changer for any serious musician.”
Your questions,
answered
Which voicings are free in Practice Mode?
How do I answer - do I tap a label or play the notes?
What is a Drop 2 voicing?
Do I need to know jazz theory first?
Do I need to play piano to use this?
How long until I can identify voicings reliably?
Ready to train
your ears?
The voicings real jazz pianists use, drilled the way your ears learn fastest. The live demo below uses rootless left-hand voicings - one of three voicing categories that are free in Practice Mode (Closed Position 7th Chords, Shell, and Left Hand). PRO unlocks Drop 2, Drop 3, Quartal, So What, Upper Structure Triads, and Spread voicings inside the same module.