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teoria review

A long-running free music theory and ear training website with dictation exercises and MIDI keyboard support.

By the HearSmart research desk · Updated November 8, 2026

Performance (40%)
7.6
Ease of use (25%)
7.0
Value (35%)
9.5

teoria is a free website built by José Rodríguez Alvira to support his courses at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, and it has been online since January 1997. It suits college and conservatory students because its exercises go beyond intervals and chords into melodic dictation, two voice and four voice dictation, harmonic progressions, rhythmic dictation using patterns and harmonic analysis of short excerpts. Many exercises accept answers from a MIDI keyboard in Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Opera, and signing in lets you save scores and see your practice time over the last 30 days. Tutorials and reference pages explain the theory behind each drill. The site has removed all advertising and runs on donations. Its design is dated, it is less pleasant on a phone, and it does not lead beginners through a course, so newcomers should start with an app and add teoria for dictation work.

Who it is for

Conservatory and college students who need dictation and harmonic analysis practice for free.

Price

Free exercises, ad free and supported by donations.

Donations are now vital.
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 8, 2026.

Key features

  • Melodic, two voice and four voice dictation exercises
  • Harmonic progressions and rhythmic dictation using patterns
  • Harmonic analysis of short musical excerpts
  • Many exercises support MIDI keyboards in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Opera
  • Tutorials, reference pages and practice time tracking

Strengths and weaknesses

  • Strength: Free and ad free
  • Strength: Advanced dictation exercises that most apps skip
  • Strength: Used by conservatories, universities and music schools
  • Weakness: Website design is dated and less friendly on phones
  • Weakness: No guided course path for beginners
  • Weakness: Relies on donations to stay online

Key facts

  • Price: Free, supported by donations
  • Online since: January 1997
  • Award: 2006 MERLOT Classic Award in Music
  • MIDI keyboards: Supported in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Opera
  • Languages: English, Spanish and several more

Where it ranks

teoria is No. 7 in our Best Ear Training Apps verdict.

Alternatives we scored

Visit teoria.com · Questions or corrections: editorial@hearsmart.org