Why We Created Quiztones EQ Ear Training Apps

We thought there should be an easier way to learn how to use EQ, train your ears and expedite the path to getting professional quality mixes, recordings and productions.

When I was at music school ten years ago studying audio engineering and music production, my teacher turned an iMac around, pulled up an EQ in Pro Tools and started quizzing the class on which audio frequencies he was boosting or cutting in a mix. That's when it hit me — this should be an app, with various difficulty levels, a scoring system and the ability to import your own source material for quizzes that will teach you how to use EQ like a pro.

Fast forward to today — 50k app downloads later — and we're still just as excited to keep evolving Quiztones to help you take the quality of your mixes, recordings and productions to the next level.

What's the Benefit of Frequency Ear Training?

Just like athletic training makes you better at a sport, or tasting a wide range of coffee and wine reveals the hidden subtleties and helps you develop your taste, frequency ear training for EQ helps you listen critically, increase your musical intuition and develops your taste and ability to get better mixes, recordings and productions.

After just two weeks of using Quiztones, you’ll notice a dramatic shift.

When I was designing the EQ quizzes for Quiztones, I noticed that after only two weeks, the way I heard music completely changed. I instinctively started noticing characteristics of sound on a whole new level. It became immediately apparent when kick drums were clashing with other low end elements, when mixes sounded unpleasantly thin, muddy, harsh, boxy, etc. — but what was most exciting was I felt like I knew exactly what I could do to improve the sound.

One important question to ask yourself when mixing music is “what's the goal?”. If you’re a sound engineer using subtractive or additive EQ on solo elements in a mix and using “search and destroy” methods to try to notch out frequencies you don't like in hopes of improving your mix, you’re going to waste a lot of time and get subpar results. But if you can listen critically to your mix and intuitively know which elements are holding it back and why, you can define your goal, know your approach, and confidently improve the sound with sniper-like accuracy.

Quiztones helps you get better mixing results faster and takes the guesswork out of how to use EQ to manipulate balance, tone and character in a mix. We hope you’ll check it out and let us know how it goes!