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This free online electronic flashcard (flash card) trains you to instantly
read notes written in standard musical notation on a grand staff and play
the corresponding keys on a piano (or other musical keyboard) correctly,
the first time, without practice or rehearsal. This skill is known as "sight
reading."
To practice, just read the music note displayed on the staff at the
top of the page. Then click its key on the piano keyboard image below it.
In the default settings, a Hint-Note ()
will appear on the correct key within a few seconds of the appearance of
the challenge note on the staff. If you click the correct piano key, a
"Correct ..." message will appear under the staff, and a new challenge
note will appear on the staff. If you click the wrong key, an "Incorrect
..." message will appear under the staff, and the same challenge
note will appear on the staff again.
A few minutes a day with this training exercise will greatly improve
your piano music sight reading skills. It is adjustable to any skill level
via preset exercises or custom settings including key signature, note selection,
accidentals, practice range, labels, and ledger lines. Optional piano sounds
also make this a great ear training drill. A graph shows your progress
during a session. This site should be in every piano teacher and student's
favorites.
Most of the features of this program work on virtually all modern
browsers and operating systems without downloading any software or plug-ins.
However, several features have some special system requirements, but they
are already exist on most computers. The requirements for each feature
are described in detail in the help information for that feature:
All features of this program require a mouse (or other pointing device)
which works with your browser to accurately send the coordinates of where
you click on the keyboard image or other control image. If your system
does not send this program an accurate click location, it can't tell what
piano key you have clicked or if you have clicked the correct answer.
To ensure your mouse sends accurate click locations, be sure to temporarily
disable any display zooming or magnification feature you use
in your hardware or software, if the zoom area includes the piano keyboard
image. If your computer changes the keyboard image size, the piano keys
won't have the location our program expects, so it won't know which note
you clicked.
If you have a computer keyboard with a Zoom feature (such as the Microsoft
Wireless Comfort keyboard), use the software that came with the keyboard
to disable that feature while using our program. Alternatively, you might
be able to leave it enabled but set it at exactly 100%. [We thank our student
in Sacramento for helping us identify and resolve this problem.]
Your browser's View > Text Size option should not cause a problem.
You can also use the Windows
Magnifier as long as you only use it to magnify the staff and not the
keyboard image. However, the View > Zoom option must be set to 100%.
If you have disabled display and zoom features as described above, you
may still need complete our simple mouse calibration
if:
The calibration page is displayed on your first click after entering this
site; or
You get a "incorrect" message when you click the correct key (the key the
green keyboard hint note is on); or
You think there might be a problem with the accuracy of this exercise;
or
In Play-and-See mode with the the hint note enabled, the green hint note
doesn't appear on the same key you clicked.
Mouse
Calibration
When you first land on the practice page, you are instructed to click the
key labeled "Middle C" before you can begin your practice. This allows
the program to check your mouse accuracy. If the
program receives some other note, it assumes you clicked middle C, but
your mouse needs calibration for this site.
If you did NOT click Middle C on the first practice page, click
"No" on the first calibration page. This will return you to the start page
where you can click on middle C to start your practice.
If you did click Middle C but got the calibration page,
please proceed through the following series of four simple calibration
pages which will automatically display:
Location of the upper-left corner of the piano keyboard image;
Location of the lower-right corner of the piano keyboard image;
Verification of the display location of the hint note on piano keyboard
image; and
Verification of the display location of the challenge note on the staff
image.
If you cannot see the cross-hairs pointed to on the first two calibration
pages, make sure your Window is maximized and scroll left or right as required.
This site works best on a 1024 x 768 or larger display, but should work
on smaller ones if you scroll to position it. If you still can't see the
cross-hairs, click "Hidden" and proceed with the remaining tests.
After you have answered the question on each of the four pages, a results
page will display the final status.
To manually force this test to run at any time: start a new session;
then click a note near one end of the keyboard image, instead of middle
C. Click
here to start
a new session now.
Please
contact
us if you have problems with mouse accuracy. We would like to learn
more about the conditions that cause this problem.
Practice Statistics
While you practice, several statistics are displayed above the grand staff
to show you your progress.
Round, Card, and Page
Your practice is divided into a series of Rounds separated by rest
breaks. Each round consists of a number of practice cards (challenges).
A practice Card presents one notation for you to read and "play"
on the piano keyboard image. The number of cards in a round defaults to
15, but you can change it in the Custom Practice "Take
a Break" setting. If you click the "Skip to Next Note" button, this
skips to a new card but does not increment the card counter since you didn't
attempt to play that card. If you make any settings change, it resets the
card to 1, and does not change the round number. This does not effect any
of the practice statistics because they have their own counters. If you
switch modes, it resets the round and card to 1 and
resets all practice statistics.
A Page number is also displayed in the statistics. This number
increments every time the form is sent to the server, regardless of how
it was submitted (answer, Next, or settings change). This tells you how
many actions you have taken and is also useful for communicating a problem
to us.
Difficulty
The difficulty number is displayed in the statistics section above the
staff. This number applies to the practice settings as a whole, not to
a specific note that is generated by the settings. It reflects both the
quantity and difficulty of notations that will appear in your practice.
The difficulty is calculated as described below.
For each note in the practice range, based on the practice settings
it adds:
1 pt for each possible notation that could appear for that note (sharp,
flat, natural, and unmodified);
1 pt for each enharmonic that could appear in the practice range;
1 pt for each note that is modified by the key signature (because you have
to remember it);
0 pt for courtesy naturals, since they don't change reading difficulty;
1 pt for each possible notation that could appear on 1 to 3 outside ledger
lines;
2 pt for each possible notation that could appear on 4 to 7 outside ledger
lines; and
2 pt for each possible notation that could appear on 2 or 3 inside ledger
lines.
The total from this calculation is then multiplied by the following numbers:
0 for ascending or descending (i.e., not random) note selection since there
is no challenge in just running up the keyboard;
0 for Play-and-See mode since it doesn't provide sight reading practice;
0 for use of the keyboard hint note with no delay;
0.5 for use of the keyboard hint note with a delay (regardless of name
label settings);
0.707 for note name labels on the staff or audio spoken names (and no hint
note); and
0.707 for note name (scientific) labels on the keyboard (and no hint note);
Note, when there are labels on the staff and the keyboard, the difficulty
is multiplied by 0.707 x 0.707 = 0.5 (it is cut in half).
When you change the practice settings (and click the Apply button), a difficulty
number is calculated for the new settings and displayed on the change confirmation
page and subsequent practices pages. The highest possible difficulty is
376, however this is not necessarily an appropriate goal for all students.
For example, if you are learning to read for a keyboard that is shorter
than 88 keys, you will not need to use the full practice range and will
therefore not encounter the highest difficulty level. Also, if you have
customized the practice settings to focus only on notes that are difficult
for you, the difficulty number might not accurately reflect the difficulty
for you personally.
Response Time
When you click the correct piano key in response to a card, a "Correct
..." message appears under the staff. This message displays the number
of seconds it took you to click the correct note from the time it was first
displayed, regardless of how many wrong notes you clicked before the correct
one.
Your response is rounded to the nearest second. Since the timer starts
when our server sends the new note, and stops when our server receives
your response, the time displayed includes all internet and computer delays.
However, if you have a broadband connection, this delay would normally
be less than a second, but still significant. So this is a relative measure
of your performance, not a scientific measure.
If you click the "Skip to Next Note" button, the program skips to the
next card and resets the timer so that any time spent on the skipped card
is not included in your response time for the next card. This is useful
if you get interrupted while practicing. Just skip to the next note before
clicking the piano keyboard and your interruption time won't count against
you.
Average Response Time
As you practice, your average response time is calculated by averaging
your response time for the last 10 correct answers and is displayed in
the statistics section above the staff. If you have an exceptionally long
response time on one note, it will adversely effect your average response
time for the next 10 answers.
Average Response Accuracy
The program has two counters: one for the number of correct responses,
and one for the number of incorrect responses. After each of your responses,
your average response accuracy is calculated by dividing the number of
correct responses by the total number of responses (correct plus incorrect
clicks on the piano image). This is displayed as a percentage in the statistics
section above the staff. Next to that figure the cumulative correct and
total responses are also displayed as a fraction. e.g.: 90%
(45/50)
Performance Score
Some students prefer to have a single score which represents their performance
and can be used to track their progress. This program provides a performance
score for each answer as follows:
Performance Score = difficulty
x [1 / (response time)] x [1 / (wrong
answers for current card + 1)] x 100
The score for the completed card is displayed to the right of the "Corrrect
..." message under the staff. Since the difficulty applies to the practice
settings as a whole instead of a specific challenge, the performance score
is more meaningful when considered over a period of time instead of for
one challenge note. The highest possible score is 37600, however this is
not necessarily an appropriate goal for all students. For example, if you
are learning to read for a keyboard that is shorter than 88 keys, you will
not need to use the full practice range and will therefore not encounter
the highest difficulty level, or possible score.
Average Performance Score
As you practice, your average performance score is calculated by averaging
your scores for the last 5 correct answers and is displayed in the statistics
area above the staff.
Average Score Trend
Your average performance score is plotted on a graph displayed at the top
of the break page. The graph contains the last 30 average scores (as calculated
above), regardless of the break interval you have selected.
To see all your score averages, be sure to set your break at 30 notes or
less. The scale of the graph automatically adjust to fit the trend, and
the score represented by the top of the graph is shown to the left. There
are 10 gridlines, and each division is 1/10th the top of the graph.
Practice Settings
Saving
Practice-settings are automatically saved in a cookie on your computer.
When you return to our site in the future, your previous settings are automatically
loaded. You are then free to change them as desired. To reset functional
practice settings to their default values, select Exercise 1 and click
Apply Exercise. Cookies must be enabled on your browser to use this feature.
The following settings are NOT saved:
Session Practice statistics are reset for each session.
Calibration settings are not saved, since your computer zoom settings might
have changed since your last visit.
Wide Keyboard option is automatically set to Wide as required for calibration.
Mode is automatically set to See-and-Play as required for calibration.
Note Selection is automatically set to Random as required for calibration.
Microsoft Windows computers have user accounts which allow several people
to share the same computer while having their own personalized settings.
If you are logged in to your user account on your computer when you use
our site, your settings will be saved separately from other users on your
computer who use our site in a different user account. See your Windows
help for more information on user accounts.
Key Signature
In musical notation, a key
signature
is a series of sharp symbols or flat symbols placed on the staff, designating
notes that are to be consistently played one semitone higher or lower (black
notes) than the equivalent natural (white) notes unless otherwise altered
with an accidental.
The key signature defaults to C major (no sharps or flats). The current
key signature is indicated by standard notation on the left end of the
treble and bass staff. There is no standard notation for C major. The key
signature drop-down menu above the staff displays the major and minor key
names and number of sharps or flats for the current key signature. The
names are abbreviated as the key letter in upper case for major keys and
lower case for minor keys. To change the key signature, click on the drop-down
menu, then click on the key signature you wish to practice. Your selected
key signature will automatically apply to the next challenge note. The
key signature applies to any Custom Practice settings you select. If you
select a key signature while using a preset exercise, it will work with
the other existing exercise settings, but will switch the exercise selection
to Custom Practice. Notice the key signature selection table is
a stretched-outCircle
of Fifths,
wherein: the ♮ selection
is the top of the circle; the 6♭
and 6♯ selections share the
bottom of the circle. Enharmonic key signature pairs are indicated with
matching notes (1), (2), and (3).
Keyboard Size
Musical keyboards
come in many shapes, sizes, and constructions on a variety of instruments.
Although this site is an excellent practice tool for conventional piano
sight-reading, it works just as well for most other keyboard
instruments
including electric piano, digital piano, organ, electronic synthesizer,
clavichord, virginal, harpsichord, carillon, and many accordions. To accommodate
students of these various instruments, we have added a feature that allows
the student to select a keyboard size (length) most similar to their preferred
instrument. The sizes are referenced by their number of keys. For example,
a standard piano has 88 black and white keys.
The program defaults to an 88-key keyboard. To change the keyboard size,
just click on the desired size on one of the tabs above the keyboard. When
you click "Next" on the confirmation page, the new keyboard will appear,
and if the current practice range setting is outside the range of the new
keyboard it is automatically adjusted as required. Each tab, e.g.: ,
spans the length of its corresponding keyboard, with the shorter tabs in
front and the longer tabs behind. The keyboard size is shown on both ends
of its tab. Note, the 61 and 49 key keyboards have the same lowest key,
so the left sides of their tabs are aligned and both keyboard selection
links are shown on the front (49 key) tab. Note also that the 37, 44, and
49 key keyboards have the same highest key, so the right sides of their
tabs are aligned and their sizes are all noted on the right side of the
front (47 key) tab so you can see that they all end with that key. The
following keyboard sizes are currently supported. Please let us know if
yours is not here. If we have enough requests, we will add it. Note, you
can also practice on a smaller portion of a keyboard using the practice
range setting.
Keyboard Size
Bottom Key #
Top Key #
37 Keys
28
64
44 Keys
21
64
49 Keys
16
64
61 Keys
16
76
76 Keys
8
83
88 Keys
1
88
Some students and instructors prefer to use the full 88-key keyboard
setting, even if the instrument they use has a shorter keyboard. Then you
are more likely to learn the location of the notes relative to middle C
(C4) rather than from the ends of the keyboard. This way, your sight reading
skills will be more easily transferred to any keyboard, regardless of the
length. But, it is up to you and your instructor.
Exercises
Select a graduated practice exercise from the drop down menu to activate
a preset collection of settings. You can see the resulting settings in
the Custom Practice settings section. From that starting point, you can
customize your practice by changing one or more of the settings in the
Custom Practice section, which changes the exercise selection to Custom
Practice. To apply your Exercise selection, click Apply Exercise.
These exercises start with the most basic practice settings for the
absolute beginner, and increase in difficulty with each successive exercise.
When an exercise is selected and applied, the new settings for that exercise
appear in the Custom Practice area. An exercise selection only effects
the following settings and does not disturb other settings (such as labels,
hint, etc.) which you may have selected previously using the Custom Practice
area:
Key signature
Practice range
Ledger lines
Accidentals
Note selection (forces to Random)
Mode (forces to See-and-Play)
Hint note delay (If zero, forced to 5 so difficulty won't be zero. If non-zero,
no change).
Here is a summary of the exercises:
No.
Exercise Name
Keyboards
Practice Range
Diff
Notes
1
Beginners: Treble Octave (1 Octave)
All
Octave of seven white keys above middle C.
8
For the beginner with no familiarity with the piano keyboard.
2
Treble and Bass Octaves (2 Octaves)
All
Octave of white keys above and below middle C.
15
3
Grand Staff Plus Two Ledger Lines (4 Octaves)
All
All lines and spaces of the treble and bass clef staves (the grand
staff), plus two ledger lines above and two ledger lines below
39
Range slightly truncated on some shorter keyboards.
4
Four Ledger Lines
61, 76, 88 keys
Four ledger lines only above and below the grand staff.
59
5
Three Inside Ledger Lines
All
Three ledger lines only between the treble and bass clef staves.
19
Use custom settings to expand to the less common four inside ledger
lines.
6
Four Ledger Lines with Octave Notation
76, 88 keys
Four ledger lines plus higher and lower white keys using octave notation.
87
7
Seven Ledger Lines
76, 88 keys
Seven ledger lines above and below the grand staff.
89
8
Seven Ledger Lines with Octave Notation
88 keys
Seven ledger lines plus higher and lower white keys using octave notation.
98
9
Four Octaves with Accidentals
All
Four octaves of white and black keys (sharps and flats).
138
10, 11
Four-Octave Key Signature exercises
All
Four octaves of white and black keys in F Maj and G Maj (1 flat, 1
sharp).
142
Exercises 10-23 include all accidentals. They are limited to four octaves
so they are applicable to most keyboard sizes. To expand one of these to
include up to 88 keys, select one of these exercises and then select the
desired practice range in the Custom Practice settings.
12, 13
Four-Octave Key Signature exercises
All
Four octaves of white and black keys in B flat Maj and D Maj (2 flat,
2 sharp).
146
14, 15
Four-Octave Key Signature exercises
All
Four octaves of white and black keys in E flat Maj and A Maj (3 flat,
3 sharp).
150
16, 17
Four-Octave Key Signature exercises
All
Four octaves of white and black keys in A flat Maj and E Maj (4 flat,
4 sharp).
155
18, 19
Four-Octave Key Signature exercises
All
Four octaves of white and black keys in D flat Maj and B Maj (5 flat,
5 sharp).
159
20, 21
Four-Octave Key Signature exercises
All
Four octaves of white and black keys in G flat Maj and F sharp Maj
(6 flat, 6 sharp).
164
22, 23
Four-Octave Key Signature exercises
All
Four octaves of white and black keys in C flat Maj and C sharp Maj
(7 flat, 7 sharp).
168
Custom Practice
All
Custom.
0-376
This option is automatically selected if you change a setting in the
Custom Practice area and click Apply Custom Practice. If you select this
option in the Exercises menu and click Apply Exercise, it doesn't change
any settings. Its only purpose is to indicate when a custom setting change
has been made.
* Diff = Difficulty level without hint note and without note-name legends.
As noted in the exercise names and descriptions, some of the exercises
only apply to keyboards of a certain minimum length capable of playing
the notes in those exercises. If you select an incompatible keyboard size
and exercise, the program automatically reverts to the next lowest exercise
which is compatible with the selected keyboard size.
If you liked the old Preset Difficulty Levels, you can still use them
using the following Custom settings. We will remove this legacy information
on or after 3/25/09.
Level
Bot Note
Top Note
Max Ldgr Lines Above/Below Staves
Max Ldgr Lines Between Staves
Other Settings
1
21
59
0
1
No accidentals, all labels, 5 sec hint.
2
21
59
0
1
No accidentals, no labels, 5 sec hint.
3
11
69
3
3
No accidentals, all labels, 10 sec hint.
4
11
69
3
3
All accidentals, no labels, 15 sec hint.
5
1
88
7
3
All accidentals, no labels or hint.
Custom Practice
Select any combination of settings. The changes will automatically apply
to your next challenge note when you click Next, or you can click Apply
Custom Practice. Changing any setting in the Custom Practice area changes
the Exercise selection to Custom Practice.
Practice Type (Mode)
See-and-Play - This is the default and normal mode for sight-reading
practice as described in the introduction above.
Play-and-See - In this mode, the see-and-play action is reversed:
you first click a key on the piano keyboard image, then the program displays
the corresponding note on the grand staff above the keyboard. This mode
acts somewhat like a virtual piano: you can play any note on the keyboard,
hear it (if the sound is enabled), and see how it is written on the staff.
This is very useful when first learning an unfamiliar area of the keyboard.
-
Since black keys require sharps or flats in most key signatures, this
mode requires sharps or flats be enabled, and automatically enables flats
if neither were previously enabled. Since some white keys require naturals
if a key signature is selected, naturals are automatically enabled also.
Hint delay is also set to zero. When leaving this mode to a See-and-Play
mode, sharps, flats, and naturals are disabled initial to avoid confusion.
-
-
Depending on your settings, there are often several possible ways to
write a particular note. When this situation occurs, the program randomly
selects and displays one of the possible notations each time you play that
note. It uses the Key Signature, Accidentals settings, and Ledger Lines
settings to determine the possible notations for a note. The program ignores
Note Selection and Practice Range settings in this mode, since it is not
selecting the notes - you are.
MIDI See-and-Play - If you have an electronic
musical keyboard (or other MIDI instrument) with
a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) output, you might be able
to use it to enter notes instead of clicking on the keyboard image. Such
practice is better because you also develop a tactile memory for the note
positions. See MIDI Keyboard Input for system
requirements, use, and troubleshooting of this feature.
--
MIDI Play-and-See - This mode is the same as the regular virtual
Play-and-See mode except that you use your MIDI keyboard as described above
instead of the piano keyboard image on the practice page. This feature
can be used as a basic automatic music transcription tool to notate music
you have improvised on the keyboard. However, it will only notate a single
note at a time, not chords.
-
Non-MIDI See-and-Play - This mode lets you
practice on your non-MIDI keyboard instrument or a regular piano in the
following steps:
Read the challenge note on the staff at the top of the practice page. If
you have enabled the sound option, you will also hear the note.
Play the note on your piano or non-MIDI keyboard instrument.
Determine if you have played the correct key on your piano by comparing
it to the location of the answer note ()
which appears over the correct key on the piano keyboard image shortly
after the challenge note. You can adjust the time before the answer appears
by adjusting the Hint Note delay.
If you have enabled the sound option, you can also compare the sound on
your piano to the sound you heard with the challenge note.
A few seconds after the answer note appears, the program will automatically
display the next random note on the staff.
Wide Keyboard Image - Since 96% of our students have wide displays
(1024 px or greater), we have widened the keyboard to take full advantage
of available width. This is the new default, but if you are more comfortable
with the smaller keys or don't have a wide display, return to the original
image width by unchecking this option in the practice settings.
MIDI Keyboard Input
These features are beta test versions and have a lot of compatibility
issues. The more people who try this, the more information we can collect
to hopefully resolve many of these issues. To use the MIDI
See-and Play or MIDI Play-and-See modes, you must connect a Musical
Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) keyboard instrument to your computer
using the following instructions.
System Requirements
Operating System
Windows, Linux, or Solaris. The Java MIDI I/O package is not currently
supported by Mac OS (X). Since Apple is responsible for the Java Sound
implementation on their operating systems, please contact Apple for information
regarding future availability of Java Sound MIDI for Mac.
MIDI compatible instrument
It would usually have a MIDI logo on it.
It would have either a 5-pin round MIDI connector or a flat USB computer
connector on the back.
Your user's manual will also reveal this.
The most common MIDI instrument (a.k.a. controller) is the keyboard, but
other
MIDI instruments are available such as MIDI guitars. They should also
work with this program if the other system requirements below are satisfied.
MIDI driver software installed on your computer (a small program
that allows the instrument to connect to the computer and communicate with
other programs)
Usually supplied with the instrument or downloaded from the manufacturer's
Website.
On most computers, driver installation begins automatically the first time
you connect the instrument to your computer.
If you have previously installed any interactive accessory, game, or training
software for this instrument, the driver would have been installed at that
time.
The manufacturer should have instructions for installing the driver.
If you are not sure if you have previously installed the driver, you can
skip this step and it will become apparent in later steps.
A few MIDI instruments play through the computer's sound card without installing
a MIDI driver. If your sound card driver can transmit MIDI data, it will
appear in the list of devices during the setup described below, and should
be chosen. If your sound card driver cannot transmit MIDI data, the only
way to use your instrument is to install an optional MIDI driver which
might be available from the manufacturer or a third party.
Javascript capability
Almost every browser has Javascript capability.
Here is your Javascript status:
Java capability
Most browsers are either Java-enabled or can support Java through a free
downloadable plug in or add-on Java Virtual Machine (JVM), also known as
the Java Runtime Environment (JRE).
You don't have to have the latest version to use this feature. It should
work in version 1.4.1+ for Windows, 1.5.0+ for Linux and Solaris.
Java Sound MIDI is not available for Mac. See "Operating System" above.
-
System Compatibility Problem
There are unexplained compatibility issues with with
some browser and operating system combinations. Here is a table showing
combinations known to work (Y). If you have one of these combinations
but can't get it to work, the problem might be with your settings or with
your Java. If there isn't a Y for your combination, that doesn't mean it
won't work - it only means we haven't yet seen anyone successfully use
it with that combination. We monitor use continually and add updates to
this table periodically.
Since we use a third party javax.sound.midi package
(see below), we are at the mercy of its capabilities
and have been unable to diagnose the scope of this problem or determine
a solution. If you have information regarding this apparent javax.sound.midi
compatibility issue, we would be grateful to hear
more about it.
Operating System Version
(Platform token in User-Agent token)
Browser
Win XP
(Win NT 5.1)
Win XP SP2
(Win NT 5.1; SV1)
Win XP SP3
(Win NT 5.1)
Win Vista
(Win NT 6.0)
Win 7
(Win NT 6.1)
IE 6.0
Y
IE 7.0
Y
Y
Y
IE 8.0
Y
AOL 9.1
Y
Bsalsa
Y
How to use this feature
Navigate to our practice page, but DO NOT enable the MIDI Keyboard Input
option yet.
Connect the instrument to your computer and turn it on per the manufacturer's
instructions.
In the instrument's MIDI settings:
Set Keyboard Out to ON.
To hear notes as you play them on the instrument, turn Local to ON.
Use your user's manual to determine how to do this. The names of these
settings vary with instrument model.
NOTE: our connection only receives notes from the instrument and does not
send notes to it. To hear the challenge notes, use our sound
features with your computer speakers.
In the Custom Practice Mode section of our site, check the MIDI Keyboard
Input option, and click Apply Custom Practice.
A small yellow MIDI control panel will appear asking if you agree to our
User Agreement. Click Yes if you do.
An alert/confirmation window will pop up. Wait as instructed in the box,
then click OK.
A yellow bar will appear prompting you to select an input device from a
select list. Select your MIDI instrument.
The device name often (but not always) contains the instrument's brand
name (e.g. Yamaha Portatone-1, Roland FP Series, etc.).
If you forgot to plug in or turn on your instrument, it's device name will
not be listed and you might only see your computer's sequencer program
"Real Time Sequencer," which is not your instrument. In that case, you
must clear the cache and regenerate a list with your device. To do this,
close your browser, wait 10 seconds, open a new browser window, and return
to step 1 above.
If there are no devices listed in the select list, you might have not waited
long enough before clicking OK in step 6. To clear the cache and regenerate
a list, close your browser, wait 10 seconds, open a new browser window,
and return to step 1 above.
A yellow bar will appear with a Next button. Click it.
A yellow bar will appear labeled MIDI Keyboard Input. A text box will have
a scan counter which increments from 0 to 9 every second. This indicates
that the MIDI instrument is being scanned for input every 10th of a second.
The name of the scanned device will appear to the right in brackets [ ].
You can now play your answers on your MIDI keyboard (or, you can still
click them on the piano keyboard image). Click the Select Device button
to change devices, or the Close button to close the MIDI feature. -
Troubleshooting
Since there is an infinite combination of hardware and software components,
we can't ensure this will work for everyone. However, we would like to
hear
about your success or failure using this feature so we can improve it and
pass on potential tips to other students. We will list problems and solutions
here as we learn about them.
The MIDI control bar contains the following diagnostic displays to help
you and us determine the cause of problems:
Scanning [ ] - Indicates the name of the MIDI device you have selected
and is being scanned for note input.
JS - Javascript scan indicator. After each page refresh, starts at 0, then
counts repeatedly from 1 to 9. If this is not changing, the javascript
is not running in your browser.
J - Java scan indicator. Counts repeatedly from 1 to 9. However, numbers
appear to jump around out of sequence because Java is scanning much faster
than the Javascript which is reading it. If JS is not scanning, this will
not scan either since it gets its information through the Javascript. E.g.:
Blank. Java plugin is not running.
null. Java working but not scanning because no device information is found.
See Err below.
Msg - MIDI note message. While waiting for a note, it displays "null."
When you play an instrument note, it contains the complete MIDI code sent
to the Java applet. For example, if you play a middle C, it should display
something like 144 0 60 80, where 144 is the note-on code, 60 is the MIDI
code for middle C, and 80 represents how hard the key was pressed. (Note,
MIDI key numbers are scientific note numbers + 20, so middle C 40 is MIDI
60). If you press an instrument key and hold it down until the page
refreshes, then release it, the key-up MIDI code will display until you
press a key again. For example, raising the Middle C key will result in
144 0 60 0. If you don't get a message when you play a note, but JS and
J are both scanning, this indicates the Java applet is not getting the
information from your instrument's driver or the driver is not getting
information from the instrument.
Err - MIDI error message. While waiting for a note, it displays "null."
If the Java encounters and error, it is displayed here. E.g.:
no device info found for name Yamaha Portatone-1. Device was previously
found and connected but is now turned off or unplugged.
Here is a simplified data flow diagram which shows how a note code gets
from the keyboard to our server-side program which then evaluates it and
responds as if the keyboard image were clicked.
"I get a yellow message bar that says: Your security settings do not allow
website to use ActiveX controls installed on your computer." - Wingham,
Ontario, Canada, 5/13/09
In most browsers, you can allow blocked ActiveX content as follows:
1. Click on the ActiveX alert bar at the top of your browser.
2. Click on the "Allow blocked content" option.
Another option that sometimes works is to go to your browser's Tools
> Internet Options > Security tab and add us to your trusted sites.
The only device shown after the device search is "Real Time Sequencer."
The "Real Time Sequencer" is not your MIDI keyboard device, so Applying
and scanning it will not detect your MIDI keyboard inputs. Since that is
the only device listed, your MIDI keyboard driver is not being detected.
There are several possible causes:
1. Your computer might not have a MIDI keyboard driver installed. Please
see "System Requirements, MIDI driver software" notes above.
2. Your keyboard might not have been plugged in or turned on when the
device search was completed. Please see "How to use this feature," step
7, item 2 instructions above.
The MIDI input works, but the only challenge note I get is middle C.
Before you can start a practice session, you need to click middle C
using your mouse on the keyboard image so the program can test
to determine if the image input is working correctly. This is the case
even if you start with the MIDI mode. Until you click middle C with the
mouse, the program will continue to display it.
"Your program senses my instrument but it doesn't respond when I press
a key." - Jacksonville, North Carolina, USA, 6/23/09
The most likely cause is your keyboard is not set to send MIDI data.
In the settings menu on your MIDI instrument, there should be a MIDI Out
setting (you may need to consult your manual since terminology varies with
keyboards). The MIDI Out setting should be set to ON for the instrument
to send MIDI data out to your computer, which then passes it to our program.
Some keyboards combine the Remote and Local functions into one "Local
Control" function. "With this setting [OFF] the instrument itself produces
no sound ..., but the performance data is transmitted via the MIDI terminal"
(YPT-210
Yamaha Keyboard Manual). Turn Local Control to OFF
"[I get] this message: Runtime Error! ... This application has requested
the runtime to terminate it in an unusual way. Please contact the applications
support team for more information." - Leicester, England, United Kingdom,
7/8/09
This is caused by a new security feature of MS Windows Vista called
User Account Control (UAC). When you are logged in to your computer as
a Standard User, UAC places some limitations on your access to system
resources needed by our program. To resolve this problem, switch users
to Administrator, or disable UAC. For more details, search your Windows
help for "switch users".
Everything seems to be connecting, but playing a note on my MIDI instrument
still has no effect.
Please take the following steps to give us more information so we help
you diagnose the problem:
1. Type a message in the comments box below the MIDI control bar. If
you know the sub-version of your operating system (e.g.: SP3), that is
helpful. We automatically detect your browser version.
2. Click anywhere on the piano keyboard image. This will send your
comment and diagnostic information to us.
3. If you would like to tell us more or want an email reply, you may
also contact
us, but you must do step 2 above so we can get the diagnostic information.
Note Selection
Select one method you want the system to use to select your challenge notes:
Random - The challenge note will be selected somewhat randomly from
among all possible notes within your practice settings.
Ascending - The challenge note will be the next higher note from
the previous challenge within your practice settings. If you have selected
to practice with both sharp and flat accidentals, a semi-tone (black key)
challenge will be given with one of its randomly selected enharmonic
sharp or flat notations. For example, if the challenge note is 46, it will
be randomly presented either as F4 sharp or G4 flat. When the top of your
selected practice range is reached, the next note will be at the bottom
of the range.
Descending - The challenge note will be the next lower note from
the previous challenge within your practice settings. If you have selected
to practice with both sharp and flat accidentals, a semi-tone (black key)
challenge will be given with one of its randomly selected enharmonic
sharp or flat notations. For example, if the challenge note is 46, it will
be randomly presented either as F4 sharp or G4 flat. When the bottom of
your selected practice range is reached, the next note will be at the top
of the range.
Accidentals
An accidental ,
also referred to as a chromatic sign, is a musical notation symbol
(e.g.: sharp, flat, or natural) used to raise or lower the pitch of a note
from that indicated by the key signature. Accidental is also used
to refer to the black keys on the musical keyboard. A note with an accidental
is sometimes referred to as an altered noted.
Select any combination (or none) of accidentals you want to practice:
♭Flats -
A flat
lowers the pitch of a note one semitone, usually from a white key to the
black key to the left (except enharmonics below).
♯Sharps
- A sharp
raises the pitch of a note one semitone, usually from a white key to the
black key to the right (except enharmonics below).
♮Naturals
- A natural
cancels the effect of a flat or sharp, whether from a key signature or
a previous accidental.
Enharmonics of natural (white) notes:B♯,C♭;
E♯,F♭, - An enharmonic
is note which is the equivalent of some other note but spelled differently.
On the piano keyboard, B and C and E and F are only a semitone apart. Therefore,
they can each be written as each others sharp or flat. These notations
are not uncommon is are worth practicing. Enharmonics which result from
key signatures are displayed even if this option is not selected.
Courtesy Naturals:(♮)♭,
(♮)♯ - When a sharp or flat accidental
on a note contradicts a flat or sharp assigned to that note by the key
signature, the accidental is generally understood in relation to the "natural"
meaning of the note's staff position. For the sake of clarity, some composers
put a courtesy natural (a.k.a. cautionary natural or a reminder natural)
in front of an accidental on a note which is under the effect of a key
signature or previous accidental. This serves as a reminder that the effect
of the key signature or previous accidental should be canceled first before
the new accidental is applied. Courtesy
accidentals
are sometimes enclosed in parentheses to emphasize their nature as reminders.
Selecting this option does not effect what notes you will be drilled on,
only how some will be notated.
Double Sharps and Double Flats - This program doesn't presently
offer these as a practice option because of their infrequent use in keyboard
music. However, if you think these are important and should be added, contact
us and let us know. If we have enough requests, we will add them.
Practice Range
If you want to practice on a limited range of the keyboard, select the
top and bottom note of your desired practice range. To determine the note
numbers for this setting, look at the note-numbers (number-only) below
the keyboard image. If no note-numbers are displayed, select the "Note-numbers
under keyboard" option in the label section of the custom practice settings
and click "Apply Custom Practice" to activate.
Here are some typical ranges. Note, you cannot select a top or
bottom key that is outside the range of the selected
keyboard.
A ledger line
is musical notation to inscribe notes outside the lines and spaces of the
regular musical staffs.
Maximum Above and Below Staves - (Outside Ledger Lines) Use this
selection to determine the maximum number of ledger lines that will displayed
during your practice of notes outside the grand
staff
(above the treble clef staff and below the bass cleff staff). Though you
can select up to seven ledger lines, notes more than three or four ledger
lines are usually considered too hard to read and are better written with
octave brackets. If maximum ledger lines are set to 0, notes 85 thru 88
are still displayed with ledger lines (and octave notation) since that
is the only way they can be displayed. If ledger lines are set to 7, only
6 lines are used for bass since 7 are not required there.
Maximum Between Staves - (Inside Ledger Lines) Use this selection
to determine the maximum number of ledger lines between the bass and treble
clef staffs. At least one ledger line is usually required because middle
C (C4) is on a ledger line. Challenge notes beyond the ledger lines you
have selected will be written on the opposite staff. Notes which could
be written either on ledger lines of one staff or staff lines of the other
staff will be displayed randomly with one or the other notation.
Practice Ledger Lines and Octave Brackets Only - Use this option
to practice ledger lines and octave brackets only, which are the most difficulty
areas for sight-reading. This option speeds your learning because it concentrates
your practice time on this problem area instead of including on-staff notes
with which you're are already proficient. This feature only works with
Random
Note Selection in See-and-Play mode. If not set
thus, or if the Practice Range doesn't include
any notes that could be on a ledger line, the program automatically clears
this feature to avoid an error. You must include at least one note within
any one of the following ranges: 1 to 20; 61 to 88; with 1 inside ledger
line, 39 to 42; with 2 inside ledger lines, 35 to 45; with 3 inside ledger
lines, 32 to 49; with 4 inside ledger lines, 28 to 52. However, most users
just set a wide practice range, such as 8 to 81 or 1 to 88 and don't need
to worry about this detail. Note, because of the randomization in the program,
a non-ledger-line note may occasionally appear.
An octave bracket
is a musical notation to play specified notes one (8va) or two (15ma) octaves
higher or one (8vb) or two (15mb) octaves lower than written.
This notation is an alternative to ledger lines, which become difficult
to read at over three or four lines. Challenge notes beyond the ledger
lines you have selected will be automatically written in octave brackets,
with ledger lines when necessary. 8va or 8vb will be used where possible,
otherwise 15ma or 15mb will be used.
Labels
You can display labels on the staff and the keyboard to help you locate
notes which are new to you.
Note-Names Under Keyboard - This option displays the note
name in note-octave scientific
pitch notation
under each white key. Black key names are not provided but can easily be
interpolated from white keys. Middle C (C4) is enlarged slightly.
Key-Numbers Under Keyboard - This option displays the piano
key number
under each white key. Black key numbers are not provided but can easily
be interpolated from white keys. (Electronic musicians should note that
MIDI key/note numbers are piano key numbers + 20.)
Note-Names on Staff - This option displays the note names without
octave numbers to the right of the grand staff.
Keyboard Size Tabs - This option displays tabs above the keyboard
by which you can select a different keyboard size.
Hint Note on Keyboard
If desired, a hint note (
) will display on the keyboard key corresponding to the challenge note
after a short delay. The delay defaults to 5 seconds. Use the Custom Practice
settings to select other delays, no delay, or to disable it (No hint note).
This is very useful for beginning players who have no prior familiarity
with the keyboard layout. When you apply an Exercise, if the hint delay
is zero, it is forced to 5 seconds, otherwise the difficulty level is zero.
System requirements and troubleshooting
We create the hint note delay by using a two-frame animated gif for the
hint note. The first frame is blank and displays for duration of the delay.
Then the second frame containing the green hint note is displayed.
For this feature to work, your browser must display animated gifs as
they are designed and not de-animate or block them. If the hint note is
not displaying properly, here are some things to try:
Disable any browser feature which limits animated gifs.
Disable your browser pop-up blocker.
It is possible for a hint note gif to be loaded incompletely on one occasion
so as to prevent the delay. You may be able to correct this problem by
clearing your browser cache so that a fresh hint note image will be reloaded.
Search your browser help for "cache" to determine how to clear it.
Some security software may block or stop animations. See here
and here.
Firefox often doesn't display animated gifs correctly. See here
and here.
Try using another browser.
As a last resort, you can completely turn off the hint note by selecting
No Hint Note in the custom practice settings.
If you find a solution to a hint display problem, please contact
us and let us know so we can add it here for other students.
Sound
Sound is provided to enhance your practice by helping with ear
training
and learning note names.
Play Note Sound with Challenge - Enable this feature to hear the
piano note when the challenge is presented. This will help you train your
ear to relate pitch to written music and piano keys, and it will make practice
more fun! Since notes are tiny MIDI files, they require almost no bandwidth
and can easily be used at any connection speed. This option requires a
Web browser plug-in/add-on capable of playing audio/midi content. Most
computers have this capability. When this option is select, a player console
appears at the bottom of the practice page with various controls and options
depending on your system. See Troubleshooting and How-it-works
for more details regarding system requirements and settings.
Sustain Pedal on Note Sound - With this option selected, the note
will play as if the piano sustain pedal is depressed (or the key is held
down) for several seconds.
Play Note Name with Challenge - This option
will speak the name of the challenge note to help you learn note names.
Since only natural notes have names, this setting is disabled
if any accidental is selected or any key with sharps or flats is selected.
When this option is used with the note sound (above), the name is spoken
after a pause so it can be heard over the note sound. You can disable this
pause by turning off the note sound option. This option requires a Web
browser plug-in/add-on capable of playing .wav files. Most computers have
this capability. When this option is selected, a player console appears
at the bottom of the practice page with various controls and options depending
on your system. See Troubleshooting and How-it-works
for more details regarding system requirements and settings.
Break and Performance Score
Take a Break - Studies show taking a break periodically during practices
like this can enhance the value of your practice. This feature reminds
you when you have reached a preset number of challenges (cards) by sending
you to a break page (technically, card 0 of the next round). During the
break, the response timer is stopped so the break will not effect your
response time trend. To resume practice, just click the continue link provided
on that page. Only challenges you answer correctly count and increment
the card counter.
-
You can use this feature to set and track your practice goals. Each
time you reach the selected card count, the round number will be incremented.
The round number and card challenge number are displayed above the grand
staff.
-
Guessing Warning - If over half your answers
are wrong (that is, when your total correct and incorrect answers exceed
your your break setting above), you will be taken to the break page early
and given a warning about guessing. Why? Guessing is very destructive to
the learning process because you build incorrect mental associations instead
of correct ones. Such wrong associations are hard to unlearn. It is much
better to take it slower and be more accurate, even if you have to rely
on the hint note or the labels
to get the correct answer.
-
Reset Performance Score - Your average response time, accuracy,
and performance score are cumulative values for your session and reflect
your performance for all rounds and cards, even if you change settings
and difficulty level during the session. If you would like to reset these
values for any reason, such as to let another person practice, to see your
performance only with new settings, or an interruption in your practice
caused a long response time on a note, just click this check box, then
click "Apply." Note, if you switch to Play-and-See mode, these values will
also be reset when you switch back to See-and-Play mode.
Note-Reading Tips and Hints
Note Locations By examining the relationship of the staff lines to the piano keys,
you might make some useful observations:
The staff lines, ledger lines, and spaces only correspond to the 52 white
piano keys. The remaining 36 black keys are referenced by sharps and flats
on the white notes (diatonic
scale ).
So, most of your work is done when you have learned the locations of the
white keys.
The location of C's (keys with dots on image to the left) in the bass staff
is a reflection of their locations in the treble staff.
The treble clef, also called the G clef, is a stylized G, and the inside
tail circles G.
The bass clef , also called the F clef, is a stylized F, and the two dots
straddle F.
Middle C can be represented in two places on the grand staff: one ledger
line below the treble clef staff, or one ledger line above the bass clef
staff. This example only has room for one ledger between the staves, but
the grand staff is often written with the two staves farther apart allowing
for more ledger lines between them.
This practice site doesn't eliminated the need for practicing sight reading
on a musical keyboard because true sight reading is performed without looking
at the keys and can therefore only be learned by actually playing
the notes. However, this exercise, like flash cards, is very helpful in
advancing you toward that goal.
Note Names To learn sight reading, it is not necessary to learn the note
names
(spelling). Sight readers do not think of the note names as they are reading,
just as proficient book readers do not spell out the words in their minds
as they are reading, and typists do not think of the letters as they are
typing.
However, it is useful to know the names of the notes for other tasks,
so name labels are provided for the staff and keyboard to help learn the
notes and to help you find the notes on the keyboard when you are just
beginning.
Here are some mnemonics, which are helpful in memorizing the names of
the notes:
Location
Lines or Spaces
Reading Direction
Note Names
Mnemonic
Above Treble Clef Staff
Ledger Lines
Up
ACEG (1)
All Cows Eat Grass
Above Treble Clef Staff
Ledger Spaces
Up
GBDFA (1)
Good Boys Do Fine Always
Treble Clef Staff
Lines
Up
EGBDF
Every Good Boy Does Fine
Treble Clef Staff
Spaces
Up
FACE
The word FACE
Bass Clef Staff
Lines
Up
GBDFA
Good Boys Do Fine Always
Bass Clef Staff
Spaces
Up
ACEG
All Cows Eat Grass
Below Bass Clef Staff
Ledger Lines
Down (2)
ECAF
Eat Cake And Frosting
Below Bass Clef Staff
Ledger Spaces
Down (2)
FDBGE
Fast Dogs Beat Giant Elephants
(1) These are for 4 ledger lines, which covers most of the notes you normally
encounter. They start with the first space above or below the grand staff.
(2) We created these new mnemonics reading down because it is a lot
easier to use them when there are less than four ledger lines showing.
Questions and Answers
This section answers questions and requests students have submitted, and
explains known errors and problems. If you have submitted a question, suggestion,
or request that isn't already here, check back periodically to see our
response. We usually update this within a few days. To submit a question
or suggestion, please use the comment box on the practice page, contact
us. To see the praise we're getting, please take a look at our Praise
section.
Some users prefer to center the keyboard image in their display so it is
more like sitting at a piano and easier to find middle C. Because there
are so many different computer setups, it is difficult for us to center
the keyboard image in your display. If you prefer to center it, and your
display is large enough, here is how to do it:
Click the restore button on the right end of the title bar that displays
"Sight Reading Practice..." If there is no restore button displayed, skip
this step. (The restore button is similar to the button circled in the
image below.)
Move the mouse cursor over the left or right edge of the window. The cursor
should change to a double-ended arrow.
Click and drag the edge of the window until the window just fits the keyboard
image.
Click and drag the title bar to center the window in your display.
NOTE: If there is no space between the left end of the keyboard image and
the edge of the window, and the keyboard appears to run off the display,
there may be a problem we should know about - please contact
us.
Why isn't there any sound?
"Would love to hear some sounds with this exercise!" - Charleston, West
Virginia, USA, 1/26/09 "Is there sound at all? - Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA, 5/17/09 "The Play note sound with note doesn't work on my machine - using Firefox
browser." - St. Charles, Missouri, USA, 3/10/09
When you select one or both of the sound options,
one or both of the connections shown below are automatically set up by
your computer.
If you aren't hearing your selected sound options, it could be caused
by any of the following sound components. Here are some things you can
check.
Browser
A sound problem is probably not a compatibility problem with your
browser. It is more likely to be a problem with your audio plug-in or other
sound components of your system. Sound options have been tested with Internet
Explorer and Firefox browsers using several common audio plug-ins.
Plug-in
Web browsers don't play sound directly. Instead, they rely on multimedia
programs that extend their capability. These programs are called plug-ins
or add-ons. Some typical multimedia programs are QuickTime, iTunes, RealPlayer,
and Windows Media Player. When a sound option is enabled, the default plug-in
selected by your operating system for the type of sound displays at the
bottom of the practice page. The plug-in shown above is typical but may
vary depending on your computer.
This site has two sound options, each using a different capability of
your audio plug-in:
Play note sound - requires a plug-in capable of playing audio/midi content
of a Standard MIDI File (.smf).
Play note name - requires a plug-in capable of playing a .wav file.
If only one of the two sound options fails to work, your default sound
plug-in might not be set up for or capable of playing that type of file.
If you are comfortable with multimedia setup, you might try different settings
or a different program as your default audio player plug-in. Many computers
have several multimedia players installed and available for selection as
the default player. Search the Help feature of your computer to learn more
about changing the default player.
Mixer
As illustrated above, most computers have a program called an "audio mixer"
which provides controls to adjust the relative levels and stereo balance
of the various sound sources. If only one of the two sound options fails
to work, it is possible that the volume for that sound type is turned down
or muted. In Windows XP, the mixer can be displayed by clicking Start >
Settings > Control Panel > Sound and Audio Devices > Volume tab > Device
volume Advanced button. In other systems, search your Help feature to find
the mixer.
Sound Card
Most sound cards are capable of playing both .smf and .wav files. It is
unlikely this is your problem if you can hear sounds from other sites.
The settings of the sound card are controlled by the plug-in.
Speakers
Make sure your speakers are plugged in, turned on, and volume up. If you
can't hear sounds for system events or sounds from other sites either,
it is most likely that your speakers are not connected or adjusted properly,
or your master volume is turned down or muted.
Why is there a loud burst of noise with some notes?
"Sometimes ... the sound is static and scratchy sounding ... Any help would
be appreciated." - Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, 12/11/08 "I'm getting a really nasty (and random when it happens) BUZZ!!! sound
with Play Note Sound enabled. Really a shame because sound adds so much
to the sessions. Firefox 3.5.5, XP SP3, SoundMax integrated High Def Digital
audio card." - Sicklerville, New Jersey, USA, 3/23/10
Sometimes there is a loud burst of distorted sound at the beginning
of the note sound. This can be caused by the QuickTime Music Synthesizer.
If your computer is setup to use QuickTime (or iTunes, which uses QuickTime)
to play music, try changing the QuickTime settings as follows:
Make sure this site's Play Note Sound with Note Custom Practice
setting is selected and a note has been played.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to the QuickTime control panel, which
looks similar to this:
Click on the triangle on the right end of the panel, or right-click anywhere
on the panel to display the settings drop-down menu.
Select Connection Speed or Plugin Settings to pop up the
QuickTime
Preferences window.
Select the Audio tab.
Change the Music Synthesizer Default setting from "QuickTime Music
Synthesizer" to "General MIDI."
One user also reported that changing the Sound Rate setting on this
tab to "48 kHz" has fixed the problem, but that doesn't work on all versions.
Since there doesn't seem to be a problem with Windows Media Player (WMP),
another option for Windows users is to change your computer file type associations
to use WMP for playing MIDI files. To do this, run WMP, go to Tools, then
Options, then the File Types tab. This tab allows you to set the file types
for which you want WMP to be the default player. Check the box by MIDI
file (midi), and click OK or Apply.
Error: Unable to find acceptable note
This is usually caused by improper or incomplete information being received
by our site. This can happen with a very old or non-standard browser or
a misbehaving proxy (relay) between your browser and our site. For example,
one proxy in Tokyo sends mouse-click position information in the non-standard
parameter "submitted_x", instead of the standard parameter "submitted.x".
If you are getting this error, please contact
us and we will investigate the exact cause for you.
Error: Incomplete page
This error can occur if you click a form button or the keyboard image before
the page has completely loaded on your computer.
You can often recover from this error by clicking your browser's back
button several time and then proceeding from that page. Possible causes:
Your internet connection is too slow. If you have a dial-up connection,
try disabling all the Sound options on this site's Custom Practice settings.
Your internet connection is experiencing a temporary slow-down. Try
again.
Our server is having a temporary slow-down. Try again.
You double clicked the form button or the keyboard image. Only a single
click is necessary.
There was an error loading the page. Try again.
How can I practice with just the left or right hand
notes?
"Should be able to work the scales in just the treble or base clef." -
Glen
Cove, New York, USA, 4/14/09 "Need beginners bass clef only [and] more bass clef on beginners treble
and bass clef exercises" - Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA, 11/19/09
The so-called right or left hand range is the treble or bass clef. Your
practice can easily be limited or expanded to any portion of the keyboard
or staff using the Practice Range setting.
This is too hard! How can I make it easier?
To make your practice easier:
Take a look at our Note-Reading Tips and Hints to see
how the staff lines are related to the piano keyboard;
If you don't know where a note is on the keyboard, just wait a few seconds
and the hint note (
) will show you the answer! To make it even easier you can set the Hint-Note
on Keyboard to decrease or remove the delay so it displays immediately;
To just get a feel for where the notes are on the staff and keyboard, change
the Note Selection option to Ascending;
The easiest setting of all is to switch to Play-and-See
mode, where you play the note on the keyboard and see it written on the
staff.
If there is anything else we can do to make it easier for you to get started,
please contact
us and let us know.
We've included almost every possible notation that could be encountered
by even the most advanced player. The Difficulty
level is displayed above the staff. The highest possible difficulty
is 376, so if your level is below that, you still have a challenge ahead
of you!
If there is a notation or challenge missing that you would like to practice,
please
contact
us and we will consider adding it.
Why does the text below the keyboard sometimes flash
when I click a key?
Some text below the piano keyboard image flashes when you click the keyboard
image or the Next button. This problem comes and goes and we don't know
the cause. If you find this too annoying, you can simply resize the window
so that the text is not visible without scrolling down. We've also found
that, strangely, this problem is sometimes less pronounced when sound is
enabled. You can enable the sound in the practice settings even if you
don't have your speakers on. If anyone knows the cause or solution to this
problem, please contact
us.
How can I remember to practice?
Like any other skill, the more you practice the faster you will learn.
Here are a few ideas on how you can remember to practice:
Plan to practice the same time every day, and fit it in with your normal
routine.
Plan a comfortable practice duration so you don't dread it. Set a fixed
goal of a specific number of rounds and cards.
Instead of practicing a long time once a day, practice shorter periods
several times a day.
Keep a log of when you practice, how long, and the difficulty level so
you can see your progress.
How can I set this site as my home page?
You can easily set this site as your home page (the site that appears when
you first open your browser) in most browsers. It will then display every
time you open your browser, reminding you to practice.
Some sites have buttons for this, but they are unreliable. We recommend
you do it manually. This procedure will work on most browsers:
Pull down the Tools menu. (This is labeled Safari on the
Safari browser, View in Explorer 4.0, and Edit in Netscape
6.0, 4.0, and Mozilla.)
Select Options, Internet Options, or Preferences.
Select the General tab.
Find the section labeled Home Page.
Type http://www.sightreadingpractice.com into the home page box.
(You can also select, copy, and paste this with some browsers).
Click Apply or OK to return to browsing.
For specific instructions for your browser, click your browser's help link
or menu and enter "home page" in the index or search box.
How do I remove the yellow instructions banner from
the keyboard?
United Kingdom, 12/12/08 "Have to reset each time I restart. How to avoid this?" - Antwerp,
Antwerpen, Belgium, 9/28/09
As a result of this question, we decreased presistence of the instructions
from three notes to one note. This banner should now only appear on the
first card of the first round, that is, until the first correct piano key
has been clicked.
Each time you enter the site for a new session, the program has to check
to make sure your mouse is calibrated to the image. Otherwise, clicking
the piano keys might not give the correct response note. It has to do this
with each new session because it doesn't know if you are using the same
computer or the same settings on your computer as the previous session.
If you plan on having multiple practice sessions in a day, just leave our
site open on your browser. If you need to use your browser for something
else between practice sessions, instead of using the browser with our site,
just open another browser and use it.
Is this program available on a CD or to download for offline
practice?
"Can you put this software on a cd so that it can be access offline for
a fee??" - League City, Texas, USA, 12/18/08 "Is this Piano sight reading exercise available for sale or download?
Thanks" - Plano, Texas, USA, 12/15/08 "This is a wonderful tool to learn from...the best. However, I have
dial up internet connection, which is very slow. Would purchase this product
if it were available." - Clarksburg, West Virginia, USA, 12/5/09 "Where do I purchase a copy of this program" - Reston, Virginia,
USA, 1/14/10 "It is slow. Offline program would be better - DSL. Moscow, Russian
Federation, 1/27/10 "I would be willing to pay for a cd or dvd for home use. At this time
I only have dial up internet service, which sometimes causes difficulty
using the web-site." - Belington, West Virginia, USA, 2/24/10
Unfortunately, this program is not available for sale or download and
will only run on a Web server. We would have to translate the program into
another language for it to run on your computer, which would be an expensive
undertaking. Therefore, we don't have any plans to offer it for sale in
the near future.
However, since our sight-reading practice program runs on our server
instead of your computer, you can practice for free any time from any browser
with internet access including many phones and PDAs. You don't have to
worry about installation, technical problems, or spyware often associated
with free or purchased software and shareware. You don't have to worry
about upgrades either since any of the frequent improvements we make become
operational immediately on our site.
Though the inability to use it offline definitely has the disadvantage
of being tied to an internet connection and being limited by connection
speed, the proliferation of broadband, wireless connection alternatives,
and Web enabled phones and PDAs is rapidly eliminating this problem. The
trend in applications is toward "cloud
computing" like this.
Is there a drill for chords?
"Can you add chords to these exercises? That would be great, too!!?" -
Leesburg, Florida, USA, 5/12/09 "What about exercises for determining chord changes to develop a students
ear: the program would play a major chord and the name is given (C, for
example). The next chord in a 'progression' is played and the student must
determine what it is (say, Gm7). Then the next, and so on." - Leesburg,
Florida, USA, 5/19/09 "It would be way cool to have a sight read chord feature." - Jacksonville,
North Carolina, USA, 6/23/09 "Is there any way to have practice with full chords, starting with
3 note chords, and moving up?, maybe also interfacing with a keyboard?
If I read this correctly, all practice so far is confined to single note
practice, thankfully also with a Midi keyobard interface. - Strasbourg,
Alsace, France, 11/13/09
We have chord practice on our list of possible future features to explore.
This existing single-note drill also improves chord playing, since it provides
confidence in keyboard topology (layout), which is the foundation for all
piano playing skills.
Why isn't this site referenced in Wikipedia?
And, "... did you know that the link from Wikipedia's Sight-readingarticle
has disappeared?"
As a Wikipedia editor, I proposed and added a link in August 2008. In
October, another editor removed it, thus beginning a protracted debate
as to the suitability of the link under Wikipedia guidelines. I rebutted
all of the arguments against the link except the Conflict Of Interest (COI)
argument: "you should avoid linking to a site that you own, maintain,
or represent — even if WP guidelines seem to imply that it may otherwise
be linked. When in doubt, you may go to the talk page and let another editor
decide."
I believe a link to this site would be acceptable if: 1) added in External
Links section; 2) by another registered Wikipedia editor; 3) who has not
been solicited by me; and 4) after it has been discussed on the talk
page .
A similar debate
occurred regarding a similar link on the Ear
training
article and prevailed because the adding editor was not affiliated with
the linked site.
Is there a way to use this with my music keyboard?
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, 12/11/08 "Is there any way of hooking the keyboard up to it? - New York,
New York, USA, 1/27/09
How can I display just the keyboard without the tabs
and labels?
"Would it be possible to have a tick box for a "clean keyboard" which removes
the note names, note numbers, and keyboard range tabs?" - Aberdeenshire,
Scotland, UK, 1/8/09
This option exists for names, numbers. As a result
of this comment, we added this option for keyboard size tabs on 1/8/09.
Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK, 12/29/08 Just one little comment - how about adding double sharps and double
flats. - Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2/18/09
Yes, and we will increase the priority if we get more requests for these
rare creatures.
How can I track my progress on an exercise?
"It would be great to have the option of keeping a score (percentage correct,
10 out of 15, or some such)." - Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK, 12/29/08
In response to this suggestion, on 12/30/08 we added complete
performance
statistics consisting of accuracy %, accuracy ratio, average response
time, and a performance score based on accuracy, speed, and difficulty.
"Would be nice to get information on our overall progress at a particular
level so that we can see we're getting better easily. Those statistics
could include average time, success percentage, etc." - Montreal, Quebec,
Canada, 1/29/09
This can be accomplished by using the existing Reset
Performance Score to manually reset your average response time, accuracy,
and performance score when you change exercises or custom practice settings.
As a result of this request, we have added to our list of future improvements
an option to make this reset automatically occur with a difficulty change.
We also have on our to-do list a graph of your performance score.
"The score and stats at the top of the page disappear on the "break" page
- yet this would be a good time to review performance - could they be kept
on display? - Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK, 2/10/09
In response to this suggestion, on 2/10/09 we made it so.
I wish the image didn't change so fast after getting
it correct...
"...Could you make it so that it stays for like 5 seconds after getting
the correct answer?" - Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 11/27/08
We can delay sending the next note challenge, but that would also delay
the "Correct" message which comes with it. This might be confusing to the
student. If we receive additional requests for this feature from other
students, we will consider adding this as a user selectable option. If
anyone else is interested, please contact
us.
How can I practice ledger-lines only?
"I've mainly been using the site to improve my ledger line note recognition.
My normal practice settings are 5 lines above and below the cleffs (notes
8-81), plus three inter-staff ledger lines. It would be great if there
was a toggle switch which ONLY allowed leger line notes within the range
to be displayed. Great for those of us who are already confident with the
intra-staff notes! - Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK, 1/5/09
At this student's suggestion we added a ledger-lines-only
option on 1/6/09! On 1/26/09, we added exercises
which automatically engage this feature.
Can I make the grand staff larger?
"If the grand staff was bigger or if one could zoom it in and out, maybe
this site would be able to fit everyone's vision." - New York, New York,
USA, 2/17/09
Yes, on most computers there are several ways to make the grand
staff larger.
The first method is to use the Microsoft Windows built-in accessibility
feature called the Magnifier. To learn more, click Start, then Help
and Support, and search for "magnifier." You can set the Magnifier
to magnify the area around your mouse pointer. To use this site with the
magnifier, size and position the magnifier window as shown below, and set
it to track the mouse pointer. Then, move the mouse pointer over the staff
and read the note in the magnifier. As you move the mouse pointer over
the keyboard, the magnifier will show an enlarged view of the keyboard.
After you have clicked a piano key, move the mouse pointer over the staff
again and read the next note in the magnifier. Since the magnifier contents
moves instantaneously with the mouse pointer, after you get used to it,
it should not slow you down at all.
-
This is a Windows operating system tool, so it will work with any browser
(and any other program). If you don't use a Windows operating system, search
the help for your operating system or on its manufacturer's Web site for
a comparable feature using the keyword "magnifier" or "accessibility."
Let us know when you find it for your operating system and we will add
the instructions here.
The second method is to use the Zoom feature of many modern browsers to
enlarge the entire page. For example, in MS Internet Explorer, click View
> Zoom. However, it is very important that you do this before you
enter our site, and that you not change it once you have begun practicing.
Also, when you first enter our site while your browser is set to a Zoom
other than 100%, our site will automatically take you through several calibration
displays if necessary. You must complete the calibration instructions so
the program can adapt to your zoom settings.
Some custom selections don't work with some exercises.
"Even if enharmonics are disabled, the G flat still strikes on the treble
key (using exercise #9)." - Paris, France, 3/1/09
When an exercise is applied, it resets some previously
set practice settings. However, you can then reapply any desired custom
practice setting "on top of" the selected exercise by just making the change
after
the exercise selection. An exercise applies a preset group of settings
as a standard starting point, which you can then modify to meet your needs.
Can you add interval reading?
"A suggestion for improvement: some exercises could keep track of the previous
notes, allowing relative sight reading practice." - Paris, France, 3/1/09
We don't presently have a drill for sight-reading intervals, but we
will add it to our list of possible future features to explore.
Can you add a way to save my settings?
"It might be handy, though, to have the custom settings saved in a cookie,
so as not to have to reset them." - St. Charles, Missouri, USA, 3/10/09 "The only problem I have with it is that I cannot save my progress."
- Corn, Oklahoma, USA, 3/18/09 "It would be great if settings were saved from previous sessions."
- Dublin, Ireland, 3/28/09 "I wish the program could remember the midi keyboard from session to
session without having to set it up each time." - Sacramento, California,
USA, 5/7/09 "Could you add a 'Save settings' button for when I come back later?"
- Leesburg, Florida, USA, 5/12/09 "It would be nice if you could keep my custom practice settings between
uses, perhaps by using cookies?" - Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand,
11/18/09 "I don't want to accept your cookies. I'd rather be able to bookmark
the page with my individual settings...then recall them, similar to an
ebay search, etc. Hope that's possible. Thanks." - Denver, Colorado,
USA, 4/15/10
Your practice settings are now automatically saved
in a cookie on your computer for your future return visit. We have also
added a non-cookie alternative to our list of possible future improvements.
Can you adapt this site for other instruments, such
as guitar?
"Has anyone successfully connected a midi
guitar
to this program? If so what make, model, etc. Thanks." - Atlanta, Georgia,
USA, 5/29/09
Any MIDI instrument (a.k.a. controller) should work with the MIDI
feature of this site as long as it sends a standard MIDI code when
a note is played, and you have a MIDI driver installed on your computer.
Most MIDI instruments come with a MIDI driver on a CD-ROM or downloadable
from the manufacturer's site. However, we have only tested it with a keyboard.
If you have used our MIDI feature with a non-keyboard instrument, like
a MIDI guitar, please tell us the model and we will add it here.
"Make one with a guitar fretboard to please!" - Hutchinson, Kansas,
USA, 4/15/09 "It would be great if you could make this same game but with a guitar
neck instead." - Peyton, Colorado, USA, 3/14/10
This seems quite feasible. In fact, we could probably adapt it for any
instrument with a well defined planar note topography. We have added that
to our list of possible future improvements.
Are the notes displaying correctly; are the answers
registering correctly?
"Always wrong note [even when I know it's correct]." - Sacramento,
California, USA, 5/7/09
Some system configurations or settings can cause the mouse to send the
wrong note. This program has a calibration feature
to detect, and in many cases correct, a mouse accuracy
problem.
Will this site work with the Apple Mac OS?
"I am running a Macbook 2.0ghz Intel - I can't get the midi to work." -
London,
England, UK, 5/29/09 "I am unable to get the midi keyboard to work. ... your program/site
says it is searching for midi devices but then [doesn't complete searching]
.... I run a Mac OSX." - Portsmouth, England, UK, 5/30/09
We have many Mac students, however the MIDI feature
will not work on a Mac. See MIDI "System Requirements"
for more details.
Can you make this site more fun, interesting, entertaining,
easier to change or understand?
"I hate it ... Could make it a bit more lively or in other [words,] this
this is so boring!!!!!! ... this really is confusing if you want to change
stuff + it could be more lively!!!! ... very dull only black green red
and blue ... more colourful ... smiley faces ... Jokes." - Preston,
England, UK, 6/8/09 - 2/9/10 "The page is too cluterred to understand what is expected of users."
-
Liverpool, New York, USA, 10/31/09
These are great suggestions. We'll add them to our list. If anyone has
any specific suggestions, please let us know.
Hint note doesn't delay
"The 5 sec delay has turned in to no delay. Even when I adjust the delay
to a 10 seconds, the revealed note appears instantaneously." - Schenectady,
New York, USA, 6/15/09
We haven't been able to determine with certainty what causes this problem,
but we have determined that it is a problem on the browser side, and not
with our program or server. It is caused by the browser not animating the
animated gif we use for the delay. We have added more information on this
in the
hint note help.
Can you display multiple notes like a measure (bar),
section (passage), or piece?
"You should put a whole sight reading piece up so we can practise." -
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 6/25/09 "Hello. May I suggest an additional exercise? Would it be possible
to present more then one note at the time, starting with two and then maybe
three or four etc.? - Netherlands Antilles, 3/23/10
We have added this to our list of possible future features. There are
currently other sites which will generate and print sheets of music for
off-line practice, but they don't have the advantage of error correction
and feedback.
Can I change the results message?
"My son who is 6 was very upset with the "WRONG! TRY AGAIN" message:) It
would be nice to have an option to change it to something more positive..."
- Renton, Washington, USA, 8/14/09
We will look in to making the wrong-note message kinder or user setable.
We'd love to hear further suggestions and comments.
For now, we will change to "Incorrect ..." which is less judgmental and
grammatically opposite "Correct."
Are there note-name mnemonics for ledger
lines?
"Could you help me with how to memorize the notes that fall above or
below the ledger lines. ... Thank you for your help." - Canon City,
Colorado, USA, 8/25/09
We have added a complete table of mnemonics to our tips
and hints section.
Can you add other clefs?
"Would you also be able to put the Alto clef and other C-clefs?" - Malden,
Massachusetts, USA, 10/14/09 "You should include the Alto clef - I play viola. :)" - Toronto,
Ontario, Canada, 11/4/09
Though rare for keyboard, this occasionally turns up in keyboard music
such as Brahms's Organ chorales and John Cage's Dream for piano. We have
added this to our list of possible future improvements.
How can I practice off-staff notes without octave notation?
"A lot of sheet music [does] not use the 8va and [15ma], This is where
I need the practise. Can I set this so that it show the notes high on the
ledger without the use of the 8va and [15ma]?" - Tallahassee, Florida,
USA 10/16/09
Set the maximum ledger lines settings to their maximum. Octave notation
automatically appears for notes beyond the specified ledger line limit,
so to decrease octave notation, increase the ledger line limits.
Can I use this program on my mobile phone, PDA, or
laptop?
"I would like to use this tool on my mobile....how can I get it to work?
Thanks" - London, England, UK, 2/5/10
We do not have a special mobile version or app of this site. However,
most WWAN or WLAN
mobile devices that can access a regular internet site can also use our
site. The Play-and-See and See-and-Play modes require only HTML and don't
use JavaScript or Java. Most phones with Wireless Internet Browsers (WIB)
will probably work. Your device does have to support input tags of type=image,
which tells us where you click on the piano keyboard image. Some WIBs don't
support this and always send (0,0). If your device doesn't work when you
first try it, your device is probably not compatible with the site and
can't be adjust to work on it.
How can I show you what my screen looks like?
1. Save a picture of the screen (a "screen shot") to the clipboard using
one of the following methods:
1.1 PC: Press and release the Print Screen key on the top of
your keyboard to the right of the F keys.
1.2 Mac: Simultaneously press Shift, Command, and 3, then release all.
2. Open your favorite image/photo editing application, OR in your Windows
Start menu, select Programs > Accessories > Paint.
3. In your image application menu:
3.1 Select File > New
3.2 Select Edit > Paste
3.3 Select File > Save
4. In the Save As dialog box:
4.1 Enter a name in the File name box.
4.2 Select JPEG in the Save as type box.
4.3 Save
5. Create a new email message to us, attach the jpg file you created above,
and send it to us.
Where is Middle C?
"One possible improvement would be to offer the option to label middle
C only. In going back and forth on the keyboard, sometimes I lose sight
of middle C. It would be helpful to have that one note labeled."
- Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, USA, 8/25/10
To help you find middle C while you are practicing, turn on one of the
keyboard labels. The Note-Names label shows middle
C (C4) bolded. The Key-Numbers label always shows middle C as key number
40.
Can you add relative note notation?
"My suggestion is to also print the relative position of the note within
the current key (e.g. '4th' would be printed when an F is shown in the
key of C). This is of great help to singers: if you know you are singing
a 4th, it helps you to hit that note. It is also helpful for jazz musicians,
who must be able to quickly identify the function of a note within a scale.
In C: C - 1st C# - b2 D - 2nd D# - b3 E - 3th F - 4th F# - #4, or b5 (pick
one at random to show) G - 5th G# - #5th or b6 (pick one at random to show)
A - 6 Bb - b7 B - 7th (ps jazz musicians would say b9 instead of b2, but
I would prefer to keep it simple and forget about b9, #11, etc)." - Spain,
9/21/10
This is an interesting suggestion. We have added this to our list of
possible future features.
Press Releases
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Web Site for Piano Sight-Reading Practice Builds Grand Staff
Fluency
SightReadingPractice.com now offers free online electronic flashcards
to train piano players to sight-read musical notes fluently on the grand
staff. Skill level is adjustable by selecting the key signature, range,
accidentals, ledger lines, octave notations, and labels. Sound aids ear-training
and audiation skills.
Eugene, Oregon -- A new Web site (http://www.sightreadingpractice.com)
provides free online drills to improve piano grand-staff fluency, a building
block for sight-reading. It displays a note on the grand staff for the
student to locate on a piano keyboard image. Students can customize their
practice to their skill level and specific training needs by selecting
the key signature, practice range, accidental use, number of ledger lines,
octave notations, and labels. Optional sounds provide ear-training, audiation
development, and note-names.
Sight-reading requires skills in pre-reading, remembering, and playing
chords, phrases, and patterns. It also relies heavily on intervallic and
directional playing, as well as fundamental technical skills [2]. But,
these skills all require grand staff fluency: an ability to instantly recognize
a note and locate it on the piano keyboard [1]. Paper flashcards teach
note identification [1,3] and develop keyboard topography visualization,
which improves tactile facility [2,3]. However, paper flashcards have limitations.
SightReadingPractice.com provides much more comprehensive and efficient
training than traditional paper flashcards. The site's complete selection
of notes, key signatures, accidentals, and octave notations, combine to
create over 5500 unique electronic flashcards. An ability to instantly
select a set of challenges that focus specifically on the student's level
and needs makes practice more efficient, productive, and rewarding. The
scope and flexibility of this site far exceeds the capability of paper
flashcards.
Students can select any of 15 key signatures (0 to 7 sharps or flats).
The practice range can be set to any number of notes located anywhere on
the standard 88 key music keyboard, enabling students to practice their
specific weakness range or a smaller keyboard. Students can practice with
or without accidental flats, sharps, naturals, enharmonics of natural notes,
and courtesy-natural notations. By selecting the number of ledger lines
with the practice range, the student can practice difficult off-the-staff
notes with up to 7 ledger lines and with octave notations (8va, 8vb, 15ma,
and 15mb).
Unlike other sight-reading practice software, students can begin practicing
the instant they land on SightReadingPractice.com. There is no need to
purchase, download, or install software, and no site registration is required.
No setup is required since the site defaults to a beginner level and has
five preset difficulty levels for users who don't yet need to customize
their practice.
For more information about this new site and its capabilities, visit
the site at http://www.sightreadingpractice.com. This site was developed
by Tegus Corporation.
NOTES
1. Beauchamp, Laura (May 1, 1999), “The 'Building Blocks' of Reading:
Suggestions for Developing Sight Reading Skills in Beginning Level College
Piano Classes”, Piano Pedagogy Forum (Columbia, SC: University of South
Carolina School of Music) 2 (2), www.music.sc.edu/ea/keyboard/PPF/2.2/2.2.PPFgp.html.
2. Hardy, Dianne (May 1, 1998), “Teaching Sight-Reading at the Piano:
Methodology and Significance”, Piano Pedagogy Forum (Columbia, SC: University
of South Carolina School of Music) 1 (2), www.music.sc.edu/ea/keyboard/PPF/1.2/1.2.PPFke.html.
3. Udtaisuk, Dneya (May, 2005), "A Theoretical Model of Piano Sightplaying
Components," Diss. U. of Missouri-Columbia 2005, pp.54-55, edt.missouri.edu/Winter2005/Dissertation/UdtaisukD-070705-D1115/research.pdf.
4. "Sight-Reading," Wikipedia, last accessed 9/18/08, www.wikipedia.org/sight-reading
ABOUT TEGUS CORPORATION
Tegus Corporation is a privately held product research and development
company. Tegus researches, develops or acquires, and licenses intellectual
properties for commercialization as innovative products and services. Tegus
intellectual properties include trade secrets, patents, trademarks, copyrights,
and domain names.
Praise
Here are some laudatory and useful comments we have received. Thank you
for all your wonderful comments! To add your praise to this list, please
use the comment box on the practice page, or
contact
us. For questions and suggestions, see our Q&A
section.
This is not an automated list - we update it manually - so there may
be delays. We appreciate all comments, but we don't necessarily post them
all. The locations of the submitters are based on the registration of their
IP address (with great thanks to www.ip2location.com
for their free lookup service) and might not be an exact location. To protect
the privacy of submitters, we have removed information that is potentially
personally identifying. The latest submission is shown on top.
Thanks it the best on the internet so far - Croydon, England, UK, 3/28/11
My music teacher gave this website to me, and I have played it every day
scince! I think that this website is awesome. My mom makes me go on this
website for ten minutes a day, and there is no possible chance that I will
not go on any single day! Bye! - Reston, Virginia, USA, 2/20/11, 3/10/11
I really appreciate this sight reading exercises, thanks alot. It has helped
me improve my sight reading as i prepare for ABRSM Grade 8 exams.- Nairobi,
Nairobi Area, Kenya, 2/21/11
I am sure that a few exercises have already improved my reading speed.
As I play the CELLO I would like to practice the TENOR CLEF and I am sure
viola players would appreciate the same for the ALTO CLEF. - London,
England, UK, 2/21/11
Thank you for this excellent resource - Dearborn, Michigan, USA, 2/18/11
This is a wonderful program and a tremendous aid to me in learning to sight
read. Well done. - Almeria, Andalucia, Spain, 2/17/11
Fantastic site! I'm a new SR student, and you are saving me bucks and time.
Thanks for this. - Bakersfield, California, USA, 1/9/11
You made an awesome! sight. I know this was hard work. And to give it as
a gift to people like me is great. I am an adult Beginner teaching myself
with much frustration. This will help immensely. I will check out your
midi beta testing and let you know how all went. Thanks again. - Watervliet,
New York, USA, 1/5/11
Pretty nice software, this is what I need. - Mesa, Arizona, USA, 1/2/11
I love this site. - Caledon, Ontario, Canada, 12/19/10
Really helpful for my exam! - Manchester, England, UK, 12/7/10
This game is helping me more on the piano! - Newton, Massachusetts,
USA, 11/23/10
Excellent resource - have thrown away my homemade 'flash cards' - UK,
11/15/10
I think this is a very useful rescource for me! Thank you very much. now
i am sure to do well in my exam!!! - Dublin, Republic of Ireland, 10/26/10
Great Website, Great practice for me to learn to read music. Thanks! -
Ridgewood,
New York, USA, 9/25/10
Just amazing - San Diego, California, USA, 9/24/10
First of all, thank you, this tool will be of great help to me! [See also
Q&A].
- Spain, 9/21/10
Very useful, nice job, thank you very much. - Dubai Dubai, United Arab
Emirates, 9/18/10
Love this program. - La Pine, Oregon, USA, 9/18/10
This is the best thing ever! - Vidor, Texas, USA, 9/17/10
I love this tool that you guys have came up with. - Metter, Georgia,
USA, 9/3/10
Hi. Thanks for providing this sight-reading tutorial free. I have found
it very helpful in developing note recognition. [See also Q&A].
Thanks, again for this very useful software. - Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin,
USA, 8/25/10
This is great! Thanks so much. This is allowing me to practice sight reading
while I'm at work on
my lunch break! - Bakersfield, California, USA, 7/22/10
Incredible piece of software! This brings me hope for my ABRSM endeavors
in sight-reading. It is cool, accurate and is beautifully customizable.
The only thing this lacks, really, is a practice for recognizing chords
and intervals- but oh well, that'll come by instinct. Thanks to this program.
- London, England, UK, 7/9/10
This is perfect. Thank you for providing this service. - Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia, 6/17/10
Great and fun way to learn sightreading for my grade 2. - London, England,
UK, 5/27/10
Cool ... really great piano teacher said he could see the improvements
- Manchester, England, UK, 5/25/10
This is a great tool ... clearly in awsome territory ... fantastic tool
... Your site is so helpful. I hope there's a revenue stream from your
work. It's certainly worthy! - Andover, Massachusetts, USA, 5/15/10
Great page for sight reading practice - Oranjestad, Aruba, 5/13/10
Thank you this is very fun! I enjoy this very much - Brooklyn, New York,
USA, 5/11/10
Happy to have found you! This is an unbelievable help to my struggle coordinate
my eye to finger movement. Well done.- Barrow-In-Furness, England, United
Kingdom, 5/5/10
This is a pretty helpful site, after only a couple of days of practice
(at least an hour or so a day) and I'm already able to look at bars of
music and learn them much faster, rather than having to figure out and
pick out each individual note in order to learn the piece, which obviously
slowed me down A LOT while trying to learn new pieces. - Athens, Georgia,
USA, 4/22/10
Hi. You're site is great...very useful. [See also Q&A]
Thanks. - Denver, Colorado, USA, 4/15/10
This is an awesome tool! I haven't had lessons in years, and this is making
it so easy to get back into reading music. Thanks so much! - Philadelphia,
Mississippi, USA, 4/6/10
This is by far the BEST sight reading practice site I have seen and I have
looked for something like this for quite some time. - Calgary, Alberta,
Canada, 3/24/10
This morning I discovered your program after exhaustively searching the
Internet for music notes flashcarding software. I found nothing suitable
... until I ran across your website. Your program is perfect, and I am
impressed. I am now trying to use my MIDI keyboard ... however, and I can't
get your program to recognize the keyboard. ... Being able to connect a
MIDI keyboard will be a terrific benefit to me, and perhaps soon you can
add the 'chords' capability. That will be the ultimate capability. Thank
you. [See also MIDI Problem] - Huntsville, Alabama,
USA, 3/24/10
This is absolutely fantastic. I wrote an application to do the same (more
like a rolling staff) for my midi keyboard, but if I'm away from that,
I can still practice online. Thanks! This is great. ... sound adds so much
to the sessions. [See also Q&A] - Sicklerville,
New Jersey, USA, 3/23/10
I love it. I am taking classes the piano at college. They go faster than
me. This practice allow me to go at my own pace and also I really understand
waht the profesor says at class. I barely grasp the concepts at clas and
here I can understand them with the practice exercises. So cool. Thank
you. - Carbondale, Illinois, USA, 3/20/10
I love your exercise machine. I try to do at least 10 rounds every day.
... Thank you. I wish I could have programmed an exercise machine like
yours. Nice job. [See also Q&A] - Netherlands
Antilles, 3/16/10
This is great practice. [See also Q&A] - Peyton,
Colorado, USA, 3/14/10
I am better than my teacher because of this site! - Portland, Oregon,
USA, 3/12/10
This is simply great!! - Antilles, Netherlands, 3/11/10
This is the best way I have found learning to sight read - many thanks.
- London, England, UK, 3/5/10
Thanks a lot for this site. I have spent a lot of hours clicking away on
online games. Finally I can get something out of all that clicking. - Irvine,
CA, USA, 3/4/10
Excellent. - London, England, UK, 3/3/10
Absolutely brilliant - many thanks, guys, I am hoping to imperove my sight
reading considerably!! - London, England, UK, 2/28/10
Good website - Washington, DC, USA, 2/25/10
Absolutely great!!! This is an absolute must have for any serious music
student. [See also Q&A]. - Belington, West Virginia,
USA, 2/24/10
Hi a quick note of thanks for a great site. i have spent ages trolling
through web pages to find a good sight reading game, this site is by far
numero uno! it has help me memorise those dreaded legder line notes pretty
much spot on now ( all down to this site / game) just wish i had found
it sooner! Thanks - Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, UK, 2/19/10
Very good [site]. I use it once a day about 10 to 20 rounds a day, and
[I've] been using it for about 3 or 4 days now and I feel within that little
time it's helped improve my reading. A+ on this sight. - Ann Arbor,
Michigan, USA, 2/11/10
Sweet program - Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA, 1/29/10
This is really helping my sight reading - thank you! - London, England,
UK, 12/17/09
I love this website. It is my grade 3 piano exam on friday and it is really
useful. - Portsmouth, England, UK, 12/9/09
This is a wonderful tool to learn from...the best. However, I have dial
up internet connection, which is very slow. Would purchase this product
if it were available. [See also Q&A] - Clarksburg,
West Virginia, USA, 12/5/09
Great website! Helps tons and the custom practice is great because you
can pick your level and learn at your own pace! Thank You so much for coming
up with this and sharing it with others! ... This Website is amazingly
awesomely usful and helpful! Thank you so much for making this a public
resource! It helps so much! I LOVE the Custom...! Awesome! Thank You again!
-
North Bend, Oregon, USA, 12/3/09
I've been trolling the internet all night looking for exactly what you
have ... This would be a perfect site for me if it had an auto-advance
option so I could use it with my non-MIDI keyboard. Pretty pretty please?
:) [Great idea! We added a non-MIDI practice mode.]
-
Ft. Collins, Colorado, USA, 12/1/09
Awesome website! - Fairfax, Virginia, USA, 11/29/09
Great ... The best sight reading site on the net. Well done and its free.
Kind Regards ... - Noble Park, Victoria, Australia, 11/24/09
This is great. - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA, 11/14/09
Thanks for all the work, you certainly have put a lot of effort into this
site, and all free! [See also Q&A] - Strasbourg,
Alsace, France, 11/13/09
These exercise are great. - Antigua and Barbuda, 11/10/09
This is an amazing tool that you have created! All the music schools and
conservatories should know about it. I just started to learn piano and
one component of my training is sight reading. I really need to be better
at reading just the basic notes. This is amazing! And I can practice at
work while my boss is not watching. [See also Q&A].
:) - Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 11/4/09
Hi this is a FANTASTIC website. I have been using this and feel more comfortable
with the treble and bass. [See also Q&A] THANK
YOU AGAIN! - Malden, Massachusetts, USA, 10/14/09
This is absolutely great! I'm lying in bed before going to sleep and able
to practice sight reading! Tomorrow I'll do the same on my phone on the
train on my way to work! - San Leandro, California, USA, 10/13/09
I just want to thank you for making this available at no charge. We appreciate
it very much! ... Our youngest has had trouble learning to read the notes
and I believe your program is going to really help her get over this hurdle.
-
Estacada, Oregon, USA, 10/5/09
Good Job - WOHOO - West Newton, Massachusetts, USA, 9/26/09
This is so cool - Bracknell, England, UK, 9/1/09
Great website!!! [See also Q&A] - Renton,
Washington, USA, 8/14/09
This is a very useful webpage. Whenever I have 5 minutes spare I use it.
-
London, England, UK, 8/7/09
I love the program. - Dallas, Texas, USA, 7/24/09
Great site! I've been looking all over for something like this. [See also
new troubleshooting item in MIDI] - Leicester, England,
UK, 7/8/09
Comment: great site,very helpfull! :-) - London, England, UK, 7/3/09
Exactly what I was looking for. - Jacksonville, North Carolina, USA,
6/21/09
I've been using your sight reading site for several weeks now and have
enjoyed it. [See also Q&A] - Schenectady,
New York, USA, 6/15/09
Excellent site for practising fast note recognition. - Cairo, Al Qahirah,
Egypt, 6/10/09
I really do love the [site] and can see it helping a lot of people... me
included! :) [See also Q&A] - Portsmouth, England,
UK, 5/30/09
What a fantastic website, exactly what I was looking for, you people are
brilliant!! Thanks so much! - New York, New York, USA, 5/28/09
I'm getting much better at note reading by working with your great program....
Thanx [See also revised Q&A] - Leesburg, Florida,
USA, 5/19/09
This is terrific!!! - Washington, DC, USA, 5/17/09
A great program ... Thanks so much for your kind and patient help, it has
been a real learning experience, and I can see how you get all the praise
for your program. ... I am really looking forward to my next practice session
and I will keep you posted on my (hopeful) progress. Again, many thanks
for both your help and your program. [See also MIDI.]
- Wingham, Ontario, Canada, 5/13/09
Great program!!! [See also revised Q&A,
and revised
Q&A.] - Leesburg, Florida, USA,
5/12/09
Thanks, great website! - Boston Massachusetts, USA, 5/10/09
I love it! Thanx =] - Tel Aviv, Israel, 5/9/09
It's a pretty good program, especially for the price! [See also new Q&A
and revised Q&A] - Sacramento, California, USA,
5/7/09
This beats paper flash cards any day! - Dallas, Texas, USA, 4/29/09
Very nice. [See also new Q&A.] - Hutchinson,
Kansas, USA, 4/15/09
I'm just returning to music after 30 years. This is a wonderful help. Thank
you! - Pasadena, California, USA, 4/1/09
Very useful app! Thanks [See also revised Q&A.]
- Dublin, Ireland, 3/28/09
I really enjoy this site! I look forward to improving my sight reading,
and note identification skills. This is a wonderful program, best of all
it is free! ... Excellent work! [See also revised Q&A.]
- Corn, Oklahoma, USA, 3/18/09
As a beginner, this is the most useful site I have found to help improve
my sight reading. - Barnsley, England, UK, 3/15/09
This has been very helpful. - Killeen, Texas, USA, 3/13/09
Very nice exercise. [See also revised Q&A and
new Q&A.] - St. Charles, Missouri, USA, 3/8/09,
3/10/09
I love your website ... - Orlando, Florida, USA, 3/5/09
Great tool! I'm just addicted to this site! [See also new Q&As
(1) (2).] - Paris, France,
3/1/09
Hey this program is great! Thanks guys - Denver, Colorado, USA, 2/20/09
Superb exercises. [See also Q&A.] - Toronto,
Ontario, Canada, 2/18/09
This website is the best I have come across so far. [See also new Q&A.]
-
New York, New York, USA, 2/17/09
Great for an old lady trying to learn, but keys could be a bit larger.
[Editor: Good idea! We created a wide keyboard image
on 2/13/09] - Cumbria county, England, UK, 2/11/09
I am 68 and a beginner in learning music. I love your site because it starts
with simple exercises that make us increase our reading at the pace we
can. - Venezuela, 2/4/09
I love this site - San Antonio, Texas, USA, 1/28/09
I love it - thanks. - Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1/28/09
This is a great program. - New York, New York, USA, 1/27/09
I just found your site, great leaning tool. I need this kind of practice.
- Springfield, Missouri, USA, 1/14/09
I love this site. Only noticed it a few days ago and am already seeing
great results. Good to do on your break for a quick refresher of those
tough ledger lines! - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 1/13/09
Good practice aide - Germantown, Maryland, USA, 1/10/09
Thanks for getting my suggested improvements up and running so quickly!
- Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK, 1/8/09
THANK YOU. I LOVE THIS THING!!!!!!!!!!! - Tucson, Arizona, USA, 1/4/09
Thank you for a great resource. I was able to scrape through the sight
reading section of a recent piano exam with the help of this site!! A certain
fail otherwise!! - Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK, 12/29/08
Thank you!!! I've been playing piano for 25 years, and never made the time
to learn how to sight read. This is EXACTLY what the doctor ordered :D
-
Coventry, Rhode Island, USA, 12/27/08
I found this site very useful. It's a great help in memorizing notes on
a piano. Keep up the good work. - Hayatabad, Peshawar, Pakistan, 12/19/08
I love this website. Getting a little better each day. - Raleigh, North
Carolina, USA, 12/11/08
Thank you so much for devising this online system! ... Sightreading has
always been my weakest skill and now I have an excellent, efficient and
readily accessible system to improve with! Your free, online service is
greatly appreciated. I ... will be spreading the word about this great
website. - Urbana, Illinois, USA, 12/5/08
I like it! It's good practice but I think it might take a lot of practice
to learn this way! - Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 11/27/08
It's excellent! These sightreading exercises are 100% excellent! Rock on!
heheheh. It's really great. I'm a pianist and it's so helpful, especially
for those notes with more than 3 ledger lines, lol. Bless your hearts.
- Armada, Michigan, USA, 10/27/08
Very good for children. - Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, 10/23/08
Great! - Lisbon, Portugal, 10/21/08
I found your site when searching for sight-reading assistance...this is
really helping me, so thanks! - Toledo, Ohio, USA, 10/18/08
This is the best practice. - Costa Mesa, California, USA, 10/15/08
This is soooo great!!!...Just by doing this I had to skip 2 levels because
they were getting easier after practising this!!! It's amazing! - Perth,
Australia, 10/11/08
This is Great! - Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, 10/4/08
THANKS A TON! This is a life saver for me. I was ready to give up but this
changed it all. Thank You Very Much - Canton, Ohio, USA, 9/18/08
News
Here are recent site issues and improvements, some as a result of user
comments. (Latest on top).
03/23/09: Add close [X] button on keyboard labels, and buttons to open
again.
03/16/09: Added image and more detail to No Sound Q&A.
03/10/09: Added Resource links to customized amazon list of chord charts
and keyboard guides.
06/06/09: Added Resources links left of staff. Changed statistics color
so blue is only used for links.
03/03/09: Fixed bugs that sometimes supressed inside ledger lines in play&see
mode, and in ledger-lines-only mode with single-staff ranges.
03/03/09: Increased max inside ledger lines from 3 to 4 as requested by
student in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK, 2/28/09
02/24/09: Changed break-page trend from time to average score. Refined
score calculation. Added current score to response message, average score
in statistics section.
02/18/09: Moved response-time trend from response message to break page,
and increased from 10 to 30 points. This is less distracting during practice
and easier to study during the break
02/17/09: Added instructions for magnifying staff.
02/13/09: Created a wide keyboard image as suggested
by student in Cumbria county, England, UK, 2/11/09. Added option
for original width.
02/10/09: Added practice statistics to break page as suggested by student
in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK 2/10/09.
02/02/09: Changed return from play-and-see mode to preserve settings (except
hint delay) instead of reverting to defaults.
01/26/09: Upgraded Preset Difficulty Level feature: Renamed to Exercises;
Added its control of key signature, ledger-lines-only option; Kept its
control over practice range, ledger lines, accidentals; Removed its control
over labels, hint, sound, and break, so students can select an exercise
without disturbing these preferences; Replaced 5 nondescript and limited
preset levels with 23 graduated exercises with descriptions; renamed Custom
Difficulty Level to Custom Practice
01/20/09: Changed instruction tags to display only once per session instead
of redundantly on some setting changes; changed from jpg to gif.
01/19/09: Changed key signature selection from a static table menu below
the keyboard to a drop-down menu above the staff. This decreases the page
size and loading time for our non-broadband students. The key signature
name displayed there helps students learn the names corresponding with
the notations. Changed staff image from jpg to gif (5X faster).
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As a service to you, we provide links to other resources for piano study,
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If you click on one of the resource links, you can still resume your
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with your practice.