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Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear

lend-me-your-ears.specr.net

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Re: Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear

#61

Post by karmakaze »

vunderba wrote: post #58
allenu wrote: post #38

It's a very cool little game! One suggestion: could you make it so you can noodle around on the keyboard without submitting the answer and then once you've worked it out, have a submission mode? Right now, it's frustrating that if you enter a wrong note, it shows a message, so you can't experiment on the keyboard to try to work it out.

That's a good idea - I'll try to get that implemented this evening.

Having both modes could be good. Default allows pre-noodling and enabled gives satisfaction of being correct one-shot (or falls back to retry with noodle).

Re: Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear

#62

Post by vunderba »

evanmoran wrote: post #34

This is great! Please consider even easier settings for kids. Maybe 2 notes (not 4) as the min starting point and slower ramp up as you succeed. Also, I think the missed the first note UI could feel a little nicer. Something about the popup/hiding the music takes you out of the flow. Possibly just a subtitle would be enough with an encouraging message. There is a big difference between failing to do the whole pattern…

This is good feedback - I'll add it in the next version! I actually wrote this for my younger sister but she already has some musical training so it isn't as geared towards beginners.

Re: Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear

#67

Post by vunderba »

polarbearballs wrote: post #48

As someone who practices music 2 to 3 hours a day. I love this. I think people are coming at it as if it were a video game or designed to be a "portfolio project" but as a musician, I think you really created something awesome and lets me practice on what I'm most insecure about....my ear.

Hey polarbearballs (I feel a bit funny writing this name),

Thanks for the feedback - I'm glad you found it useful! I literally made it because I was thinking about the old Simon toy which plays a set of consonant notes (G, C, E, G) and thought it would be a fun way to practice playing by ear!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_(game)

Re: Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear

#69

Post by cgriswald »

shermantanktop wrote: post #55
cgriswald wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This teaches intervals like Duolingo teaches language rules. You sort of pick them up because you need them to figure out the small melody it plays. But you don't get the concept of a 'fourth' or a 'fifth' and there's never a moment where the actual rules are explained. That said, I think it's very useful for what it is and highlights that whatever your view on AI, there is a niche here that AI can fill that people o…

It's ear training, not theory training, right?

Yes, which is why it doesn’t teach intervals, but is still useful.

Re: Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear

#70

Post by recursive »

cgriswald wrote: post #45
recursive wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been playing piano for 40 years, tend to hate anything with AI-buzzwords anywhere adjacent to it. But I generally think this particularly one is a good thing. Curious what you mean by no attempt to teach. We learn multiplication tables by rote. Are flash cards a genuine instrument of learning? The only way to learn intervals is to practice identifying them. This is how you do it. You can read about music theory…

This teaches intervals like Duolingo teaches language rules. You sort of pick them up because you need them to figure out the small melody it plays. But you don't get the concept of a 'fourth' or a 'fifth' and there's never a moment where the actual rules are explained. That said, I think it's very useful for what it is and highlights that whatever your view on AI, there is a niche here that AI can fill that people o…

I addressed that. You should read a book to learn the definition of intervals. But in addition, there's no substitute for ear training. Grinding on interval identification is just as valid as this. Once you get to a level where you can identify intervals on the keyboard, the skills are pretty transferable. But there's just no way to learn what a fifth sounds like by reading a book. You need something like this. There is probably room to add a mode that says "this is a fifth" after you identify a fifth. Or to choose a named interval or chord quality based on hearing it. But I don't think any of that diminishes the utility of what's here.

FWIW I think it's probably more useful to play what you hear than it is to be able to name it. Although they're both good.

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