This is really cool! As someone who has basically no piano training, this is fun! Perhaps there could be some super-easy mode where you actually highlight the keys while you're playing the sounds (in simon mode) to help the super noobs train their ears.
Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear
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Re: Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
My disconnect is I can't read sheet music. So I can hear it, then memorize where it is on the piano/keyboard... but that just teaches you play piano by ear. It doesn't teach you how to play music in the traditional sense. I guess this showing you the sheet music as you find the notes can help with that, but as others noted - I'd like a "mess around" mode, before a "test" mode.
I think it depends on your end goal. I have a great ear and am terrible at reading sheet music. Fine if you aspire to be a rock guitarist. Not so fine if you aspire to be a classical pianist. Funny, but I'm final tired of my poor sight reading and have set a goal for 2025 to average one hour of piano playing from sheet music per day. And I agree...a "mess around" mode on the app would be great. Feels almost punitive…
Hey RyanOD,
If you're looking to improve your sight-reading and don’t mind playing church music, I highly recommend picking up a second-hand copy of an old Episcopal Church hymnal (I like the 1940 edition). All the pieces are four-voice and the rhythms are relatively simple, so you can concentrate on sight reading. Good luck!
Re: Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear
#73This is great - bookmarked! I've connected my casio midi keyboard to it, hope it will help me with getting the right key of a song (I can work out a tune already, but sometimes in the wrong key)
Glad you liked it! Good luck with your practice!
Re: Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear
#74I'd like more tries to pick out the notes when pecking at the on-screen keyboard. I don't need to hear the pattern again, I need to learn where the note pitches are on the keyboard.
Thanks for the feedback! I'll have to give this some thought. You mean something like a, "X Tries To Get the Next Note?". I could add it as an option.
Re: Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear
#75Make it repeat the same exercise when I fail.
Hey souenzzo - it should repeat the same exercise when you fail in Practice Model. If you want it to mimic Simon, just set "Show Last Note" in the Settings.
Re: Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear
#76I really like this idea. Simple interface, a single goal, it and it doesn't claim to be a full piano course. However, the user experience is incredibly frustrating for amateur players like myself. For some reason i have to hold down each previous note or else it fails? And often when I do play the right note I get no feedack to say so. Another thing is the annoying wait between listening to the piece and playing ever…
Wait, you have to hold down each previous note? So at the end of a four-note sequence you are physically depressing four keys? Hmmm... that sounds like a bug to me.
I'll look into it!
Re: Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear
#77Earlier 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…
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…
Right, and I addressed all that as well. I doubt we are in serious disagreement here and calls for me to “read a book” are frankly rude. I think you need to be more generous in the interpretation of others words because I actually disagree with the original poster for the most part, but you obviously have a different definition of “teach” than he. Flash cards don’t teach. They assist memorization or practice. Memorizing times tables doesn’t teach multiplication except trivially for the numbers you’ve memorized. It does assist in learning multiplication. Likewise this ear training can trivialize learning and identifying intervals later but is not itself “teaching intervals”.
Re: Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear
#78Nice project! I'm not very strong at note recognition, so I see the “Wrong note” message quite often (which is totally fine), but the frequent blinking feels a bit distracting. You might consider making the feedback a little less visually intense.
Thanks! I see what you're saying - the "Blurred overlay" which says "Sorry Wrote Note!". I could see how that'd be physically jarring after a while.
So you're saying I should add a klaxon? :)
Seriously though - I'll look into a redesign!
Re: Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear
#79Very cool! Love the simplicity of this. Built a similar mode in Midiano (also a midi webapp, but focused on playing MIDI files). But this is much cleaner for a quick exercise. Mine never really got past the prototype stage though. Safe to say, I'll be coming back to this thread for ideas when I do get around working on it again :)
Re: Show HN: I made a memory game to teach you to play piano by ear
#80Love this!!
One improvement that would help me a lot is to control the playback speed. My brain needs to start a bit slower as some of the sequences are fairly fast for my brain right now.
Thank you