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How I trained sheet reading using the Web MIDI API

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Re: How I trained sheet reading using the Web MIDI API

#11

From a musician's point of view this sounds like a dangerous idea. Training your hands on random sequences of notes which do not make sense musically and relying on visual feedback feels like it will do nothing to build the skill which you actually need which is the ability to associate hand movements to musical patterns. But then it is probably just what you need if you want to play crazy atonal music. What do i kno…

Well, I'm on the fence... I'm not a great reader on the piano (I'm terrible) but I can read well enough to play gigs on the upright bass.

On on hand, my reaction was the same... I am usually trying to decide what chord I'm supposed to be playing at a given moment and to decipher what the bass and melody are doing... so this is more like a typing exercise where you do random typing.

On the other hand, I don't read much for the piano and all I can play are those patterns... I have 10 or so bass patterns and know how to come up with inversions of all the chords without thinking, so it is easy to play some elton john tune but very difficult to read beginner bach. Being forced to play a combination of notes that aren't already in my musical vocabulary sounds like a good way to learn to read.

Maybe there is a common ground where, like typing tutorial software the trainer generates somewhat normal musical patterns in a random fashion.

Re: How I trained sheet reading using the Web MIDI API

#12

From a musician's point of view this sounds like a dangerous idea. Training your hands on random sequences of notes which do not make sense musically and relying on visual feedback feels like it will do nothing to build the skill which you actually need which is the ability to associate hand movements to musical patterns. But then it is probably just what you need if you want to play crazy atonal music. What do i kno…

Atonal (actually, I'd argue microtonal) music is totally where it's at though...

good luck with microtonal on a midi keyboard, though..

Re: How I trained sheet reading using the Web MIDI API

#13
This is a first step toward writing your own ear training software, like EarMaster Pro. It has chord training, interval training, etc. This is probably closest to melodic sight-"singing" (you can use a midi instrument too) which is randomly generated melodic sequences, although it's aimed at singers so no chords.

There's also sightreadingfactory which generates random music to play as well. This one allows you to pick an instrument, level, time signature, and key. But it isn't interactive. It'd be great if they added web midi.

Re: How I trained sheet reading using the Web MIDI API

#14

From a musician's point of view this sounds like a dangerous idea. Training your hands on random sequences of notes which do not make sense musically and relying on visual feedback feels like it will do nothing to build the skill which you actually need which is the ability to associate hand movements to musical patterns. But then it is probably just what you need if you want to play crazy atonal music. What do i kno…

Sight-reading is an important skill, even essential for many studio and session musicians.

Re: How I trained sheet reading using the Web MIDI API

#15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Atonal (actually, I'd argue microtonal) music is totally where it's at though...

good luck with microtonal on a midi keyboard, though..

Every midi workstation I've used for a while lets you make +/- cent adjustments.

Then there's the tonal plexus and similar.

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