Resources to Keep on Learning
Study
Practice
Study More
Become a Legend
Help with Rhythm
Rhythm Cat (the lite version is free; the full version is $4.99)
This app features various levels where students have to tap out the rhythm shown on the screen.
Rhythm Training (FREE iPhone/iPad versions are limited to 10 levels; $1.99iPhone/iPad “Pro” versions include 50 levels)
Rhythm Training provides 3- to 5-measure rhythm examples for the user to practice. The user can change the tempo and change the percussion sound of the tapping button.
The Most Addicting Sheep Game ($0.99)
This app might not sound like an educational music game, but it is! In order to make the sheep jump at the appropriate times in the game, the player must tap on the beat. The background music is great and this game promotes having the student listen carefully and keep an internal beat. And it is super fun!
Help Note Reading
Note Perfect! ($0.99)
This app tests players on how many notes they can identify within a set time limit for each note. There are three levels of difficulty: Beginner, Intermediate, and Virtuoso. Once the time is up, the game is over and the score is displayed. The app keeps track of all the high scores.
Flashnote Derby ($0.99)
Flashnote Derby is a note-naming app, but it is more of a game! By naming notes correctly, your horse might win the race. There is even a reindeer mode to use around Christmastime.
NoteWorks (Links: Free iPhone version, full iPhone version for $4.99, Free iPad version, full iPad version for $4.99)
This is another app for practicing note names, but NoteWorks feels more like a game than a flashcard drill! NoteWorks allows you to save your progress under your own name, earn points, and advance to different levels.
MusicNotes Deck: Music Flash Cards (FREE)
The MusicNotes Deck app provides three decks of flashcards: (1) 50 music symbols/terms, (2) two octaves of treble clef note identification, and (3) two octaves of bass clef note identification. Please note that this app is NOT a game nor does it automatically correct answers in any way. Instead, the app shows flashcard and allows the user to “turn over the flashcard” to see the answer on the back. The app also can pronounce each term with either English or British pronunciation. This app is a great way to study musical terms and symbols as well as practice note identification.
Help with Sight Reading
Piano Maestro (FREE for teacher accounts and for students who are connected to a teacher account) — *for iPad only.*
If you are not already familiar with Piano Maestro, here’s how I would sum it up: Piano Maestro is an app for iPad that provides music for the student to play, listens to the student’s acoustic piano using the iPad’s microphone (no wires required, although if you prefer to hook it up to a keyboard with headphones, you can), and evaluates the student’s playing based on note accuracy and rhythm accuracy. The student’s progress is saved over time and points are awarded, essentially “gamifying” the experience. The developer, JoyTunes, is a team dedicated to piano education and listening to feedback from teachers. There is much to say about this “game changing” app.
Help with Music Theory
Theory Lessons ($1.99)
This app was created by the same folks behind the fantastic musictheory.net website and provides a convenient way for students to access the musictheory.net tutorials on their iPhone/iPad. This is an excellent app especially for self-motivated high-school or adult students.
Help with Ear Training
SingSmash (FREE version or $0.99 for an ad-free version)
This game is a great trainer to test pitch memory and the user’s ability sing on pitch. Before each level, the game sounds three pitches (e.g., C,D,E or perhaps C,E,G) that the player must remember. When gameplay begins, a small ball begins slowly bouncing from the top of the screen to the bottom of the screen. To prevent the ball from falling below the bottom edge of the screen, the player must sing one of the three pitches in order to make the paddles along with the bottom light up.
Blob Chorus Ear Training (FREE)
This ear training app is fun and silly, but it does have some educational value! Each of the blobs in the chorus sings a note, and then the king blob sings his note. The aim of the game is for the student to identify the blob that sang the same note as the king blob.
Help with Instruments Knowledge
Peekaboo Orchestra (the Lite Version is FREE; the full version is $1.99)
Unlike some orchestra apps which only quizzes students, this one actually teaches instrument names/sounds.
Help to Study Music
Steinway Metronome (FREE)
Steinway designed this free metronome app. There are many different metronome apps available, but this one is my personal favorite. It looks nice and is easy to use. You can even choose from eight different “wood finishes” from the Settings menu. 🙂
iTalk Recorder (the lite version is FREE; the premium version is $1.99)
This app works great for recording audio (when you don’t want video) of your or your students’ playing. There are two advantages of using iTalk versus the pre-installed Voice Memos app: (1) higher audio quality (AIFF files); and (2) convenience (easy transferring/syncing files).
SpeakBeat ($1.99)
SpeakBeat is a metronome app, but with a twist: it “speaks” the beats! Just choose the time signature and choose whether you’d like sub-beats counted (the “and’s,” “one-and-a’s,” and the “one-e-and-a’s”) or not. This metronome alternative can help students become more aware of the meter when they play.
Petronome (FREE or $0.99 to remove ads)
Petronome is just what it sounds like: a pet + a metronome. The metronome sound you will hear is the pet “mewing,” “barking,” etc. Your young students will be absolutely charmed! It is a fun app to use for rhythm activities with preschoolers or any young beginner student.
SpeedTube (FREE)
SpeedTube allows you to choose any video on YouTube and play it under tempo, without adversely affecting the pitch of the audio. This could be useful for learning new licks to play from YouTube tutorials or when transcribing music (when legal to do so, of course).
Tempo SlowMo Pro (FREE)
This app allows you to choose any music track currently on your iDevice and slow or speed up the tempo, without adversely affecting the pitch of the audio. In-app purchases allow you to remove ads or add extra features.
Help to Write Music
NotateMe (FREE version or $39.99 for the full version) — for iPad/iPhone (also available for Android).
NotateMe is a music notation app that allows users to enter music by hand or using a stylus. As the notes are drawn, the app interprets your handwriting and creates printed notation. This technology is impressive! The app allows you to export MusicXML files, MIDI files, or PDFs of your scores.
