Perfect Pitch Piano teaches something that I’ve been trying to learn for years: to play the piano by ear. There’s a corny joke in there. Musicians still need their hands to play the instrument, not their ears, but Perfect Pitch Piano does go some way to teaching those interested to play a tune.

Basically, Perfect Pitch Piano plays a melody and then leaves the user to play it back. It’s a subtle teaching tool but one that should work well with practice. In its endeavours, Perfect Pitch Piano teaches users to learn all the fundamental building blocks of music playing such as intervals and timings.

Classic songs can be learnt through the app such as Amazing Grace, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Mary Had a Little Lamb, ideal starting places for beginners.

Those a little more experienced aren’t left out, however, as they can adjust the key and tempo to make things more challenging.

On sale at $1.99, Perfect Pitch Piano is bound to be an ideal tool for those learning to play the piano.

$0.99

Perfect Pitch Piano

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-09-16 :: Category: Music

Got game? The folks at AlphaWeb Plus do, with their new music app, PlayItYourself 4 HD. This is a game that helps users learn to play the piano. Using the on-screen keyboard, learners simply follow the scrolling musical notes and press the highlighted keys on the piano. Simple as that. Budding piano men and women can even choose parts of a score they wish to practice and allow the app to play the rest of the score for them – useful for mastering that tricky phrase in a particular piece of music. Or, choose one hand to practice, and allow the app to play the other hand. Nifty!

PlayItYourself can even add, edit and export scores via the MuseScore desktop app, a free, cross platform music notation program. Scores can then be synced through iTunes. Other features include high quality sound samples, automatic tempo matching (for when one of your hands plays slower or faster than the hand the app may be playing), and authentically scored sheet music, formatted for the iPad.

The sheet music that comes with the app includes Fur Elise and Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven, Air on the G string by Bach, The Entertainer by Joplin, and about 15 more. The screenshots below show Game Center and OpenFeint integration, so players can show off their serious skills to all their jealous friends.

While the app may or may not actually help all users learn how to play a true keyboard or piano, the pedagogy here seems sound. Much of instrument playing consists of training our hands and our eyes to work in concert as well as independently of each other. Watching true musical notation while learning where those notes are on the piano keyboard seems like a grand way to start learning one of western music’s most representative instrument. Time will only tell if the virtual keyboard learning can transfer to a true “real life” keyboard.

PlayItYourself 4 HD is available now on the App Store, and won’t cost a thin dime for the price of entry.

FREE!

PlayItYourself 4 HD

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2011-07-16 :: Category: Music

It has been said that music is the universal language.  The strum of a chord is truly understandable in any language, which makes it such a helpful tool in communicating emotion, without ever having to utter a single syllable.  This is why music is so critical to the culture of the world, and why it is even more critical that people have opportunities to learn how to be musical.

A brand new app named On the Music Path looks to agree with this sentiment and help to try to bring a whole new horizon of education within the iOS consumer’s grasp.

“… On the Music Path is an iPad app that offers in-depth lessons from world-renowned musicians on how to play the guitar, piano, drums and bass, including:Jackson Browne on fingerstyle guitar, Ravi Shankar on the sitar, Richard Thompson on acoustic rock guitar, Vonda Shepard on piano for singers, Lee Ritenour on jazz guitar, Leland Sklar on the bass, Kenny Sultan on the blues, Scott Tennant on classical guitar, Steve Postell on the fundamentals of how to play the guitar, and many, many others.” — VIA On The Path Developer Blog

With lessons ranging in price from $1.99 to $19.99, you will get the best one-on-one instructional videos available on the market, all shot in glorious high definition.  Each individual lesson will clock in at a length of anywhere from 45 to 85 minutes long and will allow users the chance to get some of the best education that money can buy.

While yes, the pricetag may seem a little steep, know that there are several lessons that are included in the application’s base price, just so you can get an idea of what can be expected from each lesson.  If you have ever been curious about where to start learning an instrument, this would be the perfect place to start.  Plus, lets face it, if you are learning from a video, you don’t need to worry about embarrassing yourself in front of a classroom full of students!

FREE!

On the Music Path

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2011-04-25 :: Category: Music