Music is an integral part of human life. No doubt, it is also a way for people to express themselves and interpret what’s going on around them. But how does one learn how to play music? While there are several resources available for music education, studying the subject in person is usually the best approach. While online learning platforms can provide easy access to the required materials and information, there are still many people who prefer learning from teachers in person because they benefit from immediate feedback and real-life examples that promote personal growth.
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Best Apps For Learning Music Notes
BY WES POSTED ON 10/16/2020 03:22 PM
One of the biggest struggles for new music students is learning to read the notes. In the past, students learned mnemonic phrases and practiced with flash cards — techniques that still work, but can be so boring!
Technology has progressed a lot since then, so here are 5 free iPhone & iPad apps that make learning to read music fun!
MUSIC TUTOR (SIGHT-READING)
Music Tutor (Sight-Reading) by Jsplash Apps is free, user friendly, and improves note identification one note at a time. The app includes timed exercises to help you improve your reading speed, lets you review your test results to show you what you missed, and keep track of your progress.
The app does have occasional ads, but the ads aren’t too frequent or irritating. Music Tutor also offers an ad-free version for $1.99.
Music Tutor (Sight-Reading) App Screenshot in an iPhone
App Store Rating: Music Tutor has a 4.5-star rating based on 5000+ ratings on the App Store. Music Tutor is also available in a version for Android, including a multiplayer setting so you can compete with your friends.
Who It’s For: Music Tutor is great for students age 5 and up.
GET THE MUSIC TUTOR APP
MUSIC CRAB: EASY MUSIC THEORY
Music Crab: Easy Music Theory by Eric Zorgniotti improves sight-reading skills with simple kid-friendly games designed to make practicing music fun.
Underwater-themed graphics and sounds keep you focused on beating levels by identifying notes on the keyboard. This app feels very much like a regular video game. Every level you pass lets you unlock increasingly difficult exercises and challenges, each containing short selections from familiar tunes.
The app does have in-app purchases that allow you to progress faster. (But the free version works great and is currently ad-free!)
Music Crab: Easy Music Theory App Screenshot in an Ipad or Tablet
App Store Rating: Music Crab only gets a 3.5-star rating on the apple store, but it’s still a great option to help get young piano students excited about practicing sight-reading.
Who It’s For: Music Crab is best for first time piano students under the age of 8.
GET THE MUSIC CRAB APP
NOTES TEACHER
Notes Teacher by Yannis Richard is a similar app to Music Tutor. The free version offers 32 instructional challenges to teach sight-reading, and adds a new note from the treble or bass clef with every lesson. The app displays a passage of random notes on the grand staff. The player advances by selecting the correct letter from a button pad on the bottom of the screen. The app keeps stats of which notes frequently trip you up, and then shows those notes more often so you can improve at identifying them.
The unpaid version of this app is utilitarian and definitely helps you learn the notes, but doesn’t feel game-like, or competitive in the way that Music Tutor does.
Screenshot of the Notes Teacher App on an iPad or Tablet
App Store Rating: Notes Teacher is rated 4.8 stars out of 4000+ reviews.
Who It’s For: Notes Teacher best for older students who are naturally motivated to learn.
GET THE NOTES TEACHER APP
NOTE FLASH MUSIC SIGHT READING
Note Flash Music Sight Reading by Pranoy Chowdhury is a lot like some of the other note identification apps in this article with one huge difference: You actually play on a keyboard. On other sight-reading apps, the player selects the correct note by choosing a lettered button or piano key on screen. Note Flash accesses your device’s microphone and listens for the correct note to be played on your piano or other instrument.
This app is a great way to improve your music reading abilities while actually playing the piano. Just make sure that your piano has been tuned recently, and that you play the piano key from the correct octave, otherwise the game may not recognize your answer.
Screenshot of the Note Flash app on an iPhone
App Store Rating: Users give the app 4.1 stars out of 400+ reviews.
Who It’s For: Note Flash is best for students with electric pianos or keyboards and some piano experience.
GET THE NOTES FLASH APP
NOTE BRAINER
The Note Brainer App by James Buchanan functions in much the same way as Music Tutor and Note Flash. The app includes timed exercises to improve sight-reading speed and has advanced controls to adjust length of play, treble or bass clef, sharps and flats, and sound controls. It even has a setting where you can try to identify notes by ear, for those who want to improve their relative or perfect pitch.
The game-play feels competitive, even when you’re only playing against yourself. The only thing this app is lacking is a way to review mistakes after an exercise.
Screenshot of the Note Brainer App on an iPhone
App Store Rating: Note Brainer gets 4.7 stars out of 250 ratings, has no ads, and is completely free!
Who It’s For: Note Brainer is best for piano students of any age who want to improve their sight-reading ability.
Best apps for learning music theory
- Newzik: Sheet Music Reader
(iPhone, iPad)
Newzik is a one app for all your sheet music needs. Newzik is designed to allows users to utilise the app by reading the scores, and following them digitally, without the need for printouts or multiple pages, at its most simplest form.
Newzik boasts an array of custom pens, symbols, and highlighters that lets you mark your sheets with inputs, notes, and more. Newzik employs an advanced optical music recognition (OMR) technology dubbed as Maestria to convert any PDF or paper score into interactive LiveScores that combine PDF, MusicXML, and MIDI formats.
An almost perfect app for musicians. And it doesn’t restrict itself to pros. It warmly welcomes newbies as well.
Devices: iPhone, iPad
Tomplay Sheet Music
- Tomplay Sheet Music
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Tomplay is a cross-platform app that allows users to play along with pre-recorded audio versions of a piece while following the sheet music. Tomplay’s interactive sheet music app includes a wealth of music for violin, viola, cello and more. There are a wealth of features available, such as being able to choose your tempo, record yourself, annotate the sheet music and an automatic scroll feature.
The app works with a range of popular instruments like piano, violin, drums, guitar, and bass, and even includes options like the tuba, bassoon, and harp. The sheet scrolls automatically on your screen in time with the music, and you’re free to choose your tempo, annotate your scores as you play, practice a passage on loop, and record yourself so you can better keep track of your progress.
Devices: iPhone, iPad, Android
IXL
ABRSM Theory Works
- ABRSM Theory Works
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
ABRSM Theory Works app contains over 6,000 music theory questions designed to test your music theory knowledge. Available for both Android and iOS, this app brings music theory to life with fun and engaging challenges at Grades 1 to 5. The app is aimed towards any student that is looking to improve the theoretical understanding in preparation for music theory exams with ABRSM.
This app is best viewed on iPad and the explanations are helpful, aided by diagrams where suitable, and further exercises to practise. This app provides instant feedback and recognition for accurate answers, without necessarily having a music theory teacher, or to aid alongside this.
Devices: iPhone, iPad, Android
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EarMaster – Music Theory & Ear Training
- EarMaster – Music Theory & Ear Training
(iPhone, iPad)
EarMaster is a comprehensive Music Theory app you can use in plenty of ways. EarMaster provides an excellent range of teaching and listening questions to develop any music learner from beginner topics to much more developed aural awareness.
The app includes all you need to build up your music theory skills and become a better musician. This app is designed to build and develop your aural skills in rhythm and pitch identification. It takes you through from basic rhythmic and pitch understanding and simple interactive questions, to much more advances understanding of chord progressions, interval identification and sight-reading and sight-singing of far higher complexity, including jazz workshops and customised exercises.
Devices: iPhone, iPad
Music Theory Pro
- Music Theory Pro
(iPhone, iPad)
Music Theory Pro is a complete ear training for music students and top-musicians who whats to get a serious master theory about chords, intervals, key signatures and note naming. Music Theory Pro is one of our favourite and most recommended music theory apps for the iPhone.
It’s an app to help you perfect your theory and ear training with games and lessons as well as a challenge mode where you can go head to head with your friends on your music theory knowledge.
Devices: iPhone, iPad
Music Theory Illustrated
- Music Theory Illustrated
(iPhone, iPad)
Music Theory Illustrated is an iOS music guide app that shows notes, scales, modes, chords, and chord progressions to help musicians understand music theory further. The app teaches users how to make chord substitutions and more. It takes the musical concepts that a musician already knows and applies them to every key.
Devices: iPhone, iPad
Theory Lessons
- Theory Lessons
(iPhone, iPad)
Theory Lessons includes 39 animated lessons about notes, notes notation, chords, scales, degrees, intervals… and everything you need to learn like a professional musician. It has great images that really do a good job of explaining everything from note names and values to scales and time signatures.
Devices: iPhone, iPad
Tenuto
- Tenuto
(iPhone, iPad)
Tenuto app contains a collection of 15 customizable exercises designed to enhance your musicality on your iPhone and iPad, in addition to five different calculators that you can use to determine intervals, chords, accidentals, and loads more.If you’re serious about learning more music theory then you absolutely have to download this app. You can use it offline and on the iPad to learn and do their challenge mode where you can test yourself on different topics.
Devices: iPhone, iPad
Music Tutor (Sight-reading)
- Music Tutor (Sight-reading)
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Music Pro is one of the best music theory app for teaching you how to decode standard notation. Learn to read sheet music and improve your sight-reading skills with Music Tutor app. Develop your speed and accuracy in reading sheet music by identifying music notes in timed sessions.
Devices: iPhone, iPad, Android
Chord!
- Chord!
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Chord! helps you to learn music theory in a way that is refreshingly guitar-centric. It’s hands-down the best music theory app for practical guitar learning. There are tons of music theory apps that focus on the piano and use that as the filter through which all theory information passes.
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