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J K
Oct 02 in ToneGym Cafe
Is there a non-stupid way to play notationist?

I figured I could type in the notes on my computer keyboard - which apparently you can but it doesn't let you type 'c' to register the note c. Ok, fine. Makes sense, it's arbitrarily setup to mirror a piano, fair enough. I hate computer/piano key mirrors cause the muscle memory is all wrong but it's a solid idea, maybe I can play with my MIDI keyboard!

You can use the an external MIDI device - awesome. Except, hilariously, there's no way to play flats. If I play an Eb on my MIDI keyboard, it's not counted - because it's ABOVE the E key, not below it, so obviously it's a D# now.

I would love to play this game but translating the note I recognize to a screen click slows me down a ton and is not a useful skill to build - that's not what I come here for.

Has anyone found a way around this?
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Nick W
Oct 03
Yeah to play the flats you have to press the B (B3) below the C at the same time as you press the black key... Which isn't a great solution.
Buuut, you will start moving onto chords etc after the individual notes, and I would say the goal of the game isn't to aid sight reading for playing piano, it's identifying notes or interval or chord by name. So using the mouse makes more sense, especially as you progress
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Kinsey Nietzsche
Oct 04, 05:17
yes, I have! Have you tried my MidiToLetter app ? https://github.com/spellpotion/MidiToLetters
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J K (author)
Oct 05, 00:34
Awesome, thanks Kinsey! Great idea!
Congrats @Henry Do for completing the 'Music Theory Basics' program!
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Colin Aiken
Sep 30
Good work!
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.congratulations!!!
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Vari Wolf
Oct 05, 00:14
Congrats!
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Jo Pax
Oct 04, 08:50 in ToneGym Cafe
Chord Inversions Practice

Hi all,

Is it just me, or there is a lack of a tool to practice chord inversions outside of the Games section? To illustrate, there are exercises to identify chords and intervals (you can select which exact chords or intervals you practice), but no similar thing for inversions.

I, personally, would love to have a dedicated exercise for inversions, as I'm stuck on dim and aug chords. Would love to drill them separately.

Cheers.
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Cinnamon Rolling
Oct 04, 12:03
Mussica would be a good choice, but they only have piano ´s sound.
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Member 9FJC0
Oct 04, 16:11
Please can you your WhatsApp let communicate and practice?
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John Huang
Oct 04, 20:34
I don't think there's an exercise for that, but I play the Inversions Champ contest a lot, and here are my findings for Aug and Dim chords

Aug chords don't really have inversions, since the inversion of the Aug chord is just another Aug chord starting from a different location e.g C Aug (C E G#) at root position, sounds like E Aug (E G# (C)) at its 1st inversion, and only perfect pitch will solve this issue.

I'm personally confident with most chord inversions, but I still struggle with diminished chords in the Inversions Champ. Usually, I just listen for two things: The interval between the lowest and highest note (if it's a tritone, it's automatically root position), and whether or not the middle note is closer to the top or the bottom of the chord (closer to the bottom = 1st inversion, closer to the top = 2nd inversion)

If you can do the other chords though, it's about all you need. By far, the best practice I've found is to play them on an instrument and hear the nuances myself.
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Kinsey Nietzsche
Oct 04, 05:27 in ToneGym Cafe
one would think these games are similar, but while relatively good at Melody Hunter (95.26), I am really bad at Melodix (72.13). A lot of times I even confuse ascending and descending tones. Any tips how to practice for/improve in Melodix?
Congrats @Gary Kelly for winning the Diamond Ears Award!
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J K
Oct 03
Inversions Champ Winner, Sep. 28th - Oct. 1st:

1st: @John Huang 51 pts
2nd: @Beto Ojeda 43 pts
3rd: @Mark Tomato Alley 33 pts

See complete standings:
https://www.tonegym.co/contest/view?id=BBNM2YEARGI
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Congratulations!!
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nicely done
@Phil Killingley won the Championship. Congrats for winning!
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Thanks @Henry Do - you pushed it to the wire there - great race agreed!
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Congratulations!!
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congrats!
Congrats @Chris von Recklinghausen for winning the Silver Ears Award!
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nice!
I am stuck at Departurer in distinguishing M21 from m21. Does anyone have a hint / technique for me, how to overcome this? I think, I have to find a different approach. Thanks a lot!
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Ken Wilkens
Sep 27
I use song references to hear intervals. For m7 I hear “Tonight” from West Side Story (There’s a place for us). I also have a reference song for the M7 (actually from the musical Damn Yankees) - also agree - the M7 has a lot more tension.
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Cuantas Vacas
Sep 27
To me, it feels much like m7-M7, maybe a bit less dissonant
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Michael Möllerfeld (author)
Oct 02
for me it seems that my frequency distance distinguishing somewhere there gets to its end. I don't hear more tension with m and M (like I did at octaves below). But I will try. Maybe the further I go the more unserious and the more lazy I become...
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ToneGym
Oct 02 in ToneGym Cafe
A gripping cultural deep-dive into how rock and roll's rebellious spirit shaped, and was shaped by, a generation of legends 🎸🕰️
Congrats @Kewei Lyu for winning the Golden Ears Award!
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Colin Aiken
Sep 29
Fantastic!
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Kewei Lyu
Oct 01
Thank you guys !
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Congratulations!! Great job!!
ToneGym Hero: Pavol Brezina
Pianist, university lecturer, and self-confessed technical problem-solver with a soft spot for Hans Zimmer's Time, Pavol Brezina never set out to teach people how to listen. He was just someone for whom music had always been part of life, with a curiosity that grew from enjoying sound to wanting to know how it's shaped and how it carries ideas and emotion.

That led to years studying music, sound and acoustics, then teaching those subjects at university, and to a daily ToneGym routine he now brings into the classroom, before discovering that listening is a skill that can be systematically trained. @Pavol Brezina is this month's ToneGym Hero!

Read the full article here: https://www.tonegym.co/blog/item?id=pavol-brezina
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Pavol Brezina
Oct 01
Thank you