Theta Music Trainer Updates
Movie Tip: Dave Grohl's documentary 'Sound City' is a great movie for all musicians, especially rock 'n' roll fans. It tells the story of a little-known L.A. recording studio where a surprising number of very famous albums were recorded. The movie not only tells a great story, but also provides a great introduction to recording and mixing, as it chronicles the transition from analog to digital recording techniques. Read more...
New Feature: In Speed Chords, you can now test your recognition of fully diminished 7th chords, which have been added to levels 11-15 of the game.
New Feature: In Speaker Chords, it is now possible to drag the roman numeral to the speaker. This allows players to make a guess at one of the chords in the progression even when it is not playing.
New Feature: In Paddle Tones, it is now possible to use the keyboard shortcuts 'q', 'w', 'r', 't' 'y' for the flat tones: b2, b3, b5, b6 and b7.
Competition Results: The Theta Music Winter Games 2013 were held January 10-11. Congratulations to our Top 5 Finishers:
- videogamepianist (US): 371
- JohnTra (Italy): 357
- 13thSign (US): 346
- GA (US): 334
- Rem (US): 331
New Feature: In addition to Chord Drops, have now adjusted the other 'Drop' games (Melodic Drops, Tone Drops, Harmonic Drops) so that when one of the drops hits the bottom without being answered correctly, the correct answer is now shown.
New Game: Flash Intervals (Harmonic) will take you deeper into aural recognition of harmonic intervals.
New Feature: In Chord Drops, if one of the drops hits the bottom without being answered correctly, the correct answer is now shown.
New Feature: Teachers can now assign students one of our three courses (Basic Ear Training, Music Theory, Sound & Audio) in addition to individual games.
We've added several new features for the Teacher Console:
Adding students: It is now much easier to add students. This can be done simply by entering email addresses or usernames. Students are not required to have email addresses.
Adding teachers: It is also now easier to add other teachers to a studio or school plan. Just enter the first name and last name of the teacher, along with his/her email address. The new teacher registration is now done automatically.
Student Login: Upon logging in, students with unfinished assignments now see a reminder message about the assignment(s) that directs them to the Student Console.
Notification upon completion of assignments: Teachers can now receive an email notification whenever a student completes an assigned game.
Theta Music Trainer is two years old today, and we're celebrating with a site update that includes five new games:
Three Tones (Minor) - Identify melodic patterns in minor keys
Vocal Steps (Repeat) - Listen to the short melodic pattern, then sing it back
Vocal Degrees (Minor) - Learn to sing the degrees of the minor scale.
Speed Chords - Name chord types and inversions by ear
Flash Styles (Drums) - Identify common drum patterns and rhythm styles
Also, be sure to check out our new Belt Class System.
New Game: Flash Progressions (Minor) will help you learn to recognize common chord patterns in minor keys.
New Game: Flash Notation (Notes) will help beginning music readers learn the names of notes on the staff.
New Game: Vocal Degrees (Major) will train you to not only recognize but also to sing each degree of the major scale in all twelve keys.
New Feature: At the beginning of games, you can now see tips and quotes related to ear training and music theory, as well as 'how-to' tips for using Theta Music Trainer.
New Training Report: Check out the new Training Report. We've added Personal Best scores for each game and added links to the games from the report.
New Feature: We've added some new game categories that better describe the skills trained in each game.
New Game: Flash Progressions (Major) will help you to recognize sequences of triads and their inversions when played in 3-part.
New Feature: We built a new slider for selecting the game level at the beginning of each game.
New Game: Three Tones (Major) will train your ear to catch 3-tone patterns in major-key melodies.
New Feature: On all games, players are now informed when they have achieved a personal best or Top 5 score.
New Game Feature: In Paddle Tones, the tonic is now played before the start of each round.
Teacher's Console: A teacher who is subscribed to the Theta School or Theta Studio Plan can now add other teachers to the Plan.
Teacher's Console: Teachers can now see how many of their allotted student accounts are being used
Game sounds: The sounds for correct and incorrect answers can now be turned off from the 'Game Settings' page.
Winter Competition 2012: The competition has finished! Congratulations to the Top 5 Players:
1. ore0re (81713)
2. JohnTra (37101)
3. r.s (23340)
4. Jackbutler (7604)
5. 遼太郎 (6050)
Holiday Special! For a limited time, you can get a one-year full access subscription for 20% off the regular price.
Top 30: Changed Top 20 Players to Top 30 Players.
New Option to use Solfege Syllables instead of Scale Degree Numbers: You can now play the scale degree games using do, re, mi,... instead of 1, 2, 3. Click on 'Game Settings' in the right sidebar to see the option for this.
For Teachers - Link to Game from Assignment Emails: When you create an assignment now, the notification email sent to students contains a link to the game and level for the assignment.
One Key Press to End Game: You can now end a game or practice level at anytime just by pressing <Esc>.
Bug Fix for EQ Match: In certain situations, the sliders would sometimes stop moving on EQ Match. This is now fixed.
Challenge Level for EQ Match: We've added a bonus challenge level for EQ Match, which can be unlocked by completing Level 20 of the game. Challenge Levels for several other games will also be coming soon.
Phrase Fitter Adjustments: For a while now, there have been a small number of computers for which Phrase Fitter was not supported. We have made some adjustments to the game now that allows it to be played on these platforms.
Bug Fix forFlash Intervals (Mel): Flash Intervals (Mel) was occasionally freezing on certain levels. This is now fixed.
Bug Fix for Chord Locks: The selectors on Chord Locks would sometimes move two places on a click instead of one. This is now fixed.
Major Site Update! Theta Music Trainer is officially one year old today, and we are celebrating with a major update release for the site, as well as a very special offer!
First here's a rundown of all the great new games and features:
1. Five New Games
We're proud to unveil five new titles today, to add to our growing collection of music games: EQ Match will help you learn the sound of different equalizer settings; Band Match will give you practice recognizing instrument sounds in different combinations; Flash Chords and Chord Drops will help you with chord recognition and theory; and Flash Intervals will take you deeper into recognizing intervals by ear. With the addition of these new games, we now have a total of 25 games for ear training and music theory practice, and over 500 game levels.
2. Two New Training Courses
We can now add an 's' to our 'Course' menu item! We've designed a 30-day training course that will boost your music theory skills, as well as a 20-day course that is focused on Sound & Audio. These courses will help you zoom in on the particular skill you most want to develop.
3. Custom Practice Levels
For games dealing with scale degrees, intervals and chord recognition, you can now customize your practice sessions and focus just on particular areas.
4. Feedback & Advice
Our newly expanded Personal Trainer feature is now built directly into the games with custom practice levels. If you're not sure what to practice, you can first see a detailed report of your results on the game so far. Then just click on 'Advice' and the program will automatically construct a custom practice level designed to focus on those areas that have been most challenging for you.
5. New Teacher/Student Features
If you are a music teacher, be sure to check out our newly updated Teacher Console. We've made it easier to add students and organize your student list, and also added new features to simplify progress tracking and grade recording.
New Game - Key Puzzles: Explore the Circle of Fifths, one of the fundamental concepts in music theory with our new game Key Puzzles. By the time you complete all levels of this game, you will have thoroughly internalized the important patterns and relationships found between the major and minor keys of tonal music.
New Game - Tone Drops: Test your relative pitch and tone recognition skills with Tone Drops, our new falling object game that uses tones from a wide range of instruments and octaves.
New Game - Flash Rhythms: Try your hand at 4-beat rhythm patterns with our new game Flash Rhythms. This one is also a fast-paced flashcard quiz game. The early patterns are simple, but they get quite challenging in the later levels! This game will help you to quickly recognize the sound of many common rhythm patterns in 4/4 time.
New Game - Flash Effects: Be sure to try out our new game Flash Effects. This game will train you to recognize the sound of many common audio effects used in virtually all styles of music. It is also the first game in our 'Flash Card' series.
New features for teachers and students: Teachers can now add and delete students from the Teacher Console, and can assign specific games directly to an entire class or to individual students.
Top 5 Scores: At the end of each game, registered users will now see their personal Top 5 scores.
Recent Achievements: Recent achievements (clearing levels, top scores, etc.) are now shown in real time as they happen in a panel on the right of the page.
New Game - Vocal Match : The first of our sight-singing games, Vocal Match will give you practice in matching pitch and singing basic harmonies.
- Added FAQ to the Resources section. This contains answers to frequently asked questions about the benefits of membership and subscription.
- Added a list of Useful Sites to the Resources section. These sites pertain primarily to ear training and music education.
- Added master level scores to the Training Report
- Bug Fix: Pull-down list on demo app for intervals in the Fundamentals section now shows all starting notes.
- Streamlined the registration process for teachers and students.
Major Site Update: Our first major update for Theta Music Trainer since launching last October! New games, new features, new language - There's something for everyone in this release.
Here's a list of all the cool new stuff:
1. Three New Games
We're proud to unveil three new additions to our ever-growing collection of music games: Number Blaster to help you get to grips with the numbers behind scale and chord theory, and two new games for the Sound category - Speed Pitch and Dango Brothers - which will sharpen your ear for tuning and pitch. Note that these new Sound games can be enjoyed by anyone and don't require any prior knowledge of music theory or notation.
2. Personal Trainer: Practice Recommendations Tailored for YOU
Our new Personal Trainer Report acts as your very own personal coach, analyzing your performance on the games and offering specific recommendations for additional practice in the areas where you're having the most difficulty. Theta Music Trainer is now the world's first ear training program to offer an automated coaching system that adapts to your individual needs and interests.
3. Assignment/Gradebook page for Teachers and Students
While the Personal Trainer is great for self-study and practice, you will get the most benefit out of Theta Music Trainer by combining it with regular lessons from a skilled music teacher. We've made it easier than ever for teachers to get started using Theta Music Trainer in conjunction with their lessons. Assignments can now be created, tracked, completed and graded online. We also offer big educational discounts on our full-access subscriptions for music teachers and their students.
4. New Features
We've sprinkled several new details and improvements across all the games. See if you can spot them! We've also strengthened the Practice Mode for all games, as well as the Master Level - that special level found on all of the games that you can unlock by first clearing all of the 'Expert' levels.
5. Spanish
Theta Music Trainer was designed from the start to be international and multilingual. If you are a native Spanish speaker, click on the Español button in the top right corner to view (at least most of) the site content and the games in Spanish. More languages are on the way!
- Added teaser for upcoming game - Number Blaster (see below).
Bug Fix: Bb/F chord in Level 15 of Tone Trees works properly now. Many thanks to vashter48 for finding and reporting this one.
Adjusted problems and difficulty levels for Rhythm Puzzles and Parrot Phrases.
New Game! We hope you enjoy our new game Tonal Recall, which will help build your pitch memory.
New Game! As our desks shook throughout a massive earthquake and its aftershocks, we finished and released Chord Spells, a new game to provide practice in spelling chords
Created Master Levels for all the games. In order to play the Master Level for a game, you must first clear Levels 16-20 in order.
Bug Fix: bVI chord in Level 16 of Chord Locks is now corrected.
Bug Fix: Longer chord names now show in their entirety on upper levels of Chord Locks
Made changes to the look of the menubar
Added trailers for two new upcoming cames, Tonal Recall and Pitch Match (see below).
We are now accepting major credit cards for yearly subscriptions in addition to PayPal.
Valentine's Day Special -
We are offering 50% off the first month when you sign up for a monthly subscription! Also, don't miss our Valentine's Day Love Song Challenge!
We've created a new affiliate console to help our affiliate partners manage their accounts. From the console, you can also access our creatives, including image ads and banner ads.
Made FAQ text easier to read
Bug Fix: Corrected the answers for 3 of the new melodies in Parrot Phrases
Competition Results!
Congratulations to our Top 5 Finishers:
1. 13thSign (US) 11,900
2. vashter48 (Japan) 5,640
3. songwriter17 (Canada) 5,300
4. hanaj (Japan) 4,060
5. MagicSky (Japan) 3,414
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Customer Kudos
"I'd just like to say that I am enjoying Theta Music immensely! I am a complete novice when it comes to music theory and your system is just so easy to understand, I'm constantly having aha moments! After only a short period of time my listening skills have improved dramatically and I wasn't expecting this because I was not sure that I had the ability to develop in this area."
- A.S. (US)
"Thank you. I love your games."
- M.C. (US)
"I just discovered you....I'm a music teacher and accompanist on piano. This gap was so necessary to fill! Congratulations!!!!"
- S.C. (Argentina)
"Thank you very much for this great ear-trainer."
- P. V. (Spain)
"I absolutely love this website and all the games on it. "
- A. F. (US)
"Just got all of my students in my studio signed up. Can't wait to get them started on assignments next week. Thanks for a super product."
- B. B. (US)
"This website has opened a whole new world of understanding for me. All power to the theta music team!"
- C. B. (UK)
"I am looking forward to using your games with my students this. Thank you so much for this site...very useful and fun!"
- M.M. (US)
"I can tell that these games have been well thought out. I can't wait to start using them in class (and using them myself!)"
- X. L. (US)
"A great teaching tool for both ear training and theory. Able to be used in a large class setting or in private lessons."
- A. W. (US)
"I love the training series you've put together. It gives me hope that with determination I'll be much more able to play the music I hear inside myself."
- Y. H. (US)
"I love your site."
- H. T. (US)
"I love Theta Music Trainer! I recently returned to school and Aural Theory is the class I need the most help in. Thanks for all you've already provided to help us become better musicians!"
- J. M. (UK)
"I'm ecstatic to have discovered your website and I'm going to tell other students. I'm majoring in music in college for a second year, I have ear training class and theory, I'm sure my instructor will be pleased to find out about your site. These games have been fun and very helpful and pertain to my career goals in life, Thank you."
- J.B. (US)
"This is the best thing ever! I have always hated ear training. But this?! This is great! I love it and look forward to it every day. I love the games, the number of tries one gets, the advice, the custom settings, and the incremental levels. "
- J. C. (US)
"I am a 54 year-old guy with degrees in several fields who's decided to finally take guitar lessons from a local genius of a guitarist who's been patiently trying to teach me music theory. My dad was even a concert violinist who tried to convince me to learn music theory. Did I listen? So I was just Googling for online music theory lessons, and I found your site. I've only completed one lesson so far, and I'm already very impressed. The explanations are clear and concise. You're helping me to finally understand facets of music theory that until now just didn't make sense to me. Now THAT is serious praise for effective lesson planning and presentation. I am grateful, and I'll pass on your site's name to the Music teacher in our
local high school."
- M.B. (US)
"I'm a past president of the Association for Technology in Music Instruction and just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your approach and the quality of the games. It is very nice to see this sort of thing being done well."
- C. B. (US)
"Wow! What a fantastic concept! I am thoroughly enjoying this."
- D. S. (US)
"Fantastic!! Well done!!"
- P. C. (UK)
"If you like music, these games are fun & skill-building!"
- J. C. (US)
"The trick to ear training is keeping it up. Theta Music Trainer is an amazing program that gives me balanced ear training every day."
- A. S. (Japan)
"This is something I've been wishing for! Basic video games (that really feel like video games) which serve the purpose of ear training! Finally, no more guilt about time spent on games!"
- J. B. (US)
"Thank you for a valuable resource. This is the first ear training software that has blown me out of the water. Bravo!!!"
- J. B., Mastering Music
"Great little games that could be used in a classroom as either starters or developing aural abilities."
- G. H.
"Hello! just wanted to say that I'm very impressed with your page. Ear training is one of the most overlooked aspects in the universe of music. I'm glad that you are sharing this precious treasure with others around the world. "
- A. L.
