Piano Games

When you hear a simple melody, can you immediately play it back on your instrument? Parrot Phrases is a 'call and response' game where you listen to a melodic phrase and then 'parrot' it back using a virtual guitar or piano. The phrases start simple and gradually build in speed and complexity. See how accurately you can play what you hear!

Melodies often contain common patterns - groups of 3 or 4 notes that tend to appear together in the same order. This game will help you recognize melodies aurally by training your ability to catch these short patterns. It is similar to Parrot Phrases, but uses all keys and a wide range of instrument sounds.

Just as you learned your spoken language by imitating short words and phrases, you learn the language of tonal music by hearing and repeating short melodic phrases. Melodies in minor keys have a distinct quality that is based on the minor scale and its variations. Try your hand at these 3-tone minor key fragments.

When you see a chord name such as Amaj7 or Gm7(b5), can you quickly name the tones that make up the chord? This process is called 'spelling' a chord, and is an important part of music theory that helps you build arpeggios quickly. Our new game Chord Spells will give you extensive - and FUN - training in the practice of Chord Spelling!

Can you quickly find the roots and other tones that make up the chords you hear? This game will train your ear to easily hear chord tones - the individual pitches that comprise a particular chord. In addition, you'll learn to identify the position of each tone in the chord and also how to visualize the chord shapes on a piano or guitar.

The Circle of Fifths is an important concept in music theory. A thorough knowledge of the circle will help you understand how keys (and chords) are related to each other. You will memorize relative major/minor keys, key signatures and chordal relationships. You will also hear how a chord progression of descending 5ths sounds in different musical styles.