![]() ![]() This would have been an invaluable tool for me in my early days of composition and could become an integral part of any theory course. After you press two or more keys at the same time, a chord name appears in the upper left-hand corner. The coolest feature, in my opinion, is chord recognition. Students could then explore the relationship in a low-risk environment. A great way to relate fixed Do and letter names would be to have the keys labeled with letters and the moving squares to be labeled with solfege. The same labels can be applied to the moving squares, allowing students to mix and match. Students can choose to have the keys on the screen labeled with the note’s letter, solfege (fixed or movable) or scale degree. “Free Play” is a great space to explore the labels that Synthesia offers. Students can record their “Free Play” as well as multitrack with different sounds, which opens the door to peer collaboration, arranging and composition. Teachers and students are given the ability to play freely with every note represented visually for the rest of the class to track on a smartboard or television. This is a powerful visual for teaching keyboard in a classroom where students wouldn’t be able to see the teacher’s hands otherwise. Synthesia’s “Free Play” mode shows colorful squares ascending out of the pressed keys allowing students to see where the hand was (instead of where the hand should go in the three assessment modes). Every music teacher has been surprised by a sudden song request, such as “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” and a quick internet search for the midi file can get the student playing new material in just a few minutes. Teachers and students can search for MIDI files online for any song that they would like to learn. If you are creative and like to compose your own etudes, you can create MIDI files using notation programs like Finale, Doricoor Sibelius, load them in Synthesia and have students take assessments that you find to be the most helpful. These features are enough to get a student started, but the fun really begins when you import your own MIDI files. The grade is presented in a fraction of correct notes over possible notes and is color-coded for quick visual assessment. “Song Recital” judges the accuracy of rhythm, tempo and duration at full speed.Įach mode can be split into left, right or both hands.“Practice the Rhythm” allows students to slow down the tempo but they are judged on their accuracy with the metronome.Students are then scored on how many correct notes they pressed, and if they matched the duration accurately. “Practice the Melody” waits for the student to press the correct piano key without any concern about the tempo.Synthesia offers three modes for assessment. Many of the songs provided match the popular beginning piano method books, allowing for parallel assignments or digital grading if you’re teaching online. The software comes with over 100 royalty-free songs that are categorized by difficulty as well as dozens of scale exercises to promote dexterity. Through color coding, students can see which hand plays each key, while the length of the colored square indicates duration. Synthesiais a MIDI(Musical Instrument Digital Interface) piano software that visually cues students when to play each key with a series of descending squares.
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