This software is an essential tool for learning music on a computer. It provides invaluable guidance and instruction, making it an excellent music tutor.
Musical Space Invaders is a program that perfectly complements the Music Scale Teacher, and either of them can help you achieve fundamental knowledge of note-reading. Using the Scale Teacher program, you can advance to the next level and intuitively know the notes for each key signature. Having this knowledge will greatly facilitate your ability to read and learn music. It frees students from having to constantly consult the key sign as they struggle to learn a new piece.
The program plays a random musical phrase ranging from 1 to 8 notes based on the key, range, and note count you have selected. To shoot the notes down, you must play the correct note on the piano. You can use the mouse or optional MIDI keyboard to enhance the value of each lesson. Turning on the optional note timer increases the game’s excitement. If you don’t shoot the notes down within the given time, they will blow up! There are plenty of special effects that augment the excitement of the game as well as sharpen valuable skills, and you can turn these features on or off as needed. This flexibility allows you to use this program with all ages and levels.
The program has two modes of play: single key or multi key mode. In single scale mode, you can practice each key one at a time. When you become more advanced, you can switch to the multi-key mode and review all the keys. The game is logically set up to teach you the keys in a progression from simple to advanced. Just follow the lessons outlined in the Key’s menu, and you’re guaranteed to make progress.
Included in the program is a robust student grades database. Teachers can easily track the progress of each student, and you can print these grades out or post them on the web with the instant HTML feature. Beginner students can benefit from the Auto Teacher function. Auto Teacher highlights the notes simultaneously on the piano as each new melodic phrase is played. It’s like having a never-ending instructional video that you design based on the parameters you’ve selected.
The Music Scale Teacher is an invaluable tool to have in your teacher's bag of tricks. It’s a great addition to your music lab, and it’s more affordable than the more expensive commercial programs that don’t teach you anything. To use the program with a USB MIDI device, you will need the Opcode OMS MIDI driver, which you can download for free at OMS. Please consult the included support files for help with configuring OMS with Scale Teacher.
Version 1.02: N/A