NotateMe Now: App Review

 

 Free Single Staff Version

 

Great for iPhone / iPad

Great music composition software

Get it: NotateMe Now - Neuratron Ltd

 

 Description

Free single-staff version of NotateMe - the ground-breaking music composition and music notation software from Neuratron, with handwriting recognition plus PhotoScore Now printed sheet music capture (using your device's camera!).

- Featuring powerful handwritten music recognition - quickly and accurately enter music notation with your finger or stylus, on a tablet or smartphone.

- Write music on the train, in a plane, by a lake, or just sitting comfortably on your sofa!

- Simple, intuitive interface with little to distract you from your creativity - similar to writing with pen and paper, but with instant playback, editing and a printable score at the end!

- Includes PhotoScore Now - A free 1-staff version of the PhotoScore Add-In (In-App Purchase) for full NotateMe. Take photos of printed sheet music with your device's camera, so you can play back and edit them with NotateMe Now! Recognizes 5-line staves and most markings including chords, flags, beams, rests, accidentals, articulation marks, clefs, key signatures, time signatures, tuplets, slurs, ties, hairpins and text including lyrics, dynamics and instrument names.

- Great when learning or teaching music notation.

- Email MusicXML and MIDI files of your scores to friends or other musicians. Open in Sibelius, Finale and other desktop software.

- NotateMe Now recognizes a wide range of music notation symbols, including notes (with solid, open, and slanted noteheads), flags, beams, leger lines, multiple voices per staff, chords, rests, accidentals (natural, sharp, double sharp & flat), articulation marks, augmentation dots, ties, slurs, hairpins, clef changes, key signatures. Barlines, clefs, time signatures and triplets are added automatically.

- It works while you write - the printed score updates automatically without you needing to stop and wait.

- If NotateMe Now doesn’t recognize your style immediately, keep at it, as it will adjust. Leave clear space between symbols and make markings clearer with further strokes if any transcription errors occur. If you experience problems, tap 'Help Improve NotateMe' from the Export menu and we will analyze your handwriting to help us improve NotateMe further.

 Review

This is an awesome tool for teaching music notation and is loaded with lots of cool stuff. Upon opening the program, you can accurately enter notations with your finger or stylus on your tablet or iPhone. If you don't have a stylus, I'm pretty sure you can get one at Fry's for little cost.

The app is nicely laid out, as well as user-friendly. I found the software easy to understand and very effective. You'll find that bar lines, time signatures, clefs and triplets can be added automatically.  There are many dynamics to choose from. Plus, you  can email your files to friends, students and other musicians.

There's a good selection of activities and you can customize it to fit your needs. Check out the requirements, here and download NotateMe Now - Neuratron Ltd. I'm very pleased with it and give it 5 stars! If you'd like a glimpse of what it's all about, here's a video presentation.

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 "The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

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Five Building Blocks of Music

5 Building Blocks of Music

 Beginner's Corner

I was observing my three-year-old grandson playing with his wooden blocks and watching him turn these blocks into some beautiful buildings. I thought about how books are structured with letters, words and punctuation marks that turn into stories.

When I teach children how to read sheet music, they learn that music has its own symbols. It is not all about music notes but there are signs and symbols to learn as well.

 Here are five basic signs to learn.

1. The Grand Staff

2. The Clef

3. The Key Signature

4. Time Signature

5. Bar Lines and Measures

The Grand Staff has five lines and four spaces in the Treble Clef, which the notes written on the staff. The notes for the right hand are usually written on the top of the staff and the notes for the left hand are on the bottom staff, with 5 lines and 4 spaces. When you begin learning to read notes that are on the Grand staff, I call this the right hand shaking hands with the left hand, you'll see that both staffs are connected with a bar line and bracket. We call this the Grand Staff. Now your sheet music will have 10 lines and 8 spaces.

Here's what the dictionary says:

The Clef is the symbol at the beginning of each staff. It tells you what each note is. In the G Clef or some call it Treble Clef, the second line from the bottom is the G note. Sometimes I refer to it as a kitty sitting on the fence and it's tail wraps around the G line.

The F or Bass Clef looks like a backwards C with two dots on either side of the F line. The F is the second line from the top. You can figure out all the other notes from there. The notes written in the bass clef are played with your left hand.

The Key Signature is always at the beginning of each line of music and you will often see sharps or flats written on the staff. They tell you which notes are always sharp or flat in the music.

Time Signature has two numbers, one on the top and one on the bottom. It looks like a fraction in mathematics without the line. It is one number on top of the other. The top number tells you how many beats there will be in each measure, and the bottom number shows you what kind of note is the beat and gets one count.

Bar lines are thin pencil-like lines that divide a measure from the next one. There is usually a double bar line at the end of a piece. A double bar line, that has two dots before it is called a repeat sign. This tells you to play part of the music again. You can find a repeat sign at the end of the first line of music, somewhere in the middle of the song or at the end. Look for it. You'll want to play the verses of a song and repeat the chorus, too.

Now the measures in music is the space between the bar lines. Each measure has the same number of beats. Many times you will notice that measures are numbered and this helps group player performing a duet or for a conductor to regroup all the instruments to begin playing at measure nine. Indeed, it is fun to learn the building blocks of music.

One of the best theory books I recommend and I mean it's a huge one in learning lots of music principles is 300pg Course Book. Be sure and use a pencil with this one because you'll be filling in lots of blanks for future reference and quick recall for some answers.

All the best and keep practicing!

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

What Makes Hand Coordination Better?

Left hand writing the German word "Linkshänder" (left handed). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So many of you have asked for help in hand coordination. Usually when one has trouble playing both hands together on the piano, it is a result of one hand knowing the music better than the other. You will want to be consistent in both hands with the fingerings so that muscle memory is developed. Smooth playing results in correct fingering, not just knowing the notes.

You also want to maintain the same speed in each hand. This is challenging for many of us because we are dominant in one hand over the other. Both hands need to be comfortable but you've just got to know your left hand better. This is usually where the train wreck to the song begins. Be sure and keep your eyes on the music, too. If you keep looking at your hands and all around, you'll lose focus and your place in the music. I know it's challenging to learn a bass pattern over and over in your left hand, while one seems distracted by playing the melody and improvising in the right hand but believe me, it can be done with lots of practice. Train the left hand to be more independent.

Some more practicing tips for playing both hands together:

• When playing music from the grand staff, read the notes vertically (bottom to top) before moving on horizontally (left to right).
• Play the song a couple of times with the right hand by itself. Then play the song a few times with the left hand only. When you’re confident with the notes for each hand, you can try playing the song hands-together.
• Play slowly at first and speed up the tempo as you become more comfortable with the song.
  http://www.dummies.com 
  
  
  Learn the parts separately, the left hand and then the right hand.
  Mark where the notes are together.. (like beats...) Ex. If you have 4 quarter notes in the left hand and you have 8 eighth notes, mark when they're together so you don't get lost.
  
  
  Before you even attempt a difficult passage, make sure your note reading skills are up to par. If you can’t distinguish each note on the staff quickly, take a step back and master that first.  Trust us – it will make the process a lot easier! http://takelessons.com
  
  

  (Nearly always) play with both hands, don't try to separate them.
  Don't worry about skipping a note here or there in the harmony. If you don't get there in time,  just go on to the next one, or make up a harmony! Few listeners will be able to tell. After a while your left hand will develop a feel for where the notes might be expected to be. After a while, your right hand will be able to pick out the melody essentially by ear without having to pay so much attention to the notes on the page, thus allowing you to pay more attention to the left hands harmonies. These two trends will combine together to  make playing easier and easier. Doing a little bit of playing by ear, and a little bit of sight reading new music, will help to strengthen these trends. http://www.lofthouse.com

 My two cents, patience and perseverance. Plus, Hanon Exercises will definitely help! Did I mention memorizing a piece? This adds lots to the equation of easily moving both hands across the keys. Yes, it takes time to do so with lots of practice. Also, I have read that many drop bass notes in their left hand and just play a single note within each measure while the right hand moves more effortlessly. Try this approach if it's easier for you to separate two different rhythms but you may be over simplifying and missing out on some of the tones. Adding a metronome may help and yet it will frustrate many a musician.

A healthy approach to the dilemma of hand coordination is to have very relaxed hands. Also, keep in mind that it's the hand and forearm that support the finger movements. Continue with practicing scales and exercises in contrary motion, along with arpeggios to connect both hands playing music. Play single note runs, and chords, too.

Four-Way Keyboard System - Book One

 Pianoanne has some very cool teaching aides over at her site. Take a look at these, for Friday freebie!

Download the free workbook, Barnyard Friends.

 Let me know what works for you in putting both hands to the keys!
Have a great weekend! Time for Christmas music!

Blessings,






"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

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Beginner's Corner: Ledger Lines

Ledger line example (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 Ledger Lines

Sometimes the five lines of the treble clef and the five lines of the bass clef are
not enough to write down all the notes a composer wants to use.

The really low and really high notes go above or below the staff, but they can't
just hang in empty space. To make room for notes that don't fit on the staff musicians
use ledger lines.

They are short lines stacked above or below the regular lines of each staff. Think of
ledger lines as additional steps above or below the staff. A definition and picture is
demonstrated at http://www.thefreedictionary.com

By adding the staff, ledger lines provide means for indicating pitches either higher or
lower than the limits of the five-line staff.

A note on the space above or the space below the staff does not require a ledger line.
So, at times a musical sounds may be either higher or lower than those pitches represented
by lines and spaces of the staff. The means of writing such pitches are provided by ledger lines.

I think it's probably a good idea to learn how to read ledger lines, especially for those high
octave endings and low bass tone endings. A foundation for learning the staff, clefs and ledger
lines can be found at http://www.8notes.com

In the above photo, the higher note is called "High C" but no, it's not the highest C
on the piano. Remember that the line notes, starting with the first line, is E, G, B, D, F.
Therefore, the first ledger line is A and the note sitting on the 2nd line is C.

Now, the lower note is resting on the A line. The first line is Middle C and counting the music alphabet backwards we arrive at A. I think one of the coolest photos to explain all this theory
can be found at http://www.dummies.com

For more additional online information regarding ledger lines, visit http://www.tedvieira.com/onlinelessons/sightreading101

Photo Credit: Susanparadis.wordpress.com

 A very valuable print out to use for testing yourself and students is the use of flash cards.
Some great ones can be found, here

Ledger lines in different languages are called:

• linea aggiunta (It)
• ligne ajoutée / supplémentaire (Fr)
• Hilfslinie (Ger)

They are important to learn how to read them and where to play those note on the piano,
especially when you see the octave sign, 8va (meaning a note or section will be played an
octave higher.)

You may be interested in the Gospel Music Training Center, visit gmtc

Have a great week ahead!





"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

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How to Play Set Fire to the Rain: Adele

Practicing with this song, you could use this type of music software available for your
PC or MAC, called Back Pocket Band

Looking at the chord chart, we would play the vi chord (Dminor), 
then to the I chord (F), on to the V chord which is C and then 
we move on to the ii chord with Gm. Bb is the IV chord.

Grand Staff with Notes for l.h. and r.h.

So, if you aren't familiar with reading notes, hear is a chord chart to what 
is listed above:


D/DFA
F/CFA
C/CEG
G/BbDG
Bb/BbDF

Absolute C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

First Chord: D minor = DFA                                               Second Chord: F Major = CFA

Absolute C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

The 4th chord to the song is G minor (BbDG). Yes, I skipped C chord (CEG). You know it!

Absolute C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C

Last chord to the song, BbDF


Now, what gives the piano sounding with that special part is hearing those chords played
with running eighth notes separately, with loose wrist and smooth broken r.h. chords.

R.H. Arpeggio Chords (Broken Chords)

Here's the entire chord chart to Set Fire to the Rain by Adele:

Intro: Dm, F, C, Gm

Verse:

          Dm       F
I let it fall, my heart,
          C                Gm
And as it fell you rose to claim it.
       Dm                 F
It was dark and I was over,
          C                       Bb
Until you kissed my lips and you saved me

Verse
    Dm            F....
My hands they're strong, 
but my knees were far too weak,
Stand in your arms
without fall to your your feet,

Refrain:
              Dm                   Gm 
But there's a side to you that I never knew, I never knew.
           Dm                                 Dm
All the things you'd say, they where never true, never true,
          Bb                     C
And the games you'd play, you would always, always win.

[Chorus: ]
           Dm
But I set fire to the rain,
         C
Watch it pour as I touched your face,
     Gm
well it burn while I cry,
                              Dm              C
Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name!

Verse:
When I'm with you
I could stay there,
Close my eyes, feel you're here forever,
You and me together, nothing is better!

Refrain:
Cause there's a side to you that I never, never knew,
All the things you'd say they where never true, never true,
And the games you'd play, you would always, always win.

[Chorus: ]
But I set fire to the rain,
Watch it pour as I touched your face,
well it burned while I cry,
Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name!
I set fire to the rain
And I threw us into the flames
And it felt something die,
Cause I knew that that was the last time, the last time!

Bridge:
         Bb                F/A
Sometimes I wake up by the door, 
         Am                          C
That heart you caught, must be waiting for you, 
     Bb                      F/A
Even now when we're already over,
     Am                            C 
I can't help myself from looking for you

[Chorus: ]
I set fire to the rain,
Watch it pour as I touch your face,
well it burn when I cry,
Cause I heard it screaming your name, your name
I set fire to the rain,
And I threw us into the flames
Cause I knew that was the last time
The last time, oh, oh!

Outro: Chorus Chords

Let it burn!

Let it burn!

A great tool, music software that is,  for piano practice is Song Robot

I sure like the song. Do you have an Adele favorite?


Best,





"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King