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Touch Pianist – Tap in Rhythm and Perform Your Favourite Music
- ookblah 11y agothis is wonderful! would there be a way to save the output? would be interesting to see how others interpret a piece. really also wishing that we could track keyboard velocity as well:p
- camperman 11y agoI have Audio Hijack Pro on my Mac and set it to save the system audio while I was playing. I guess any hijacking app on your OS should do the same.
- eddieroger 11y agoAt the risk of being the naysayer, I'm not sure it teaches you how to play the piano so much as it teaches you about musical rhythm and timing and note relativity and would help develop the ability to play by ear. It doesn't really distinguish between clefs or hand placement, and did the relative placement thing worked better when things were closer together anyway.
- newsvatore 11y agoAgreed. Not to mention the name is a little unfortunate. Say the name too quickly, and you'll probably end up in a database somewhere... :\
- arbitel 11y agoLOL at that last part.
- ollysb 11y agoI think this could be the start of something amazing. A midi keyboard seems essential but if you could progressively introduce the different elements, using both hands, pressing enough keys to correspond to chords, different hand positions I think this could be a really great way to learn. If it could give feedback on being partially correct (e.g. highlighting two parts of the chord where you need to press 4 keys) it would be learning via gentle nudges, moving onto the next lesson once you're consisting getting it a new element correct.
- rotten 11y agoBut rhythm and timing and note relativity are ridiculously hard to get right (especially for beginners). This is a great exercise for one of the more challenging parts of playing music well. Plus, the audience is much more likely to notice a mistake if the rhythm is wrong than they are to notice a note is wrong. If you can get the rhythm right you can play through your other mistakes and still have a reasonable presentation.
- jarboot 11y agoAs interesting as it is, I don't really see a educational use for this. It's fun and all to tap along, but in the end it's nothing better than something like DDR or Rock Band. Nothing wrong with a fun app, but I doubt it's educational uses. (this coming from a lifelong pianist)
- faramarz 11y agoYeah, I know what you're saying. After a bit of thinking I tried to rename the title but I think the window has passed, because i'm not able to save the change. That said, the control over the tempo is really interesting to me. I ruined the piece by tapping away too fast.. it really guides you to correct yourself in the second take, or third, etc.
- dang 11y agoWe changed the title to that of the document. (Submitted title was "Beautiful music app that teaches you to play the piano without playing the piano".)
- ryan-allen 11y agoAlso too much opportunity for excessive rubarto with the web app, oh dear!
- rectang 11y agoHaha, so true! All my favorite classical performers are the ones who play more evenly, favoring subtle rubato over grandiose, momentum-killing swoops. For piano, that would be Kempff, O'Conor, Leif Ove Andsnes, Misha Dichter... It's such a challenge to find people who play that way -- please suggest any others that come to mind! With this app, I would have to memorize all the little interpolations in order not to interrupt the flow. Playing through the third movement of the Waldstein Sonata was hilarious -- I was constantly skipping beat fractions where there were a few missing sixteenth notes in the middle of a run, and then there sections where I simply couldn't type fast enough and the tempo lagged. And even if I practiced, there is a little too much latency and occasional stop-the-world pausing to achieve the kind of rhythmic precision I'd hope for. But it was still thrilling to hear the correct notes and good dynamics!
- AustinG08 11y agoI think this could be an excellent tool to learn some piano pieces with the addition of a step-backwards button, so you could practice small chunks or certain chords over and over and really analyze them.
- roryokane 11y agoSynthesia lets you step backwards to play a part again, with the left and right arrow keys: https://www.synthesiagame.com/ https://www.synthesiagame.com/. You can also use the up and down arrow keys to change the speed at which you play them.
- idank 11y agoThis made me shed a tear. I played the piano for years but due to a physical disability I can no longer play like I used to. Pressing the keys, maintaining rhythm and hearing the music come out is the closest feeling I got to what is now a forgotten memory. Thank you Mr. Batuhan Bozkurt, for taking me back a few years to all those fun hours I spent on the piano. Please add more pieces (Liszt!) and keep up the good work (incorporating the pedal into this somehow would be really nice)!
- aerovistae 11y agoYes, it should use spacebar for pedal, very good idea.
- modeless 11y agoIt sort of does. Holding down any key will sustain notes longer, even as you press other keys.
- earslapped 11y agoThank you too, I'll be adding a bunch of Liszt soon.
- osxrand 11y agoFor feature requests, I'd love to be able just to watch them being played automagically one after the other on my iOS device (on the website or app), or computer via the website. Sometimes I just want to lay there with headphones on and listens to good piano music. Really enjoyed playing with this, actually still enjoying :)
- fragmede 11y agoThis is awesome! The tutorial is a good touch! You might also want to add direct links to songs for easier sharing for specific pieces, as well as putting the song name in the auto-hiding bottom bar because my memory isn't what it used to be.
- hamburglar 11y ago
- desireco42 11y agoThis is insanely fun :) Wow. I totally can see how this can help us learn to play. Can't wait to show this to my kids.
- joshschreuder 11y agoThere is a similar game on iOS called Magic Piano [1] - it seems to have licensed many popular and older songs and you can play them on iPad with an almost identical UI, for a freemium cost. [1] https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/magic-piano-by-smule/id421254504?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/magic-piano-by-smule/id42125...
- stevenh 11y agoHow much would the melody of any given song played on piano need to be modified before it would no longer be legally considered a cover?
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- tobeportable 11y agoIt's also on android and this is basically the same but easier.
- AlfaWolph 11y agoIs there anything like this for Android? Nexus 6 here.
- empressplay 11y agoDoesn't work on Chrome 43, MacOS X 10.6 iMac8,1 -- graphics are completely corrupted.
- empressplay 11y agoturning off WebGL fixed it...
- zobzu 11y agoFunny since it "highly recommends chrome only" on the page (seems to work perfectly fine in firefox tho..)
- satyajeet23 11y agoIt's a WebGL issue, works perfectly on Safari though.
- est 11y agoWhen I read the title, I thought it could learn your random tap rhythm and search through a piano db and find the best match, or even better, slow & smooth morph into another rhythm according to your tap It turned out to be different, still cool though.
- sbose78 11y agoThis is educational from the perspective that it really teaches you 'rhythm'. This is beautiful piece of web app :)
- Yhippa 11y agoThis is awesome. Super easy to get started. I would love to see the ability to see the notation somewhere as I'm playing and the ability to rewind a bit. I could definitely see me using this to scout out a piece. This really made my day. What a great way to blow off some steam.
- opinali 11y agoMandatory link if you don't know this: https://www.youtube.com/user/smalin/ https://www.youtube.com/user/smalin/
- ctchocula 11y agoSeconded. The videos in that channel are a great help in seeing polyphony and how complex music can be behind-the-scene.
- sebkomianos 11y agoSeeing polyphony is an oxymoron; yet a so true one. It's a pity that our sense of hearing is not as strong. (same goes with pretty much all of them though)
- frogpelt 11y agoI don't mean to nitpick but your hearing has strengths and your eyesight has strengths. For instance, your eyesight is terrible at telling you a furniture truck is coming around the corner. If you were good at separating the individual elements of music without much effort, perhaps music wouldn't be nearly as appealing. Who knows?
- sebkomianos 11y agoYour example is wrong, I think: My eyesight can't tell me about the truck around the corner and I only know it when I hear it but that doesn't mean that I can see it next time. In comparison, when you "see" the polyphony you are one step closer to "hearing" it the next time.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- canjobear 11y agoI'd love to be able to upload my own MIDIs.
- musanim 11y agoTouch Pianist is one of the latest implementations of an idea that's been around for a long time: technologically-assisted musical performance; here's an historical overview on the subject: The Conductor Program — computer-mediated musical performance (http://www.musanim.com/tapper/ http://www.musanim.com/tapper/). Aaron Andrew Hunt is about to release a professional-grade version of this which will let you use your own MIDI files.
- Sapsap 11y agoEven for a rhythm trainer it is disappointing because you're forced to tap at a set interval, not what the notes are actually saying. And forget double-tapping when there are two notes on a single interval -- that just plays two intervals! Thumbs down from a lifelong DDRer and casual pianist. Though idank's comment is nice to see!
- kaoD 11y ago> Even for a rhythm trainer it is disappointing because you're forced to tap at a set interval, not what the notes are actually saying. As far as I can tell, you're wrong. You're supposed to tap at the same rhythm as the distance between the notes conveys. Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 16 - Allegro makes it very obvious. Satie's Gymnopédie No. 1 makes it obvious too since you have to hold the key.
- ant6n 11y agoNever made it to the third movement of the Moonlight Sonata this quickly ... albeit a bit unevenly.
- rgrannell1 11y agoThis is a really terrific app. In many ways is nicer than siting back and listening to music, as it makes you think more about the flow and melody of a piece. I enjoyed this very much.
- pixelperfect 11y agoVery cool. Does anyone else experience an optical illusion where it appears their screen is moving when they finish a song/leave the page?
- kev6168 11y agosame here. very dizzy after staring at it for 30 minutes (it's super fun). Drive-by suggestions -- 1. make the background image fixed so only the notes are moving, 2. make the notes circles smaller, and the notes bursting animation a bit slower, might help reduce the dizziness.
- kidsil 11y agoWhat's the name of the piece (played on touch device)?
- bandwevil 11y agoThere's a bunch of pieces. The tutorial is Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
- rectang 11y agoI couldn't believe that the Waldstein Sonata (first movement) was an option! I've listened to that piece I don't know how many times by so many different pianists (favorites are Wilhelm Kempff and John O'Conor) but I'm not a pianist and could never dream of climbing that mountain. And I tried it and of course made a dire mess of it but it was still SO MUCH FUN!
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- eps 11y agoWhy is the iOS app free? After playing with the in-browser demo for just a minute that would've been an extremely easy $2 to part with! EDIT - oh, it's got ads in it. Removed. Sorry, if you ship your software stuffed with some 3rd party crap that most certainly nobody wants and then offer to disable that part for money, then it's an instant No. Please make a proper paid version with none of this nonsense and I will gladly pay for it.
- biot 11y agoAgreed. I installed the app, played a piece, but when I tried to play something else I got a video ad blasting out at twice the volume of the music. Deleted the app.
- janekm 11y agoYou can wish for a perfect world all you want, but any developer who wants to earn money with an iOS app knows that the basic version has to be free. If you like the app, pay the in-app purchase and be happy... It's pretty unfair to punish the developer for the realities of mobile app markets. http://www.marco.org/2013/09/28/underscore-price-dynamics http://www.marco.org/2013/09/28/underscore-price-dynamics
- eps 11y agoI don't demand that he abandons his ways. I'm asking for another version that is paid and cruft-free.
- curiousphil 11y agoYou do realize that Apple discourages multiple versions of the same app since releasing in-app purchases, right? It clutters up the App Store having paid and free versions of apps. I wish they would just release a proper app demoing system...
- eps 11y agoAny specifics on how they discourage this? Geniune question. There's plenty of high-ranking apps with both paid and free-ad-supported versions, e.g. Cut The Rope.
- ljk 11y agois it happening to anyone else that mouse click makes the music louder?
- kidproquo 11y agoVery cool. On a somewhat related note (pun not intended): I have created an app to learn the music staff notation. Web version: http://www.adhyet.com/flamingnotes http://www.adhyet.com/flamingnotes
- arondeparon 11y agoVery cool, well done! I just showed it to my wife and 3 year old and both spent 45 minutes playing with it. Some suggestions: - the ads on iPad are really obtrusive. Please remove them. I'd gladly pay for the app or the individual packages. ( I deleted the app within 5 minutes) - a "buy everything" option would be nice - I think a two handed mode would be really great: perhaps you could consider generating two timelines with separate even handlers so that you can play multiple rhythms at the same time. Would be a nice "advanced mode". - eventually , an option to include scoring would be nice. You could compare the actual rhythm offset with the"ideal" rhythm to train user rhythm. The current "sandbox" mode really should stay, though, since I really enjoyed watching my kid playing with it :-) Other than that, great work!
- yodsanklai 11y agoYes, a two handed mode + scoring would be great. That would make it a fun program to practice rhythm. There are similar music training software such as Earmaster but they're not really engaging.
- KevanM 11y agoWould be amazing to have the note to indicate timing length appear along with the dots.
- crazoter 11y agoAt the end of each piece there was this "Applause!" at the end - it would be cool if it were to be converted into a button which actually plays an applause when clicked (I thought it was a button when I first saw it).
- pointernil 11y ago.) Love it. .) I can imagine teaching playing piano changed to use something like this simply because it provides such a pleasant and so rewarding experience of accomplishment in contrast to what the "usual" way of learning the instrument tends to be. Who would drop lessons if this was the experience? .) I see it as a very strong, supportive set of crutches. Currently only guiding the tempo of play but which could easily be extended to support other parts of play: reading notation, mapping to keys on the instrument, left/right hand coordination etc. etc. .) Over time "the crutches" could become less and less supportive and in the end I could play my beloved "Chopin Nocturne Op.9 No.2" without them and later start even interpreting it...
- roryokane 11y agoThat teaching aid you describe already exists: https://www.synthesiagame.com/ https://www.synthesiagame.com/. It’s like Guitar Hero for piano. You can give it any MIDI file to play.
- unklefolk 11y agoSelect Eric Satie's Gymnopedies and just hit the keys as fast as possible at a regular tempo. It sounds like a free-wheeling jazz version (think John Coltrane)! :-)
- beefsack 11y agoWas telling someone else about it and realised it's a slightly unfortunate name when saying it aloud.
- hurin 11y agoHey it's one button guitar hero!
- avodonosov 11y agoCool, I like it. BTW, cool music visualization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o (you can't play there, but it helps o perceive music better)
- JonnieCache 11y agoTo the naysayers: playing notes at the right time is way harder and more important than playing the right notes. Rhythmic confidence is key.
- amelius 11y agoIndeed, on a piano, the notes are fixed (you cannot play any note between two notes), so the only "interpretation" a performer can add to an existing piece of music is a change in the timing of the notes, and the loudness (attack) of the notes. Of course, on other types of instrument, this may not hold.
- maroonblazer 11y agoThere's also duration (legato vs staccato) and "smearing" notes to achieve that 'in between' sound. Very common in jazz, rock and blues, but not unheard of in classical.
- amelius 11y agoDuration is part of the timing, I guess. What do you mean by "smearing" exactly?
- juliangregorian 11y agoHave you ever played an acoustic piano?
- louthy 11y agoI think the GP means 'sluring' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slur_%28music%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slur_%28music%29
- juliangregorian 11y agoThis is not really so much true today, but adding trills and other ornamentation used to be a central part of performance. Also, on a real piano, the touch each note is played with is far more nuanced than simply "loudness".
- bitwize 11y agoI love things like this that convey some sense of what it feels like to be a musician. A game like Space Channel 5 is another example; the gameplay is extremely simplistic and would be boringly repetitive if the game didn't make you feel like the star of a musical.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- PsychopompPoet 11y agoObjectively flawless experience Thanks for making the world a better place, all the way Without anything wrong with it And it being perfect
- Grue3 11y ago"Chrome highly recommended" Brings me back to the 90s. "This page is optimized for Internet Explorer 5.5".
- gulbrandr 11y agoChrome highly recommended No thank you, I prefer Firefox.
- DEinspanjer 11y agoI started by trying it out on Firefox (nightly), but after a few minutes, my laptop's fan started ramping up as the CPU usage climbed and then the sound became all distorted until it was unplayable. :/ I was playing the first Rachmaninov piece when it happened.
- anotheryou 11y agoDoes anyone know this for ableton? I'm searching for that for quite some time to humanize metric beats / midi tracks. maybe I need to fiddle something together....
- agumonkey 11y agoI need this computer now http://imgur.com/sLF40FF http://imgur.com/sLF40FF
- _lce0 11y agobeautifuuuul I'd love to get more insights on how to properly play, some sort of music notation tips or best figured bass, I understand the spacing means tempo, but adding such info could help those of us who can read music Also, I'd like to play with many fingers multiple notes! It feels natural to press all once you know there a chord coming. Finally, thanks for such great piece of art!!
- roryokane 11y agoI agree that you should be able to play a chord by pressing multiple keys at once. I tried that, and was confused when suddenly the music jumped ahead by a few notes, because the page interpreted each key in the chord as another press.
- fibbery 11y agoGreat idea. As an occasional pianist, this would be fantastic right at the start of trying to learn a new piece, where I don't have a feel for the sound of it yet. I could have the sheet music up and "play" the correct rhythm while hearing the notes. Once I mastered the piece I would never play it on here again though, for fear that it would interfere with muscle memory of the actual keys.
- mikemajzoub 11y agoThis is absolutely stunning. I bet elementary school music teachers would love this as a teaching tool. Another thought for you - I wonder if you could plug into a music website like noteflight.com? If you could, then people could search among many thousands of pieces to play. Just a thought! Keep it up - it's a beautiful project. Thank you for sharing. In peace, Mike
- smarterchild 11y agoWhere did you get the piano score for the Tocatta?
- sramsay 11y agoPretty impressive app. But mainly, this is demonstrating to me how hard it is to sound like Vladimir Horowitz while using a mouse.
- adrianh 11y agoExcellent work! I'd love to integrate this into my product Soundslice (soundslice.com), which is web-based notation/music education software.
- musanim 11y agoA fun, easy-to-use implementation of the conductor program (see http://www.musanim.com/tapper/ http://www.musanim.com/tapper/ for an historical overview of this idea). Not a professional-grade tool, but a good introduction. I played through all the fugues in the first book of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier --- I ALMOST know them well enough to do this perfectly (except, of course, for the ornaments; I almost never guessed those right). The one thing that surprised me: after playing for a while, my fingertips felt really bruised (this is on an iPad); I've played the piano for 54 years, and I've never had this sensation playing a real keyboard instrument.
- pawtech 11y agoVery cool Idea! I was playing around with this. If you want autoplay (at least on desktop) c/p content of http://pastebin.com/0n14HS11 http://pastebin.com/0n14HS11 in console. (tested on chrome)
- fpolis 11y agoI can't find a way to share it... Is that only my dumb me?