Sing That Note! for iPhone (iPad compatible): Support Page
Help with the app
How do I quiz myself?
1. Click on a difficulty level (but not on the arrow on the right). A screen with two large buttons appears.
2. Click the left button and listen to the musical phrase. Wait for the phrase to end.
3. Hold your finger down on the right button while singing a sustained pitch. Keep the button down. At first it will be red.
4. The right button will turn green when the app has recognized a sustained pitch. Once the right button turns green, quickly release the button.
(The green color does not mean you are singing the correct note. It only indicates that a sustained pitch has been detected, and this pitch is assumed to be your answer.)
5. The feedback screen appears.
6. Click the right arrow to hear another excerpt, click the left arrow to repeat the previous excerpt, or click the note to hear the correct pitch.
How do I get the app to recognize my voice? The button on the right never turns green.
Make sure you are singing a steady, sustained pitch.
Try inputting a note from an instrument, like a piano, instead of singing.
If neither of the above work, delete the app and download again (It's free!).
What are the other screens (beyond those mentioned in question 1 above)?
The small "i" on the top right of the main screen brings you to this support page.
The arrows to the right of each level describe the kind of musical phrase presented.
I need more musical phrases for each level. Can you add some?
Yes. More phrases will be added as we update to newer versions.
I don't sing. How can this app help me recognize tonic?
You can play your note on an instrument of your choice, or you can whistle or hum the note. Remember however, that singing improves your ability to analyze the music you hear (this statement may seem debatable, but many experts have assured me it is true), so do your best to sing your answers.
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Help with the Music Theory behind the app
What is tonic?
Tonic is the first note of the piece's scale, the key note, the syllable "do", or scale degree one. If your piece is in the key of D major or D minor, then the tonic is the note D. Here is a phrase of music followed by its tonic.
Why is it important that I be able to recognize tonic?
Recognizing tonic is the first step in recognizing the scale degree (or solfege syllable) of all notes in a piece of music, and this skill is necessary for recognizing chord functions (the Roman numerals of chords), chord progressions, cadences (the progressions at the end of phrases) and modulations (changes of key). For musicians and music lovers alike, these are musical elements which give insights into how the music was composed.
Are there other notes I should be able to sing?
Once you have mastered singing tonic in the music you hear, it is important that you also be able to sing the dominant (scale degree 5 or "sol"). Later versions of "Sing that Note!" will help you with this skill. Once this is also mastered, all scale degrees should be easily recognizable by comparison to these two, and no more similar drills should be necessary.
I can do this task. Where do I go from here?
If you can recognize tonic in the exercises on this app, you are ready for the recognition of scale degrees. Test yourself on these recognitions with
these quizzes. If this is also easy, go to the diatonic triads, cadences and chord progressions pages (in that order) listed at the Contextual Listening home page at G Major Music Theory.
I don't see my question here.
Watch a tutorial
Go to the YouTube video.
Contact Gil
Support email is deben "at" pitt "dot" edu
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