Music Theory

Test your music theory skills.

Great tools for theory students ★★★★★

Thanks to this app, my score reading skills and chord recognizing has improved tremendously in just a week.

by harrycslau

Five modules to test music theory skills at an advanced level.

Music Theory Advanced
Download on the App Store

A suite of five modules; Notes, Keys, Intervals, Chords, and Rhythms, to test music theory skills. Includes an additional 'Grades' module, an editable master list of all saved test scores - password protected access, filterable by student name.

Each module contains its own separate list of saved test scores for that subject.

Example of uses:

Use the timer to set an amount of time to work on a specific skill. Have a student work for 3 minutes on key signatures and see how well they do. Preferences set to grade only those questions answered, with the timer turned on. When they save their score it will show the timer information, number of questions answered, with the date and time the work was done.

All modules except Rhythms contain the following common settings:

Four clef options (Treble, Alto, Tenor, and Bass)

Set the number of chances (1 to 3) to get the correct answer.

Number of questions can range from 1 to 100, and also set the quiz to grade only those questions answered. This allows you to test for a period of time, and finish at that point, regardless of the number answered. For example, see how many you can get right in 5 minutes.

There's a timer that records how much time was spent on the quiz. If you want, it can be turned off.

You can enter a name either in the module itself, or in each of the module setup preferences pages. Just tap on the name and enter the new name. It then passes between the modules, recording with the new scores in each module as well as the final combined grades tab.

Notes - Ear Training

Drill Ear-Notation–Keyboard skills by sight and/or sound.

Read notes written in one of four clefs, and play them on the piano, or notate a played piano key in your selected clef.

Limit the range of notes in the quiz by setting the number of ledger lines allowed. Separate numbers, for above and below the staff, can range from 0 to 9.

Notes won't repeat until all pitches in the range have been asked, or you start a new quiz.

Ear Training

Hide the keyboard or staff during the quiz. Use the 'Middle C' and 'A440' buttons to help you figure out your answer.

Music Theory Advanced Keys

Key Signatures

Work on your major, minor and diatonic modes key signature recognition.

Limit the range of key signatures in the quiz by setting the number of sharps or flats allowed. Separate sharp and flat limits can range from 0 to 7, although you'll always have to have at least one accidental allowed.

Work on major and minor keys, the seven diatonic modes, or combine both into the quiz.

Modes: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian.

This quiz has an engaging and unique interface to select the answers, emphasizing learning the key signatures away from the piano keyboard.

Music Theory Advanced Intervals

Intervals

Identify simple and compound (greater than an octave) intervals by sight and sound. Hear the intervals played harmonically, melodically up, or melodically down.

Included intervals are major, minor, diminished, augmented 2nds, 3rds, 6ths, 7ths, and diminished, perfect, and augmented 4ths, 5ths, and octaves. You can exclude diminished and augmented 2nds, 3rds, 6ths, and 7ths.

There are a couple ways to determine the root notes of the intervals in the quiz. First, you can have the app generate random root notes. And Second, in between each question, you can set what the root will be for the following interval. In both situations, the interval will always be within the written range you've set in the preferences. So if you pick a root that would put the interval outside the range, the app will move the root so it fits.

Keep the intervals on the chosen staff by limiting how many ledger lines you want allowed. You can set this from 0 to 9.

Sight Reading or Ear Training

Turn off the sound to identify the intervals by notation alone, or cover the notation to test your ear. Descending melodic intervals is a good challenge if you feel up to it. If you've included all diminished and augmented intervals, you'll have to peak at the notation to be able to get the theoretically correct answers.

Music Theory Advanced Chords

Chords

Identify chords by sight and sound. Hear the chords played normally, rolled up, or rolled down.

Triads include; dimished, minor, major, and augmented

Seventh chords include; diminished, min7(b5), min7, min(maj7), dominant7, maj7, dominant7(#5), maj7(#5)

Like with Intervals, there are a couple ways to determine the root notes of the chords in the quiz. First, you can have the app generate random root notes. And Second, in between each question, you can set what the root will be for the following chord. In both situations, the chords will always be within the written range you've set in the preferences. So if you pick a root that would put the chord outside the range, the app will move the root so it fits.

Keep the chords on the chosen staff by limiting how many ledger lines you want allowed. You can set this from 0 to 9.

Sight Reading or Ear Training

Turn off the sound for work on identifying the chords by notation, or cover the notation to test your ear's recognition of the chord types. Similar to Intervals, having the chords rolled down is a challenging variation from the traditional way we hear chords.

Music Theory Advanced Rhythms

Rhythms

With a wide range of preferences, this test can be a simple test of half and whole notes on one pitch, to very challenging with nine different note values and corresponding rests on two separate groups of three different pitches each.

Select one or two hands - written lines of rhythms. Select from one to three pads for each hand. Pads represent pitches notated above, below, and on the line.

You can select any combination of note values you want included in the test: whole, half, quarter, eighth, dotted half, dotted quarter, triplet half, triplet quarter, and triplet eighth notes. You can include or exclude rests for the selected note values as well.

Introduce pitches to the test, select from one to three pads (pitches) notated above, below, and on the line. This is an easy way to step up the difficulty level while still testing the same note values.

Currently the test doesn't use bar lines. The goal is to isolate testing of note values and their relationships to one another without the addition of arbitrary bar lines. Grouping note values into measures is the step after mastering their relationships to each other. Triplet values will always be grouped into musical figures. There won't be an isolated triplet note without other notes to complete the figure. Likewise, there won't be incomplete beats when including eighth notes.

The test length can range from 4 to 32 beats. The tempo range is approximately 30 to 120 bpm. An excellent way to increase the difficulty of the tests is as simple as increasing the length of the rhythms or a slight increase of the tempo.

You can listen to the rhythm as many times you want before you try playing it yourself. You can adjust the tempo between each listen or attempt as well.

Record up to three attempt's markings on the rhythm display.

You can attempt the same rhythm as many times as you want. To retry the same rhythm, when you press 'Next Rhythm' you may be asked to save or discard your grading results. If you discard the results, it'll wipe the display of the grading marks and you'll be all setup to work on the same rhythm again. You also have the option of getting a new rhythm with the same parameters or setting new parameters for a new rhythm. If you save the results, when you then press 'Next Rhythm' you can choose a new rhythm with the same parameters or repeat the same rhythm.

Every time you save your results, for example after your first of three attempts, you can choose a new rhythm with the same parameters or use the same rhythm again.

Set the number of 'Tries' from 1 to 3. ** I plan to remove this setting for Rhythms because being able to repeat the rhythm as many times as you want between recorded grades (a requested feature), contradicts this setting's original intention of forcing 'one chance only.'

After each attempt you have the option of saving the result or trying again (if you've set the 'Tries' preference to 2 or 3). You only get to save the last attempt, not the best. After the set number of tries, you must select 'Next Rhythm', this will reset the grading marks and you'll be set to; try the same rhythm again, create a new rhythm with the same parameters, or setup new parameters for a new rhythm. You can attempt the same rhythm as many times as you want.

Percussionists

Set the test to exclude grading note durations. This can also help with beginners by allowing you to focus the test on just rhythmic accuracy before taking points away for wrong sustains.

Grades

Quickly see, filter by name, and edit this master list of all saved test scores.

You are able to delete selected scores, or all the scores at once.

Teachers may want to limit the access to the grades list, so it can be easily locked and unlocked within the app by using a password that is set in the iPad's Settings app. Just type the password as the student's name and the grades tab unlocks.

The recorded grades include the student's name, date and time the quiz was taken, all relevant quiz settings (clef, number of questions, note values included, etc.), and score (percentage and letter grade).