Copyright: Copyright © 1994-1999 AHA! Software Inc.


Table of Contents
NoteCard Table of Contents

Introduction to NoteCard

Anatomy of the Display

Controlling NoteCard

The Game Menu

The Options Menu

The Help Menu

Skill Levels

Hints and Tips

Keyboard Equivalents

Program Credits and Copyright


Introduction
Introduction to NoteCard

NoteCard is a simple drill program to help you develop rapid recognition of musical notes, a vital skill in learning to read music. It is based upon a manual flashcard system I developed while teaching piano around 1980, and on a Commodore 64 program I wrote a couple of years later.

NoteCard will not teach you to read music, any more than learning the letters of the alphabet will teach you to read books. Facility in note recognition, however, will make the task of learning to read music much less arduous.

That facility should not take long to acquire. Depending on the amount of previous preparation, you may find that ten or twenty brief sessions are enough to develop considerable speed and accuracy.

The present version of NoteCard (v2.0.0) is a 32-bit (i.e. for Windows 95 or better) program written in Delphi 4.0. It supersedes the original 16-bit Visual Basic program released in 1995. The new features of this version were suggested by users. They include an extended, multi-octave version of the Piano Input Control, and the new Guitar Input Control.

Nick Sullivan

AHA! Software Inc.

See also:

•	Which notes will I learn?

•	What happens in a NoteCard session?


Staff Diagram
Which notes will I learn?

Just about everything that NoteCard can teach you is encompassed in the diagram below, showing the notes from E below Middle C up to High B on the treble (upper) staff, and from Middle C down to Low E on the bass staff.

To locate Middle C on a piano keyboard, first note that the black keys on the keyboard are arranged in alternating groups of two and three. Find the group of two black keys nearest the middle of the keyboard. The white key immediately to the left of this group is Middle C (highlighted in blue in this diagram):

The notes ascending from Middle C on the treble staff correspond to the white piano keys to the right of Middle C, taken in succession. The notes descending from Middle C on the bass staff correspond to the white piano keys to the left of Middle C.

If you are learning an instrument other than the piano, you may not need both staves. NoteCard lets you restrict your study to a single staff if you desire (see the Options Menu and Controlling NoteCard).


Using NoteCard
What happens in a NoteCard session?

A NoteCard note-reading drill consists of a quiz in which you are asked to identify 20 notes, one after another. Each note is worth 10 points. You get the full 10 points if you identify the note correctly within two seconds, then lose a point for each extra second. If you still haven't answered after 12 seconds, NoteCard identifies the note for you and moves on to the next.

At the end of the quiz, you may choose to begin a new quiz, possibly on a different level or using different options. See Skill Levels and the  Options Menu for further information.

For most people, a series of 10 or 20 NoteCard sessions lasting ten minutes or so each should be enough to learn the notes thoroughly.


Anatomy of the Display

At the top of the NoteCard display are the Game Menu, the Options Menu and the Help Menu.

Immediately below the menus is the Toolbar. The buttons are individually described in Controlling NoteCard.

Below the Toolbar is the Staff Display...

...and the Countdown Panel.

The Button Input Control is used for note input during quizzes.

Alternatively, you may want to use the Piano Input Control...

...or the Guitar Input Control.

Below the input control - whichever one you have chosen - are the Skill Level Control and the Scoreboard Panel.

The Close Button brings your NoteCard session to an end.

At the very bottom of the display is the Hint Bar, which describes the function of whichever control or display element is currently under the mouse pointer.


Controlling NoteCard

Most of NoteCard's capabilities can be controlled by both the Toolbar and the Menus. The Toolbar button images are also displayed next to the corresponding items on the menus to help you learn to identify them as quickly as possible.

Quiz controls

To begin a new quiz at the current skill level and other settings, use:

The Begin button, or the Game/Begin Quiz menu command.

To halt a quiz without first answering all 20 questions, use:

The End button, or the Game/End Quiz menu command.

To set the skill level for your next quiz, use:

The Skill level control. Click the arrows on this control to raise or lower the skill level, which ranges from 1 (easy) to 12 (hard).

To leave NoteCard, click the Close button.

Input

You can give your answers in a NoteCard quiz using your computer keyboard, (letters A through G), or one of the special input controls, only one of which is available at a time.

The Button input button selects the Button Input Control.

The Piano input button selects the Piano Input Control.

The Guitar input button selects the Guitar Input Control.

The three input buttons correspond to the Use Note Buttons, Use Piano Keys and Use Guitar Frets commands on the Options Menu. You can switch between Button and Piano input even during a quiz, but Guitar input must be selected before a quiz begins, and then can not be switched away from while the quiz is in progress.

Clef

You can choose to be tested on the notes of the treble staff only, the bass staff only, or both staves.

N.B. If you choose the Guitar Input Control, only the treble staff is available, since guitar music is notated in the treble clef (one octave higher than the actual notes played).

Select the Treble notes button to be tested on treble notes only. If Button or Keyboard input is selected, the range of treble notes is from middle C up to A above high C. For guitar input, the treble range is E below middle C up to B above high C.

Select the Bass notes button to be tested on bass notes only. The range of bass notes is from E below low C up to middle C.

Select the All notes button to be tested on notes from both the treble and bass. The note range for this option is from E below low C up to A above high C - i.e. the treble and bass ranges combined.

The three clef buttons correspond to the Treble Notes, Bass Notes and All Notes commands on the Options Menu.

Piano keyboard range

If you are using the Piano Input Control, NoteCard lets you decide whether to display all the piano keys in the range of notes for which you want to be tested, or just a single octave.

When the Single octave only button is selected, the piano keyboard shows one octave of keys (plus a couple of extras). In this mode, you don't have to worry about which octave a note belongs to: you just have to choose the piano key with the same letter-name as the note displayed on the staff.

When the Full keyboard range button is selected, the piano keyboard shows all the keys required for the range of notes you have selected with the clef buttons. Middle C is shown in light blue. In this mode, you have to choose the key with the correct letter name and in the correct octave.

The two keyboard range buttons correspond to the Single Octave Only and Full Keyboard Range commands on the Options Menu.


Options Menu
The Options Menu

To set up the options for your next quiz, use the items on the Options Menu. These items correspond directly to buttons on the Toolbar.

Input Control Selection

These options tell NoteCard which type of control you want to use to enter the notes during a quiz. Whichever control you choose is displayed immediately below the staff at the top of the NoteCard window. Typing note names on the keyboard is an additional option available with all three input controls.

Use Note Buttons

Enter notes using the Button Input Control, which lets you select from the seven note names A through G. Using this panel, or typing the notes on your computer keyboard, will help you learn to associate the note names with the position of the note heads on the staff.

Use Piano Keys

Enter notes using the Piano Input Control. This will teach you to associate the piano keys directly with the position of the note heads, fostering fluent sight-reading. In the beginning, simplify your practice by using the Single Octave Only option described below. Once you're comfortable with that, turn on Full Keyboard Range, which requires you to select the correct octave as well as the correct note.

Use Guitar Frets

Enter notes using the Guitar Input Control. This will teach you to associate frets on the guitar fingerboard directly with the position of the note heads, fostering fluent sight-reading. It is important with this control to select the correct octave for the note you are trying to identify.

Staff Selection

These options let you choose whether to be quizzed on the treble staff, the bass staff, or both. Note that these choices are not available with the Guitar Input Control, since guitar music is notated in the treble clef only.

Treble Notes

When this option is checked, only the treble notes will be included in your next quiz. The treble range for the Button Input Control and the Piano Input Control is from middle C to high A. The treble range for the guitar is E below middle C to high B.

Bass Notes

When this option is checked, only the bass notes (low E to high B) will be included in your next quiz.

All Notes

When this option is checked, both the bass notes and the treble notes will be included in your next quiz.

Keyboard Range Selection

These options apply only when the Piano Input Control is used.

Single Octave Only

Only a single octave of the piano keyboard is displayed. With this option, you don't need to worry what octave a note is in, only what key it corresponds to within the sample octave shown.

Full Keyboard Range

Enough keys are displayed to cover the entire range of the staff (or staves) on which you are being tested. With this option, you need to choose the key corresponding to the note in its correct octave. Notice that Middle C is highlighted in light blue in this mode.


Hints and Tips

•	If you do not yet know the names of the notes on the staff, turn to the Staff Diagram for a quick explanation.

•	If you are practising your note-reading because you are learning to play the piano, it is a good idea to use the Piano Input Control rather than the Button Input Control for some (not all) of your practice. This will help you associate the notes on the staff with their positions on the piano keyboard as well as with their letter names. Similarly, students of the guitar will want to make regular use of the Guitar Input Control.

•	When you are starting out, strive for accuracy rather than speed. The rapid recognition you need for sight-reading music will come automatically with practice.

•	Begin at a skill level you feel comfortable with. You should find that you can progress by one or more levels in the course of a single session (see Skill Levels).


Program Credits and Copyright

NoteCard was designed and written by Nick Sullivan. It is a freeware product of AHA! Software Inc. of Victoria, BC.

You have permission to copy NoteCard, give it to your friends, hand it out to your students, upload it to your local FTP site or BBS, and in general to use and redistribute it freely.

Nevertheless, NoteCard is a copyrighted product. You may not resell it or repackage it in any way without express permission from AHA! Software Inc. at the email address below. You may not tamper with or in any other way modify NoteCard or its auxiliary files.

If you use NoteCard and find it useful, why not drop us a line and say so? Our email address is ssv@familygames.com.

We'd also like to invite you to drop by our Family Games web site, where you'll find an ever-expanding selection of freeware and shareware games, pastimes, amusements and activities, to download or to enjoy on-line, including our classic non-violent adventure games Santa's Secret Valley and Uncle Julius and the Anywhere Machine, and our ever popular trivia quizzes. The URL is: http://familygames.com.


Skill Levels

NoteCard offers 12 skill levels. Choosing the higher levels means that you will be tested on a wider range of notes.

The selection of notes at each skill level depends on which input control you have chosen to use.

At level 1, a quiz using the Button Input Control or the Piano Input Control employs only two treble notes (Middle C and D) and/or two bass notes (Middle C and B). Each succeeding level adds the next higher treble note and the next lower bass note to the list. Level 12 uses 13 treble and 13 bass notes, ranging from the second E below Middle C to the second A above. You may further restrict the notes used in the quiz by picking either Treble Notes or Bass Notes in the Options Menu.

With the Guitar Input Control, level 1 tests you on the three top open strings (E, B, G). Level 2 adds the other three open strings (D, A, E), while subsequent levels gradually add the fretted notes.

The Skill Level Control consists of a left-right slider coupled with a text readout. Click the arrows at each end to raise and lower the skill level. Alternatively, you can use the "+" and "-" keys to change the skill level from the keyboard.


Help Menu
The Help Menu

NoteCard's Help Menu provides the following items:

Contents	Turn to the Contents Page of this help information

Keyboard	NoteCard keyboard equivalents and shortcuts

Using Help	How to use the Windows Help system

About	NoteCard programming credits


Staff Display
The Staff Display

The notes that NoteCard asks you to identify are displayed on either of two staves: the treble staff (above) or the bass staff (below). The clef symbol at the left of each staff indicates its type. In this illustration, the student has chosen to learn the notes of the treble staff, so the bass clef symbol is "grayed".


Button Input Control
The Button Input Control

Although NoteCard can quiz you on up to 26 different notes, they have only seven different names amongst them: the letters A through G. Click the appropriate button on the Button Input Control to identify the current note.

You can switch between the Button Input Control and the Piano Input Control while a quiz is in progress with the Use Note Buttons and Use Piano Keys items on the Options Menu, and the corresponding buttons on the Toolbar.


Scoreboard Panel
The Scoreboard Panel

NoteCard quizzes are scored out of 200 points - 10 points for each of 20 notes. To get the full score you must correctly identify each note within two seconds of its being displayed. During a quiz, your current score is shown on the Scoreboard Panel (see below right). The score remains posted at the end of a quiz until a new quiz begins.


Countdown Panel
The Countdown Panel

Every time a new note is displayed during a quiz, a countdown begins. The countdown starts from 12 seconds. If you answer correctly within two seconds, you will receive the full score of 10 points for that note. If you take longer to answer, the number of points you receive will be the number showing at that time on the countdown display. If you do not answer within the 12 second time-limit, or if you answer incorrectly, you will receive zero points for the question, and NoteCard will inform you of the correct answer.


Guitar Input Control
The Guitar Input Control

If your instrument is the guitar, you can start learning your way around the fingerboard by using the Guitar Input Control to enter the notes in your NoteCard quizzes.

The control shows the first seven frets on the guitar neck. The nut (the ridge over which the strings pass on their way to the tuning screws) is at the left. The low E string is at the bottom of the control. The other strings are A, D, G, B and E in accordance with standard guitar tuning.

Select a note by clicking on the string behind the fret, in the same place as you would press with your finger on the guitar fingerboard to play that note. To select an open string, click the string in the lighter-colored area at the right of the control.

The Guitar Input Control does not allow you to select frets corresponding to sharp or flat notes - the black keys on the piano - since those are not used in NoteCard quizzes.

To select the Guitar Input Control:

Pick Use Guitar Frets on the Options Menu; or,

Click the Guitar Input button on the Toolbar


Piano Input Control
The Piano Input Control

If you are learning to play the piano, regular use of the Piano Input Control is recommended as an aid to developing a strong mental connection between the notes on the page and the piano keys that correspond to them.

To select the Piano Input Control:

Pick Use Piano Keys on the Options Menu; or,

Click the Piano Input button on the Toolbar

The Keyboard Range Selection controls on the Options Menu and the Toolbar let you choose whether to use the Piano Input Control in Single Octave Only mode or Full Keyboard Range mode.


Game Menu

NoteCard's Game Menu provides the following items:

Begin Quiz	Start a new quiz requiring you to identify 20 notes on the staff

End Quiz	Terminate a quiz in progress


Keyboard Equivalents

Alt-G	Activate the Game Menu

Alt-O	Activate the Options Menu

Alt-H	Activate the Help Menu

+ or -	Increase or decrease Skill Level

A - G	Same as clicking on the Button Input Control