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Have you wanted to play Beethoven's “Für Elise” again for a long time?
Or “Everlong” from the Foo Fighters?
Quickly get the keyboard from the attic or pull out the electric guitar and off you go.
If it just could be that easy.
Because the fingerings, keys and chords just don't fit anymore.
And that means: discordant notes.
Apps, browser applications or even videos can be useful in such a case.
For some, you don't even need your own instrument.
But to whom do such applications bring how much?
And can they replace teachers?
Playful approach to music apps
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First of all, there are apps with a more playful approach.
This is basically about hitting the right notes of the song at the right moment on the tablet or smartphone on virtual piano keys or guitar pages.
However, this is not comparable to a real instrument, says Volker Gerland.
"The pressure point is missing and the size of the buttons is different on the tablet," says the head of the working group "Digital Opportunities at Music Schools" in the Association of German Music Schools.
Anyone who wants to switch from these digital instruments to real ones could run into difficulties: "They don't teach you to play the guitar."
Virtual fingerboard on the smartphone: Yousician listens and detects errors
Source: dpa-tmn
In addition, there are numerous, sometimes free, moving image tutorials on the well-known video platforms, even entire academies for bass players with world-class stars, who give workshops on songs by great artists, so-called master classes, explains Martin Reche from the specialist portal “Heise online”.
Is the music app listening?
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Then there are apps or browser applications such as Skoove (iOS), Music2Me or Flowkey (Android and iOS) for learning the piano and Yousician (Android and iOS), Fretello (Android and iOS) or JustinGuitar (Android and iOS) for the guitar.
Reche has tested the offers and found that there are apps that can actively listen and give feedback, and there are apps that only work with video material and do not give any feedback.
Example guitar: Here a virtual fingerboard runs across the screen.
Apps like Yousician listen through the built-in microphones and can tell whether you are hitting the right note at the right time.
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"This is how you learn to find your way around the fingerboard and to play melodies," says Reche.
Learn guitar in 4 weeks - is that possible?
Learning to play an instrument costs a lot of time and money.
But does it have to be?
Numerous apps and YouTube tutorials promise something different: learn guitar for free, easily and quickly.
Will it work in 4 weeks?
Editor Kim tried it.
Source: WORLD |
kci, mgi
There is something similar for the piano.
At the bottom of the screen are the notes, at the top the piano of a virtual teacher from a bird's eye view.
Even the fingering is displayed, i.e. the information about which key to press and when with which fingers.
The first steps in learning to play an instrument with the app
"Anyone who has always wanted to learn an instrument and has a small keyboard at home, for example, can use the apps to help them with the first steps," explains Reche.
Well-known pop songs provide the necessary motivation to stick with it.
But of course Bach, Mozart or Beethoven are also represented in the applications.
But the services cannot replace a teacher, says Reche.
"You can judge whether you have played notes correctly and hit the timing, but not the finger or body posture." If you adopt a wrong style of playing that no one corrects, in the worst case you will prevent your own progress.
For piano players: Music2me works with a bird's eye view and pedal recognition
Source: dpa-tmn
"I think it is very problematic to learn an instrument just by watching videos or taking online lessons," says Gerland.
On the one hand because of the often inadequate sound quality, and on the other hand because teachers cannot interact well with their students online.
Music schools in corona lockdown
Nevertheless, Volker Gerland considers the apps and applications to be good part-time trainers and suitable for refreshing oneself if one has already mastered the techniques but has not played in a long time.
The music schools also worked digitally in the corona lockdown.
Either as a lesson via video conference, or you get a video in which the exercises can be seen.
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The pupils, in turn, send back sound recordings for comparison.
Basically a good way to stay in contact permanently, even for feedback in between.
Skoove also offers the option to practice on the on-screen keyboard in the iOS app
Source: dpa-tmn
The apps for mobile devices and browsers that Reche tested are all chargeable.
But there is a seven-day test phase for everyone, in which you can access all content.
"They are enough to get a well-founded picture and to determine whether it is something for you," explains Reche.
Which music apps are good for practicing?
Apps for learning musical instruments cost around ten to 20 euros a month, and annual subscriptions are often cheaper.
Before deciding on a version, it is worth checking whether the app is compatible with the device and its operating system intended for practice.
Martin Reche von has tested various solutions and reports: “None of the tested providers did badly.” Flowkey and Yousician, for example, listened to what and how to play.
Music2me, on the other hand, was the only piano learning app in the test that also took piano pedals into account.
Skoove, on the other hand, offers the option of practicing on the on-screen keyboard in the iOS app, for example while on vacation.
Reche believes that anyone who wants to learn notes quickly is well served with Fretello.
JustinGuitar, on the other hand, most closely resembles "real" lessons.
dpa