It’s an ear training tool, The widget helps you recognize figured bass symbols in context; chord inversions included. You can control it by using certain keystrokes on your computer keyboard or by use your mouse to click appropriate buttons. Basically you are looking at the correct figure that represents the sound being heard or an inverted version of that chord.
After each round begins, press either Play block chord or Play arpeggio to listen to audio. Pay close attention to how upper voices is spaced and what the bass note is. Use this to choose the right inversion from the four choices on the grid underneath prompt. You’ll know instantly whether you chose correctly as the interface will show full explanation of the voicing and theory behind your choice.
How to Use the Ear Training Tool
There are a few keyboard shortcuts on your computer that will help you play more smoothly. To choose your answer directly, simply press the corresponding number key from one to four. Pressing the spacebar will allow you to replay current progression or chord again, no mouse required. Answering a question then pressing the c key will play all the inversions of the current chord being played, allowing you to compare them to each other. The n key (or pressing Enter) will take you to next question.
To add some variety to your practice sessions there’s also a number of modes available for this widget. The Mode buttons lets you alternate between hearing chords as they appear in a harmonic progression, identify single chord, or even figure bass notation. There’s also free play where all inversions becomes fair game with no level restriction. If you’re looking to stretch your limits, this is the way to go, the changing difficulty system won’t hold you back.
The Pool section allows you to determine which type of chord you want included in the workout. You can turn major, minor and dominant sevenths on or off here. An adaptive weighting system kicks in based off how well you’re doing in the widget so if you find yourself struggling with a certain inversion or type of chord it’ll show up more often. If you’re strong on something, then it will gradually recede into background allowing you to home in on the areas where you need work, no fiddling required.
It gives visual reinforcement of what you are hearing. Once answered, it will show on the Voicing panel which notes has been played. It will also show their interval above the bass note and what function they plays within the chord. There is a direct link between what you hear and the theory behind it. The Progression strip then analyses the Roman numeral for the progression. This highlights the target chord under consideration.
Sprint: Want to see how quickly you can get a high score? Choose between 30-, 60-, or 90-second sprints by clicking on a time length and then “Start sprint.” The app will play through chords as fast as possible while tracking your accurate responses along the way. It doesn’t count towards your normal streak or score, it’s just a way to see how well you remember chords when the clock is ticking. The widget keeps track of your top times per timeframe in the stats section.
Set the sound options to your liking. While playing an arpeggio, use the Arp rate slider to adjust the speed that the notes roll. At slower speeds, you’ll be able to hear each note individually more easy; at faster speeds, it sounds more like someone is actually playing a real piano. Additionally, you can switch between open and close spacing on the chords that drop the bass note down an octave. This forms a larger texture that is frequently used when accompanying music played on a piano.
One other feature that makes this an excellent teaching resource is the Compare all inversions button. If you answer the question and then click on this button, it will play the same chord in each available inversion for direct comparison. You can easily notice the change in character of the sound by hearing the different ways the bass note moves around. As the sound plays, the interface also colours the active inversion so you can connect the individual bass note with the appropriate figure.
In the Stats section, it tracks your progress. It tells you how many questions you’ve answered correctly, how many you’ve been asked, what your accuracy has been and so on. There’s also an indicator for your level (how many right you have to get in a row before moving up a level). So if you’re not being accurate enough at a given time, it might drop down to a lower level where you can regain your confidence.
A Fullscreen button lets you maximize the widget on your screen so that it’s cleaner. This is good if you have a small screen or just want to minimize distraction. The Help button opens a more detailed panel with more information about the controls and keyboard shortcuts. This is good if you want a refresher on how something works or if you forgot what a control does.
Play through some blocks to familiarize yourself with how it sounds. Turn on arpeggio mode to see what happens when the notes play out in sequence and use the compare button to create an inner guide for how each inversion should sound in your head. Once you’re feeling comfortable try turning on sprint mode to see how quickly you can recognize them. You should of known that the better you do the more this widget will learn from you as an individual learner.