Meet My Assistant - Mr IPad

I include Sight Reading, Note Recognition Practice, Rhythm Practice, Theory Games and Scales into almost every group lesson. Once upon a time, this would have been an impossibility, but now it's pretty easy, thanks to my assistant - Mr. iPad! 

We use several apps in the lessons but the ones we use every week are MTA (Music Teacher Assistant) Sight Read Plus, Rhythm Swing, Flash Note Derby and Piano Notes Fun

MTA Sight Read Plus

Sight Read Plus allows you to select intervals or rhythms your students need to practice, and then gives them 40 mini sight reading exercises based on your selection.

The app "hears" through the microphone (or the cable if you connect the piano directly into the iPad) as your student plays the piano and it grades their performance. 

The app logs the progress of up to 50 different users per iPad. So each lesson, students check their "Piano Workout" cards to see what they should be working on that lesson, select the correct level of Sight Read Plus, and work through that level with headphones.

Rhythm Swing

My students love  Rhythm Swing because it is more like a game than rhythm practice. I have students using this from Primer Level so they get the concept of keeping a steady beat.

​Rhythm Swing allows you to select a note value or a rest that your student needs to work on, and it generates a whole lot of rhythms focusing on your selection.

Students tap the rhythm on the tablet screen. Mistakes are highlighted in red with explanations of what went wrong. There are also "Game" levels - students have 3 lives and have to avoid mistakes when tapping the correct rhythm in order to win. 

Piano Notes Fun & Flash Note Derby

Piano Notes Fun is fantastic for note recognition practice. You can select a range of notes, just line notes, just space notes - whatever your student needs to work on. Students tap the correct key on the screen to match the note on the staff. You can even time their progress. I used to challenge students to name 32 notes in 1 minute and this app was great for that challenge.

Flash Note Derby is another note recognition practice app. Students can tap the correct answer on the screen or play the correct key on their instrument.

This is a favorite with my students especially since they added different characters - unicorns, aliens etc.

Another great thing about these apps is the number of exercises the student has to do to complete a level. When we used to sight read from books, students would become distracted after the 3rd or 4th exercise. Now they do 20 or more exercises without a problem because they all love Mr. iPad!

These apps are necessities, particularly in my multi-level groups where each student is working at their own pace. I can focus on the students' pieces while Mr. iPad takes care of their sight reading and note identification :)