Learn to Read Music: A Free Note-Reading Trainer That Runs in Your Browser
Learning the piano, but still counting lines to work out which note you’re looking at? Learn to Read Music is our new free web app that teaches you to read notes on the staff, step by step, by actually playing them.
The idea is simple: a note appears, you play it on a keyboard. A right answer moves you on, a wrong one lets you try again. There is nothing to install and no account to create.
How it works
The course is built as 10 progressive levels, from your first three notes on the treble clef to the grand staff. Levels 1 to 8 are available now, and cover:
- the treble clef, then the bass clef
- ledger lines, above and below the staff
- sequences of notes to play in order
- both clefs together on the grand staff
Chords and accidentals (level 9) and rhythm (level 10) are coming soon.
When you’ve mastered a level, a short exam validates it and the next one is offered. Along the way, the app brings back the notes you struggle with more often, so your practice goes where you need it.
Main features
- Play on any keyboard: a MIDI keyboard, your computer keyboard, or the on-screen keyboard, with mouse or touch.
- Adaptive practice: missed notes come back more often, and notes you recognize quickly show up less.
- Detailed statistics: first-try accuracy, recognition time, progress over sessions, and your most difficult notes.
- Several students: each one keeps their own progress and settings, which is handy for a family or a music class.
- Timed or relaxed: practice with or without a timer, and use assisted mode to display the note names while you get started.
- French and English: note names follow the language (Do Ré Mi or C D E).
Private by design
No sign-up, no tracking of your progress on a server: everything stays in your browser, and nothing is sent over the Internet. You can export your progress to a backup file at any time, and import it on another computer.
Free and open source
Learn to Read Music (internal name: midi-trainer) is free software, released under the GPL-3.0 license. The source code is available on GitHub.
It works best in Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a computer. MIDI keyboards are also supported in Chrome on Android. Safari doesn’t support MIDI keyboards, but you can still use your computer keyboard.
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