 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
MUSIC LESSONS I Overveiw (Macintosh OS X)
Chapter 3 of the MUSIC LESSONS I User Manual.
Suggstions About Using the Drills
Learning music is a multifaceted process, in which you gain new skills by building on old ones, and apply skills gained in one area to other areas. MUSIC LESSONS I stimulates your musical growth by providing a framework for increasing your knowledge and skills in a systematic and progressive manner. The table below suggests one method of organizing your musical study to take advantage of MUSIC LESSONS I's drills. In the following table, the drills are arranged in order of difficulty.
Another method of organizing your musical study is to work your way through the skill levels of one drill, gaining competency in that area. Then move to another drill to develop additional skills.
[top]
Menus
There are ten menus in MUSIC LESSONS I: MUSIC LESSONS I, File, Edit, Drill, Level, Clefs, Instrument, Options, Sound, and Help.
Menus are discussed in detail in chapter 5 and chapter 6.
[top]
MUSIC LESSONS I
The MUSIC LESSONS I menu is a standard OSX menu. The MUSIC LESSONS I application-specific items are the About MUSIC LESSONS I command, the Preferences command, and the Quit command.
The About MUSIC LESSONS I item displays a dialog box containing the version number, the registered user name, and information about contacting MiBAC Music Software.
[top]
The Preferences item allows you to save global program settings to suit the way you use MUSIC LESSONS I. These settings will be used whenever the program is started. The 12 Preference Panels contain extensive options for customizing the program the way you want.
The Quit item exits MUSIC LESSONS I.
[top]
File Menu
The File menu contains commands to create, open, save, and print progress reports. The File menu is discussed in detail in Chapter 6-Menus .
[top]
Edit Menu
The Edit menu contains the usual cut, copy and paste commands. They are not used in MUSIC LESSONS I. The Edit menu is discussed in in Chapter 6-Menus.
[top]
Drill Menu
The Drill menu contains the 12 MUSIC LESSONS I drills. The Drill menu is discussed in detail in Chapter 5-Drill Reference.
[top]
Level Menu
The Level menu refers to level of difficulty. The items in this menu change for each drill and range from easy to difficult. You can also create four custom levels in each drill. The Level menus for each drill are discussed in detail in Chapter 5-Drill Reference.
[top]
Clefs Menu
The Clefs menu allows you to choose between treble, bass, alto, tenor or any combination of these clefs. The Clefs menu is discussed in detail in Chapter 6-Menus.
[top]
Instrument Menu
The Instrument menu allows you to choose between the piano, guitar, or alphabet block instruments. This menu is disabled in drills that don't use an instrument. The Instrument menu is discussed in detail in Chapter 6-Menus.
[top]
Options Menu
The Options menu contains commands that affect your interaction with the program, set the keys used for drills, and reset your scores. The Options menu is discussed in detail in Chapter 6-Menus.
[top]
Sound Menu
The Sound menu contains commands that allow you to use QuickTime or MIDI, set the sound effects, and change the tempo. The Sound menu is discussed in detail in Chapter 6-Menus.
[top]
Help Menu
The Help menu displays the MUSIC LESSONS I Help window. The Help menu is discussed in detail in Chapter 6-Menus.
[top]
Drill Windows
Two types of drills are used in the program, instrument drills and multiple choice drills. There are six of each.
Note Reading
Circle of Fifths
Five Finger Positions
Major/Minor Scales
Modes
Jazz Scales
The multiple choice drills are:
Key Signatures
Scale Degrees
Intervals
Note/Rest Durations
Scales Ear Training
Intervals Ear Training
[top]
Instrument Drills
The following picture shows an instrument drill window displaying a piano keyboard. You can use the Instrument Toolbar to switch between a guitar and an alphabet block instrument. We'll use the term "keyboard" to refer to either the on-screen MUSIC LESSONS I Instrument or an attached MIDI synthesizer.
[top]
Multiple Choice Drills
The following picture shows a multiple choice drill window.
[top]
Screen Elements
The following elements are common to both instrument and multiple choice drill windows:
[top]
Music Staff
The music staff displays a clef, key signature, time signature, notes and rests. The exact symbols displayed depend on the drill.
[top]
Score Area
The score area in the upper right corner of the screen shows your percentage of correct answers, the number of correct answers, and the number of questions you've tried for each level of each drill. As you change levels or drills the score changes accordingly.
[top]
Instruction Text
The instruction text is located below or to the left of the answer box(es) and provides instructions for answering the question or context information about the question.
[top]
Answer Boxes
Answer boxes are located below the music staff. When you play the keyboard or click an answer button, your answers will appear in these boxes. If the Allow Typed Answers menu command is checked, you can also type your answers.
[top]
Active Text Box
The active text box is the answer box that contains the blinking text insertion point or the highlighted text.
[top]
Instrument / Answer Buttons
You answer questions by using the on screen Instrument or Answer Buttons. In instrument drills, click a note on the screen keyboard, or play a note on your MIDI keyboard. This enters the note name into the active text box and plays it. In multiple choice drills, click the appropriate answer button. This will enter the answer into the active text box.
[top]
Toolbars
There are four toolbars used in MUSIC LESSONS I:
Drill Toolbar
The Drill Toolbar displays 13 buttons. The first 12 buttons correspond to the 12 MUSIC LESSONS I drills. The last button is the Help button that opens the MUSIC LESSONS I Help window. The current drill is indicated by the button having a recessed appearance, Key Signatures in this picture:
[top]
Instrument Toolbar
The Instrument Toolbar appears in all instrument drills. It displays three buttons that allow you switch between the piano, guitar, or an alphabet block instrument.
You can control the characteristics of each instrument by using the Instrument menu or the Piano, Guitar, and Alphabet Block pages in the Preferences dialog.
[top]
Accidental Toolbar
The Accidental Toolbar appears in the three scales drills: Major/Minor Scales, Modes, and Jazz Scales. Its five buttons are used to spell note names correctly. For example, if you play the white key F and the Natural is selected, the note will be called F. With the Sharp selected, the note will be called E#. With the Double Flat selected, the note will be called Gbb. The Flat and Double Sharp buttons do not make sense with the white key F, and the note will be called "??."
An alternative way to choose accidentals is to click an on screen piano key, hold the mouse button down, and choose an accidental from the popup menu.
[top]
Scale Degree Toolbar
The Scale Degree Toolbar appears in the Scale Degree drill. It displays three buttons that let you choose whether you want to refer to scale degrees by their music theory names, by their movable Do names, or by their numerical positions.
[top]
Instruments
In instrument drills you can choose between a piano, a guitar or an alphabet block instrument. You can switch between instruments by clicking a button in the Instrument Toolbar, or by using the Instrument menu.
Piano Instrument, Four or Six Octaves
You can use a four ocatve piano, 
or a six octave piano.
[top]
Guitar Instrument, 12 or 19 Frets
You can use a 12 fret guitar,
or a 19 fret guitar.
In addition you can have either the high E string or the low E string appear at the top.
[top]
Alphabet Block Instrument, Symbols or Text
You can use an alphabet block instrument that displays sharps and flats as symbols,
or as text.
[top]
Sound
You can either play sounds built into the Macintosh by using QuickTime, or you can play sounds through an attached MIDI synthesizer. You can change the "patch" used for the instrument sounds by using the Piano, Guitar, Alphabet Blocks pages of the Preferences dialog.
[top]
Buttons
The Check, Next, Play, and Show Me buttons appear in all drills. Each button has a "command-key" shortcut. You can also assign notes on your MIDI synthesizer to trigger these buttons by using the MIDI Shortcuts page in the Preferences dialog.
[top]
Check Button
Click Check (or type Enter) to evaluate your answer. If your answer is correct, a diamond will appear above the answer box. If your answer is wrong, an X will appear above the answer box. In most drills, clicking the Check button will also play your answers. Your score is only updated the first time you click Check, so make sure you've entered the answer you want. If you correct a wrong answer and then click Check again, your score will not be updated.
[top]
Next Button
Click Next (or type Command-E) for a new question.
[top]
Play Button
Click Play (or type Command-L) to play the correct answer. There's a difference between what the Check and Next buttons play. Clicking Check plays your answer. Clicking Play plays the correct answer. Hopefully, they'll be the same. The Play button is not used in the Key Signatures, Scale Degrees, and Note/Rest Durations drills.
[top]
Show Me Button
Click Show Me (or type Command-M) to display the correct answer and highlight the correct keyboard key or answer button. In most drills, clicking the Show Me button will play the correct answers. If you click Show Me and then click Check, your score will not be updated.
[top]
Black Keys Are Flats and Black Keys Are Sharps
In the three scales drills, Major/Minor Scales, Modes, and Jazz Scales, these two buttons default to the most common accidental used in that scale. Any keyboard black key you play will be named sharp or flat according to this button setting. The Black Keys Are Flats and Black Keys Are Sharps buttons are enabled only when the Natural is selected in the Accidental Toolbar. If any other accidental is selected, the Black Keys Are Flats and Black Keys Are Sharps buttons will be disabled.
[top]
Screen Colors
We've used a default color scheme for various elements appearing on the screen. If you don't like our choices, you can change them by using the Color page of the Preferences dialog.
[top]
The Progress Report Window
The New Progress Report and Open Progress Report commands in the File menu will open a Progress Report window that displays scores for drills you've done. Progress Report windows are divided into two sections. The upper portion, Score Dates, displays all the dates on which you've used the program and saved your scores. The lower portion, Scores, displays the actual scores for the date you've selected in the upper portion. By saving your scores to the same file, you can keep a cumulative record of the growth of your musical skills. In a classroom or studio setting, each student can have his/her own Progress Report file. The number of student files is limited only by disk space. You could have thousands of student files on a hard drive.
[top]
Preferences
The Preferences command in the File menu allows you to customize the way you use MUSIC LESSONS I. These settings will be used the next time you start the program. See Chapter 7-Preferences.
The 12 pages in the Preferences dialog can be accessed by the Preference Panels popup menu.
Click the OK button to save your preferences and close the dialog. These new settings will be in effect the next time you start the the program.
Click the Defaults button to reset the current page to MUSIC LESSONS I's default settings.
Click the Cancel button to exit from the Preferences dialog without changing or saving any settings.
[top]
Getting Help
You can access a comprehensive Music Theory Reference manual by clicking the Help button in the toolbar,
or choosing the MUSIC LESSONS I Help command from the Help Menu.
If you click the toolbar help icon you'll go directly to the music theory pages for the current drill.
If you choose MUSIC LESSONS I Help from the Help menu, you'll go to the main Help page. Below the MUSIC LESSONS I icon at the top left of the help page are two links, Theory and User Guide. The Theory link takes you to the Theory Reference pages that explain the music theory and concepts for all the drills in MUSIC LESSONS I. The User Guide takes you to the pages that provide online documentation for the MUSIC LESSONS I software. You can print any Help pages by choosing the Print command from the File menu.
