1. Color Piano!
Color Piano! is a visually attractive means of learning how to play the piano. Despite its name and simplistic appearance, it’s a surprisingly complete tool for approaching a piano for the first time. It can help you learn individual keys, but more impressively, it can also teach you entire songs. It uses colors to help you tell one note from another and know which note to play next. Even if you don’t particularly care to learn the piano, it’s still a treat to tinker around with.
2. Multiplayer Piano
Multiplayer Piano takes a different approach to teaching people the piano, as it actually doesn’t purport to teach people at all. It’s simply a site where users can play a virtual piano. The draw is that other users are popping in and playing the same piano. There’s a built-in chat so that people can communicate with one another. In this way, people can ask questions from others who may already know how to play a particular song or hit a specific note. On the other hand, if everyone is just mindlessly mashing keys the way they seemed to be when I popped in, then prepare to cover your ears.
3. Guitar Tuner
Guitar Tuner helps people tune their guitar by ear. Six buttons are lined up along the bottom of the screen while the complimenting notes are lined across the top. Press one of the six buttons to pluck that string over and over, giving you all the time you need to match your guitar with the sound coming from your computer. You can select multiple strings at the same time to help you get an ear for how strings should sound when strummed together.
4. Chord Finder
Chord Finder teaches you how to play various guitar chords. Just select the chord you wish to learn and the website will show you which strings you need to hold down and where your fingers need to be. It also plays how each chord should sound, so you will be able to tell when you’re finally getting it right. Despite the name, the site covers more than chords. You can also learn triads, scales, and practice individual notes. While it’s not quite as intuitive as Guitar Tuner, but you can use this site to tune your guitar as well.
5. E-violino
E-Violino is, as the name suggests, for the violin players out there. It opens with a list of songs along the right side. Clicking a song will start the music. The notes will slide across the screen, and the appropriate strings to play will be highlighted. Oddly enough, the app also guides you through the act of playing a piano, making this a surprisingly useful tool for pianists as well.
Conclusion
The proliferation of computers has made it easier than ever to put aside musical instruments and create music through other means. Yet at the same time, computers have made learning musical instruments a less difficult endeavor than it used to be. There is a wide range of tools and resources out there for aspiring musicians willing to look. If you know of other tools, feel free to share them with us below.
