An idea for the next version of Earmaster ...

[csrnyc]

Hello everybody

Wouldn't it be neat if in The Rhythm Dictation, you had an option in "Answer Time Limit" in Number of Bars (Measures)?

I've been using Earmaster for a few years now, and recently I *almost* got it to do something that I hadn't thought it could do ...

I'm primarily a drummer (but I also play some piano and guitar). Sometimes when working on drums, I like to play the "call and response game": I hear a random pattern or figure from a horn or guitar, and then (while staying in meter and time) respond or repeat the pattern on drums. And then the game continues: Horn plays a figure, I repeat it on the drums, etc.

In this game I really don't care to be corrected (so my instrument is not connected to Earmaster). I'm more concerned in playing the game as if I were playing live with a jazz band: no second chances, no time to think, just call and response between instruments.

So, before I even thought about my Earmaster, I looked around the web looking for "random pattern generators", etc. I didn't find anything I could use. Then I started to wonder if maybe Earmaster might be able to do it. I ended up with this:

In the Rhythm Dictation, I set the meter to 4/4, the tempo to 120bpm, the Auto New Question to Always (0 delay), Play Question Limit to Once, Answer Time limit to 2 Seconds. (Two seconds at 120bpm is equal to One bar (measure).

So, I start the excercise, Earmaster plays a random one-bar pattern, I repeat it on the drums, and then Earmaster plays the next pattern, I repeat, etc. etc. Because I've set the tempo to 120bpm, and the Answer Time Limit to 2 seconds, it sounds like one bar of Earmaster, and then one bar of silence (for me to play my instrument).

If the Answer Time Limit had the option for Number of Bars, I could play this game at different tempos and in different meters!

Chris

[Quentin]

Hi,
That's a cool idea!
Another solution could be to let the user choose an instrument sound in the rhythm imitation exercise maybe. The only problem is that EarMaster needs to validate your answer before moving on to a next pattern.

[csrnyc]

The only problem is that EarMaster needs to validate your answer before moving on to a next pattern.

In the exercise setup I usually choose parameters that aren't too difficult, so for this particular game I don't really want or need EarMaster to validate my pattern. I can hear my mistakes!! And, as I said, I'm trying to replicate the do-or-die feeling you get when you're playing with other "creative" musicians, who usually move on despite mistakes ...!


The above is a 2-bar exercise in its entirety.

I guess one way to start gradually might be to have a 4-bar pattern: have Earmaster play one bar, then have one bar of silence (maybe with metronome only), then a bar for the "player" to repeat the Earmaster phrase, then one more bar of silence, before the next round continues. This setup gives a little more "breathing room" when working on difficult stuff.

Thanks for listening!

Chris