Use it to check your ear, not replace it

Learning by ear builds something reading never will. But everyone gets stuck: the chord under the melody you cannot name, the left hand that is too low to hear, the run that goes by too fast. Having the notes written out lets you check one bar instead of guessing at twenty.

A way to work

  1. Learn what you can by ear first.
  2. Upload the recording and get the score and the MIDI file.
  3. Look only at the bars you were stuck on. Grey notes are the ones the machine was unsure of too.
  4. Load the MIDI into a practice app or audio software and slow the hard part down.
  5. Play it back against the recording. Your ear is the final judge.

If you do not read music yet

The MIDI file works in apps that show falling notes, so you can see which keys to press without reading the score. Many players use both and pick up reading along the way.

Make it easier to play

If the recording is in a key full of black notes, move it. Every score can be changed to any key for free. See changing the key.

Try it on a song you know

Your first 20 min are free, which is enough for several whole songs. Start with one you already half know, so you can judge the result.