# Brand New Sight Reading iPad App!!!



## cheeseandpepper (Oct 24, 2012)

Hello All

Mike from Behold The Arctopus here. Check out my iPad app that will help you improve your music notation sight reading abilities! This was a huge effort by a 2 man team and it will really help you improve your reading!


https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sight-reader/id541763153?mt=8



Sight Reader is an incredible new iPad app for music students and teachers to aid in the process of learning to read music notation. It boasts a large, categorized content library with both static and non-repeating material to keep you reading new material. Whether you are just getting started or are looking to hone your skills further, it has something in it for all skill levels. 

It will objectively listen to your playing and give you feedback and a score based on how well you played the music. We're launching with support for 7 instruments which includes basic notation lessons for each instrument and a vast library of content available for purchase. 

The app can be downloaded for FREE and comes loaded with stuff. If you or someone you know is a musician please direct them to this link. While this is a monumental milestone, it marks just the beginning as we have many features, enhancements and content to add in the coming months. 

More available here:
byte3site


----------



## AlexAlaska (Oct 24, 2012)

if I only had an iPad


----------



## wespaul (Oct 25, 2012)

I do 80% of my studying from my iPad, and I just happen to be putting in a lot of work with my sight-reading. I downloaded it, and will let you know what I think. Big thumbs up for being free!


----------



## cheeseandpepper (Oct 25, 2012)

Thanks wespaul!

If you want a promo code to download any in app purchase send me an email from the contact page on our website. Trying to get the word out.


----------



## Wings of Obsidian (Oct 25, 2012)

Way to go bro! Sick!


----------



## djyngwie (Oct 25, 2012)

Sounds cool. I really need to get a iPad, soon!


----------



## TheOddGoat (Oct 25, 2012)

This seems fantastic... I'll have to find an emulator or something so I can try it.

Especially since a big problem for me is finding sheets that aren't for pieces I've heard and aren't too simple to help me improve.

If you're doing further projects, I'd love to see a program that spits out random notes with random rhythms within user-selected boundaries. Then you transcribe and it checks you.


----------



## cheeseandpepper (Oct 26, 2012)

Hey Oddgoat - 

Sight Reader actually kinda does that. It's a bit more curated than completely random, but you can select (for example) Eighth Notes In Key and you will get random 8th notes in key. In the settings menu you can specify a Key, a Tempo and a Length, so you could get 16 measures of purely random diatonic 8th notes at 100 bpm (or whatever). 

If you're a beginner you could load the first Flashcard exercise which will randomly give you E, F, and G (1st string). Level 2 adds B, C and D, and the range gets progressively wider. 

So you might like this very much. Check out some videos at byte3.com to see it in action. And tell others who might be interested!


----------



## TheOddGoat (Oct 26, 2012)

cheeseandpepper said:


> Hey Oddgoat -
> 
> Sight Reader actually kinda does that. It's a bit more curated than completely random, but you can select (for example) Eighth Notes In Key and you will get random 8th notes in key. In the settings menu you can specify a Key, a Tempo and a Length, so you could get 16 measures of purely random diatonic 8th notes at 100 bpm (or whatever).
> 
> ...



I get that, but what I mean is kind of an opposite version of this.

Where instead of giving you sheet music and you play it, it gives you the music played through midi and you type it in as sheet music.

So basically an ear trainer instead... I'm guessing this would be doable as an add-on?

Honestly, I want an iPad just for cool shit like this!

BTW, my main use would be for working with students... I think the video game-like aspects would help, they tend to find learning from paper a bit dry no matter what I do.

Oh, and any plans to release it as a standalone program for Windows?

I'd definitely pay for a license even for just the normally free app version + a couple of the addons.


----------



## Konfyouzd (Oct 26, 2012)

Sounds cool... 

Any chance of it being on a droid?


----------



## cheeseandpepper (Oct 26, 2012)

Any chance of being on droid? - yes there's a chance. But not before sales start happening. It would be a 3 month project for an expensive developer. So please support and spread the word. A lot can/will happen if there's real demand.

Ear trainer? Totally possible and totally in the road map. But not quite as you described... I think you'll like our implementation better.

Standalone windows? Not in foreseeable future. Lots to do already with the current plans in effect.

I appreciate the comments/suggestions/enthusiasm!


----------



## Konfyouzd (Oct 26, 2012)

Sharing this for sure...


----------



## ROAR (Oct 26, 2012)

This looks awesome. I've been trying to figure out how to improve
my sight reading since it really requires a vast library of songs,
but alas I have no iPad.

iPhone support coming in the future?


----------



## cheeseandpepper (Oct 29, 2012)

iPhone? Yes, but as a modified version because a whole page of music doesn't look good on the small screen.

I'll be sure to spread the word when that happens.


----------



## Webmaestro (Oct 29, 2012)

Sweet. As a guitar player AND a UI/UX designer, I'll enjoy checking this out


----------



## cheeseandpepper (Oct 29, 2012)

Mr webmaestro - your input and feedback is most welcome!


----------



## Grimbold (Nov 6, 2012)

awesome! i'm so using this!


----------



## wespaul (Nov 7, 2012)

Okay, I've been using this program for awhile, so I have some comments:

Great layout. Everything is set up rather nicely. 

Exercises work great. I wish there was more variety in skill level. There's level one exercises and beginner songs. I'm assuming more levels will be added later. Still, I like the way they're setup. 

99cents can't be beat for each lesson.

Love the multiple instruments. Piano will be a big help.

My biggest complaint is that it crashes --a lot. I'm on an iPad 2, and it crashes at least once every few minutes. Again, I assume it's bugs that will be worked out. It mostly happens when I go into a lesson, and then press stop (it automatically starts the lesson and sometimes I want to just read it over). I also get a lot of random crashes. 

Keep it up, though. It's a solid app.


----------



## ElRay (Nov 7, 2012)

What's needed for the audio in? Does it use the in-built microphone on the newer iPads? Can it use an earbud mic for the older iPads? Or, do you need some kind of guitar adapter?

Ray


----------



## cheeseandpepper (Nov 8, 2012)

ElRay - It uses the mic input. All iPads have a mic in so no additional hardware needed.

Wespaul - Very interested in the crashes! Not good. It uses a lot of memory and system resources - can you see if you still get crashes when it's the only app open? If you want to really trouble shoot this please email "support at byte3 dot com" and we can try to improve it. 

If you want more challenging content try the Notes Only and the Intervals. Both very good for more advanced readers. Thanks for the feedback. If you want to give it a 5 star review I certainly won't stop you


----------



## Osorio (Nov 12, 2012)

I'm downloading right now. The crashing prospect is a little troublesome, specially considering I own a first generation ipad; will return some feedback on how that goes.

Thanks for making this, by the way. Sight-read books are a pain to find where I live (Brazil), often quite expensive. An due to the nature of the study, they don't really get a lot of mileage...


----------



## cheeseandpepper (Nov 12, 2012)

Great. Would love any and all feedback. FYI - we have a 1.1 version that is mostly ready. Among other things, it addresses several crash scenarios and should reduce crashing significantly. 

Thx for the support and stay tuned for this update.


----------



## Osorio (Nov 12, 2012)

So: I had the app crash on me several times. Most of the time it was when I asked the app to play something. But overall, 60% of the crashes just came out of nowhere and I wasn't able to reproduce them. Here are a few crashes that I can remember (aside the "play" button):

- Selecting an instrument.
- Turn page on Lesson 1. I think it was page 4 to 5.

There were one more, that at the time (today afternoon) stuck out, but I can't remember where it was for the life of me now.
Also, the app freezes (not crashes) every single time I click on anything that has "buy" on it, like extra lessons or different "modes".

iPad 1st generation running 5.1.1 (9B206) - Model: MB292LL.

Hope it helps.


Almost forgot to say: All the technicality aside, I really liked the app and am seriously considering purchasing some lessons (if the app would allow me). Sight-reading is not really a NECESSITY for me, but it IS something I have always wanted to know. And this app sure looks like it could very well get me there. I really enjoyed what I have seen of it.


----------



## cheeseandpepper (Jan 8, 2013)

FYI - app has been updated to 1.1. Fixes a LOT of crashing issues and adds new features and instruments.


----------



## Chronic-Headache (Jan 9, 2013)

Sweet!!!! Downloading now, will def try it out tomorrow after work.


----------



## Grimbold (Jan 13, 2013)

will download today!


----------



## cheeseandpepper (Jun 17, 2013)

For the 6 people out there who care about sight reading, Sight Reader has been upgraded to version 1.2 which now has Voice as an instrument and also many new features, including the ability to to listen to an example of any exercise. 

Yay. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sight-reader/id541763153?mt=8


----------



## bondmorkret (Jun 18, 2013)

Thanks for the link Mike. Seems like a great sight reading application. Love your band!



cheeseandpepper said:


> Hello All
> 
> Mike from Behold The Arctopus here. Check out my iPad app that will help you improve your music notation sight reading abilities! This was a huge effort by a 2 man team and it will really help you improve your reading!
> 
> ...


----------



## ElRay (Jun 20, 2013)

cheeseandpepper said:


> For the 6 people out there who care about sight reading ...



Hey, there's more than six of us. I'd say at least eight ... 

I just updated and will be mixing this into my daughter's practices this summer.

Ray

EDIT: I'm not near my work iPad and I forgot: Does the app track track you progress? If so, can it track multiple "students"? I'm going to have to practice this along with my daughter.


----------



## lvsexgtr (Jun 20, 2013)

This app is amazing!!!! I love it!


----------



## cheeseandpepper (Jun 20, 2013)

Thanks for the love! I love it too!

No "user progress" yet, but it will make its way in. You'll have to manually monitor your progress. Keep track of what exercise at which tempo and what your % or score is. It's not about besting your previous score once, its more about noticing that one month later, you are getting higher scores at faster tempos consistently. But yes, we look forward to adding a built in progress monitor so that you don't have to.

Keep in mind, if you are in the USA you're fine, but we found a very major bug that affects any location where the date is not MM/DD/YYYY. The app crashes right away for european users and the 1-star reviews are starting to come in.  (they could have just emailed me and we could troubleshoot together)

There's a fix though... in settings-general-international-region. Set the country to USA. Then it should work. Permanent fix is on the way. 

Feel free to counter those 1 star reviews if any of you are looking to waste 30 seconds.


----------



## ElRay (Jun 20, 2013)

cheeseandpepper said:


> It's not about besting your previous score once, its more about noticing that one month later, you are getting higher scores at faster tempos consistently.


True, but some folks are very visual. They can get a bit frustrated after a single tough session and are relieved to see something showing continual progress despite a few rough spots.

Not a deal breaker at all, merely a feature request.

Ray


----------



## Ralyks (Jun 24, 2013)

Just happened to have recieved a 1st gen iPad the other day. Looks like I'm grabbing the app when I get up of work


----------



## cheeseandpepper (Mar 30, 2014)

Friends! Enemies! Sight Reader version 2.0 is live! It's a huge improvement from v1.x and it now supports drums and bass. The detection is spectacular with separate pitch and rhythm analysis. 

Please let me know what you think!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sight-reader-complete-music/id541763153?mt=8

Here's a video I made too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQf4op_9v4M


----------

