Here are a few recent developments in the world of music and sound which might help inspire or guide you in your ear training!

Jump to:

• What the iPad 2 and GarageBand app mean for music
• The many benefits of music in schools
• A chance to support a new (truly modern!) opera
• How the brain improvises jazz and freestyle rap
• Help the BBC with a fun online experiment

Music and the iPad 2

Apple recently unveiled their next-generation tablet, the iPad 2 – here’s a short overview of what the iPad 2 means for mobile music creation.

They also had a huge announcement for all iPad-wielding musicians – GarageBand, the easy-yet-powerful multi-track music creation tool, has now been released for the iPad -both the original and the new version. (Summary and video of the announcement)

The iPad has already been used for a variety of exciting new music creativity and music education using apps. Check out some examples of the iPad in the talented hands of musicians, ranging from school kids to professionals:

We’ve previously covered how you can use the Mac version of GarageBand for practising interval ear training, and also how to do rhythm training with this powerful music tool. Click to read the rest…

At Easy Ear Training, we’re hugely excited about the potential for technology to revolutionise ear training, and we think training apps on smartphones are leading the way. Our newest app release, Step and a Half, is a game which teaches you to understand melodies so that you can play them by ear, write them down, or bring the music you hear in your head out on your instrument.

About Step and a Half

I posted some information about Step and a Half earlier this week – but there’s lots more to tell you! If you missed that post, you can catch up here or watch this video we made to show you the ropes:

Click to read the rest…