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PC/MAC game using keyboard


Joe G

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Posted

Hi so I have an idea to create a music game for keyboard connected to a pc or mac. I have already successfully interfaced a keyboard to a pc and can confidently use it as a game controller.

 

I would like to make a game in the vein of guitar hero (piano hero? probably not as it's protected.)

 

The most basic ideas are:

1) You play the actual notes to actual songs on an actual keyboard.

2) the screen displays what notes to play (not by music notation but by a visual representation of a bar falling onto keyboard keys, like guitar hero.)

3) You get scored on your timeliness and correctness of notes.

 

Please give me your feedback and see what other features you think are a must have. dream up the world, and me and a team of other programmers might get there in time.

 

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Posted

Why not create a musical teaching and practicing aid like Typing Tutor? The market of people with keyboards MIDI'd up to their computer will be skewed towards musicians and musician wannabes. If you want to charge money for the final product, this would provide a lot more value and would be far easier to market. I spent 20 years engineering games at Electronic Arts and have thought about developing this product myself.

 

Features for such a thing:

- real notation... no 'piano tabs'

- controllable notation complexity (eg. all quarter notes, no chords, no accidentals, one/two hands, etc)

- songs versus exercises... heck, license the Hanon exercises and get instant musical credibility... use classical tunes in the public domain for free

- controllable tempo

- realtime visual and audio feedback on timing, note accuracy

- historical analysis so you can see if you are improving

- backing a tracks to provide simple metronome or a more complete accompaniment

 

Good luck! Let me know if I can help in any way... sounds like a fun project.

Posted
In the more advanced levels, the player can be scored on velocity accuracy as well.

"In the beginning, Adam had the blues, 'cause he was lonesome.

So God helped him and created woman.

 

Now everybody's got the blues."

 

Willie Dixon

 

 

 

 

 

Posted

Googling "learn piano software" shows what's out there... the market for learning piano is a bit crowded, and it looks like a lot of work has already been done. The idea of teaching piano from the ground up has been done.

 

On the other hand, technical training tools for reasonably accomplished musicians (as I suggested in previous post) are non-existent... somebody please correct me if you know of any.

 

Maybe I'm a nerd, but I'd love real-time feedback on how precisely I can control timing, velocity, swing, tempo, and accuracy. Yes, I can use my ears for the major aspects of playing... but subtle stuff like pushing/nailing/dragging/swinging is hard to hear as you are acquiring the skill. Yes, I have a teacher who helps me with this stuff... but often I want to go in my own directions to try stuff that the teacher doesn't teach.

 

Would real-time feedback as you are practicing be a useful tool for quickly acquiring and tuning specific techniques?

 

 

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