It’s that time again for Musician’s Corner, where we explore apps and accessories for dedicated music fans. Last week, we introduced a
vocal warm up app that is sure to replace your cranky singing coach. Hopefully, you’ve all been using it so that you don’t destroy your vocal chords while you are shouting at the devil at the next “Motley Crue” reunion.
Thanks to a suggestion from one of our readers, today we’re going to talk about a music theory app for those teachers out there who have a hard time getting the kids to care about chromatic scales. The
Circle of Fun is an entertaining tool for understanding chord progression, but also a fun way to write simple pop songs.
This app uses a rainbow of colors combined with notes on the chromatic scale with their key signatures and associated keys. Users can tap any color on the wheel to hear a synthesizer sound of a particular note being played.
The Circle of Fifths can be a complicated bit of music theory, but is a basic necessity for anyone learning an instrument. This app turns complex, mathematical language into a visual piece of information that can be processed much easier. In the classroom, the app can be an invaluable way to teach relevant chord progressions to students without requiring everyone to break out their instrument and play along.
The rainbow colored circle includes a “Data” section, which lets the user know what each note is, including the diminished notes at the base of the wheel. There is also a relativity button that shows other notes in the circle that are the same, as well as notes that fit into the chord progression.
The app also includes helpful information on what notes are dominant, subdominant, tonic and more. To hear each note played simultaneously with its higher relative note, tap the “7th” tab.
Users can record and listen to the chord progressions that they play. This can be helpful to anyone trying to write a simple pop tune. Record your inspiration and play it back to see if you’ve just written the next big hit.
The app comes with all of this useful music theory to help your students get a grasp on chord progression for free. You can add guitar, bass and keyboard charts for only $3.99. This added section will allow users to see where the notes are actually played on their respective instrument.
If you are a teacher, you’ll find this app to be a helpful tool in getting the kids to pay attention to music theory. If you’ve
never played a lick of music in your life, you’ll be able to write clever pop tunes without an instrument, just by tapping the blue, green, and red sections of the Circle of Fun.
Thanks again for stopping by the Musician’s Corner. Music teachers around the nation can breath a sigh of relief at the thought that theory class just got a little bit easier. Thanks a bunch to Frank for the suggestion. If you have any fo your own suggestions for
music-related apps or accessories that you’d like to see showcased in Musician’s Corner, send me an email at Lory@appadvice.com. Now get out there and start shredding.
