I'm just curious as to whether or not anyone has tried presto keys. It's a sight reading game in which notes and chords scroll horizontally across the staff and you play the note(s) on a keyboard at the exact time they cross a red line. There's a free version available online, but if you pay about $30, you're given a passcode that will unlock more features and allow you to use a midi keyboard.

I'm thinking about trying it, but want to know if anyone else has had any experience with it before I do. Or even if you haven't, does the website look legitimate? I'm a little hesitant about purchasing it.

www.prestokeys.com

Hi Chris

I'm the developer of PrestoKeys. My recommendation is you try out the free version for a bit (if you haven't already), and if it runs smoothly, then the Pro version will also.

I've had many positive emails detailing how quickly people have been improving, so I was just wondering what's holding you back and what PrestoKeys could improve on? I ask this mainly because I'm starting to work on a major update to bring PrestoKeys to all devices, improve the overall performance and add some more really nice features. It won't be finished any time soon, but I'm collecting as much feedback as possible so I can work it in to the new version.

By the way, here is a discount coupon code for 30% off:
DiscountPlease

Regards
Marty

Tried it about two years ago, didn't like it. It may have been improved to some extent since then, but I'm pretty sure Synthesia is a much better choice and more versatile, in this category of piano sheet music software.

Marty-

My main concern is that there might be a delay between the time I hit the key and when it is recognized. I tried it free for the ten minutes, but after adjusting the settings and everything, my time ran out before I could do it long enough to really see if it worked good. I didn't get to adjust the tempo and calibrate the metronome etc...
If there is a bit of a delay, is there anything I can do on my end to speed it up? I'm interested in trying it again.

At the moment it's written in Java and uses it's midi functions, so the delay you experience will depend heavily on the system you are using and how well the sound card plays with Java. This is one of the reasons I'm doing a complete remake. If you are experiencing quite a bit of delay, you could wait a year or two for the update.

I use and like Presto Keys. I particularly appreciate how you can set it to quiz you only on certain sub-sets of notes on a particular clef (i.e. just ledger lines, or just the low notes of the bass clef), a feature lacking in similar software I've used. I have the paid version and I haven't noticed any lag when using it with my DP, but I'm on a Mac and they're not prone to midi-lag.

Does the free version of Synesthesia even let you use the sheet music feature? I personally see no point in learning to play music via Synesthesia's other (falling lines) mode -- it strikes me as monkey-training of specific songs rather than teaching a widely useful skill like reading music. But YMMV -- I happen to really enjoy being able to read sheet music, so cultivating the skill is very rewarding for me.

There are no sheet music features whatsoever in the free edition. I have the paid version and though the sheet music feature is far from perfect, I haven't seen better in this price category.

Actually I like the sheet music setup in Notation Composer (paid version) a lot - lot - better than the one in Synthesia, but there's no interactivity in NC like in Synthesia, where you can have the song stop until you press the right note.

I think you can use Synthesia to improve sight reading, at least for simple songs, but it needs a lot of improvement.