Melodies: how the game works

Melodies is a listen-and-repeat game. The app plays a short melody, you play it back on a MIDI keyboard or on the on-screen keys, and the melody grows by one note each round. This page covers the rules, the levels and the settings. Listen and repeat is the short overview.

How a round works

A game is a series of rounds. In each round the app plays and then you play. Open the game to try it.

1. Pick a setup on the Melodies tab of Preferences, or keep the levels.
2. Press Ok, start or Space. The first melody has one note.
3. Listen. The app plays the melody and lights each key. The keyboard is gray and your presses are ignored until the last note has finished.
4. When the status line says Your turn!, play the melody back from its first note.
5. After a correct round the melody grows by one note. A wrong note costs a heart and the same melody plays again.

Hearts

You start with three purple hearts. They are your lives. Every correct round adds a yellow heart, and five yellow hearts turn into one purple heart, up to five. A wrong note costs one purple heart and empties the yellow row. With no purple hearts left the game is over: the level starts again and the points go back to zero.

After a wrong note the key you pressed shows a ✕ and the right key shows a ✓. Play by ear hides the ✓. Repeat melody plays the same melody again and costs nothing.

Points

Each correct round scores points. Longer melodies, more keys in play and wider allowed leaps score more. A new longest melody of four notes or more doubles the points of its round, and so does playing by ear.

Levels

Levels is the default mode. There are 15 levels and each one adds a single difficulty. You clear a level when the melody reaches its target length. Clearing the highest level you have reached opens the next one.

From level 16 there is no target length and no limit on leaps. The game goes on until the hearts run out, and your longest melody is the record.

The game starts at the highest level you have reached. On the Melodies tab, Start from level lets you begin lower, for this visit only.

To look at a level you have not reached, open it as a playtest, for example level 7. A playtest is marked on the screen and saves nothing.

Custom setup

The settings are on the Melodies tab of Preferences. From the game, the gear and the level label in the footer, the Preferences link in the menu and the P key all open it. Leaving the game stops a running round. Press Ok, start to play with the new settings.

The Mode is Levels or Custom settings. Custom settings switch the levels off and let you build the melody:

• Key: any of the 12 keys.
• Scale: one of 11 scales, from major to Phrygian dominant.
• Range: 5 notes, 1 octave or 2 octaves.
• Largest leap: 1 to 7 scale steps, or no limit.

There is no target length. The game goes on until the hearts run out or you collect them all.

Play by ear works in both modes. It hides the keys the app plays, so you hear the melody without seeing it. Points double for a round only if every playback of its melody was by ear, replays after a wrong note included.

Playing

You need no piano. Play on the on-screen keys or on a MIDI keyboard.

• On-screen keys: click them with a mouse or tap them on a touch screen. This works on an iPhone or iPad, where browsers have no MIDI.
• MIDI keyboard: connect it first, as described on the MIDI page. The keys you press also show as pressed on the screen.

The game uses two octaves, from C4 to B5. A MIDI note outside that range is ignored and the game tells you which keys to use.

Two buttons sit below the keys. Repeat melody plays the same melody again. New melody starts over with a fresh one-note melody. Both work on your turn.

Hotkeys:

• Space starts the game. On your turn it repeats the melody.
• R presses Repeat melody.
• N presses New melody.
• P opens the Melodies tab of Preferences.

All shortcuts are on the Shortcuts page. On a phone the hearts move into the top bar. More in Mobile app.

Progress and saving

The level you have reached, your longest melody and your best score are stored in this browser. A new visit starts at the level you reached. Your settings are stored in this browser too, with your other preferences.

With an account, every finished game with at least one answer is also saved: a cleared level, a game over, or a game you stop by leaving. Your level and records then follow you to every device, and the higher value wins.

A playtest saves nothing, with or without an account.

Once you have played, the dashboard shows the game as a card among your recent exercises. The card opens the same setup on any device.

Share or bookmark a setup

A setup is a link. Add parameters to /repeat and the game opens with them. Nothing is stored until you press Ok, start. Try these:

• A blues, 1 octave, leaps up to 3.
• G Dorian, 2 octaves, by ear.
• C major pentatonic, 5 notes, small leaps.

The parameters:

• mmode: levels or custom.
• mkey: a key name such as C, Bb or F%23 (the # is written %23).
• mscale: major, naturalMinor, pentatonicMajor, pentatonicMinor, blues, harmonicMinor, melodicMinor, dorian, mixolydian, lydian or phrygianDominant.
• mrange: five, octave or two-octaves.
• mleap: 1 to 7, or 999 for no limit.
• mear: 1 to play by ear.
• start: 1 starts the game at once, if the browser allows sound.
• from: the level to start from, up to the level you have reached.
• level: opens that level as a playtest.

The key, scale, range and leap parameters apply in custom mode. Every exercise parameter of the app is on the URL params page.

Questions

Why did I lose a heart?

A wrong note costs one purple heart and empties the yellow row. Every wrong note counts, not only the first one in a row.

The key you pressed shows a ✕ and the right key shows a ✓. Then the same melody plays again. Keys you press while the app is playing are ignored and cost nothing.

How do I start from a different level?

The game starts at the highest level you have reached. To start lower, set Start from level on the Melodies tab of Preferences, or open a link with from=3. This holds for one visit.

You cannot skip ahead for real. Clear the levels in order and the next ones open. To look at a later level, open it as a playtest, such as level 11. A playtest saves nothing.

What is play by ear?

Play by ear hides the keys the app plays. They do not light up, and after a wrong note the right key is not shown.

Points double for a round if every playback of its melody was by ear. Switching it on right before you answer earns no bonus. You find it on the Melodies tab of Preferences.

Can I use a MIDI keyboard?

Yes, in a browser that supports Web MIDI, such as Chrome or Edge. Connect the keyboard before you open the game. The keys you press also show as pressed on the screen.

The game uses C4 to B5. A note outside that range is ignored. Safari has no Web MIDI, so on an iPhone or iPad play on the on-screen keys. Details are on Works in your browser.

Where did the settings go?

The game page has no settings panel. They are on the Melodies tab of Preferences.

The gear and the level label in the footer, the Preferences link in the menu and the P key open it. Press Ok, start there to play with the new settings.

Does it work on a phone?

Yes. Tap the on-screen keys. On a phone the hearts move into the top bar.

An iPhone has no MIDI, so the on-screen keys are the way to play there. To add the app to your home screen, see Mobile app.

Is my progress saved?

Yes. Your level, longest melody and best score are stored in this browser. With an account they are saved to the account as well and follow you to other devices.

A playtest saves nothing.

Why can I not hear the melody?

The piano volume is probably at zero. The game warns you when you start with it at zero. Turn it up in Preferences.

The game still starts without sound if the browser blocks audio.