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Memory game

Melody memory

  1. The piano plays a short tune and lights each key.
  2. Play it back in the same order. Each round adds one note.
  3. One wrong note ends the game: your score is the longest tune you played back.

How to remember longer tunes

Nobody remembers fifteen separate notes. Musicians remember shapes: up, up, down; the same note twice; a jump back to where it started. As the tune grows, group the notes in threes and fours and name the groups in your head - "up the steps", "back to the top" - so that a long tune is only four or five ideas.

Use your ear and your eyes together. The keys light up while the piano plays: watch the hand shape as much as the keys, and hum the tune back silently before your turn. If you lose it, "Hear it again" plays it once more before you start.

The four levels

  • Five notes: C, D, E, G and A, the pentatonic notes that always sound good together.
  • The C major scale: the eight white keys from middle C.
  • Black keys too: the whole octave, twelve keys, half steps included.
  • Two octaves, fast: a wider range and a quicker tune.

Why it makes you a better musician

Playing back what you hear is the skill behind learning songs by ear, improvising and playing with other people. The same memory for shapes helps you read: once a melody pattern is familiar, you read it as one gesture instead of note by note. When you can play back eight notes at level 2, try a real tune from the piano sheet music library by ear first, then check it against the score.

Questions

Frequently asked

What is a good score in melody memory?

Around six or seven notes is typical at the first level, the size of a short phrase. Ten or more means you are grouping the notes into shapes, which is exactly what the game trains.

Does the game get faster?

Within a level the speed stays the same and only the length grows. Each level up plays a little faster and draws from more keys, up to two octaves at level 4.

Can I play with my computer keyboard?

Yes. Switch the Labels menu to Keys to see which key plays which note. The game also works with touch on phones and tablets.

Is my best score saved?

Yes, in this browser, one per level. After a game you can share a link that challenges a friend to beat your score at the same level.

Piano games

Keep reading

Four short games on the piano: read notes, hear intervals, name chords, remember melodies. No account, best scores saved in this browser.

A risograph poster of a gold trophy in a burst of confetti above a grand piano, with a note target on a staff, two linked notes and a stacked chord floating around it Hub

Piano games

Four quick games to practise reading, ear and memory on a real piano in your browser.

Read it → A risograph poster of a pink whole note popping onto a five-line staff beside a cyan treble clef, stars flying up toward a stopwatch Guide

Note reading game

A note appears on the staff, you play it. Sixty seconds, combos, four levels up to sharps and flats.

Read it → A risograph poster of a pink note and a cyan note joined by a yellow arc and a little staircase, sound waves rippling toward a big ear Guide

Interval ear training

Two notes, one distance: name the interval or play the second note, from thirds to tritones.

Read it → A risograph poster of three notes stacked on a staff, their beams braiding up to four quiz buttons where the yellow one shows a check mark Guide

Chord quiz

A chord lights up or just sounds: pick its name among four, from triads to seventh chords.

Read it →
Ready when you are

Record your own tunes

The GOONS piano studio records what you play, notes and pedal, and exports it as MIDI or WAV, with 88 keys and MIDI keyboard support. It comes with the GOONS Studio subscription - start with the 7-day free trial, no card required.

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