Guitar Hero for the piano: Synthesia

I discovered something exciting yesterday. I figured it was something I'd have to pay a lot of money for, but there it was, free, on the internet! It's called Synthesia. It's pretty much Guitar Hero for the piano, but, as you'll find out on their website, they received a cease and desist letter when they tried using the name Piano Hero. I have enjoyed playing guitar hero, and have always thought it would be cool to have this sort of thing for the piano, since it would be even more like playing the actual piano.

Before you download the game from www.synthesiagame.com, there are a couple of things to know about it: first, there are no built-in songs. You have to provide the MIDI files yourself. Second, as you might imagine, you will need a MIDI keyboard to connect to your computer if you want to actually play.

So, how does it play? On guitar hero there are at most five buttons, or five falling notes to worry about, each with its own distinct color. In contrast, there are 88 keys on the piano, or however many you have on your MIDI keyboard - but in either case, way more than five. There is a piano keyboard at the bottom of the screen and the falling notes align with the particular keys. There is a grid that indicates the three and two black key groups which can help orient you, and also the black and white key falling note bars are distinct in appearance. Still, it's very hard! I paid $25 to get the Learning Pack which includes a sheet music feature. When I looked at the sheet music, I could play. I'm still working on being able to figure out what note to play just from the falling bars.

The biggest factor that will determine your success with this game is having the right MIDI files. I'm looking into learning how to make my own MIDI files, and I'll also be scouring the internet for MIDI that is out there.

Try it out, and tell me about your experience!