The Piano Practice Progress Tracker app is used to automate a flashcard system for daily practice of scales, chords and arpeggios. First specify each scale, chord, or arpeggio, the key, the number of octaves, which hand to play it with (right, left, or together), and the tempo, for each pattern. After this is set up, start a practice session. The app will ask you to play one of your patterns. After you play it, rate how well you played it. How well each pattern is played is recorded, and the app uses this information to prioritize which patterns to ask you next, and the frequency of which to ask them. So patterns that you are not very good at will be asked much more frequently than patterns which you are very good at. It also takes into account how long ago the pattern was last practised, so even patterns that are you are very good at will come up again after a reasonable amount of time. Additional features include a playable keyboard, and a reference manual. The reference manual allows you to look up a scale, chord, or arpeggio in any key. It displays which notes to play on the keyboard, and plays them back at the indicated tempo.

1. CSCI 485:
Mobile Development with Android
Piano Practice Progress Tracker
App by Casey Yardley

2. The purpose of this app is to automate
a flashcard system for daily practice of
a set of scales, chords, and arpeggios.
The number of patterns that a piano
student preparing for a Royal
Conservatory of Music exam can add
up very quickly, easily dozens of distinct
patterns. And of course the number only
increases.

3. It can be difficult to track progress of
each of these without using something
like flashcards or charts.
However, the creation of these is
tedious, and having to switch between
piles of cards can be very annoying.

4. The first step to use this app is to enter
which scales, chords, and arpeggios
that the user wants to learn.
They select a pattern, a
key, number of octaves,
Right hand, Left hand, or
both, and the speed it
should be played.

5. Once each pattern is set up, the user
can start practice mode.
.
The app indicates
what to play. After
playing the pattern
on their piano, the
user rates
themselves on how
well they played it

6. Each practice session, the app
prioritizes the order patterns are asked,
and the frequency at which each one is
asked based on the historical data for
each pattern.
So the patterns which the user is not
very good at playing are asked more
frequently than the patterns that the
user is very good at playing.

7. It does this in such a way that every pattern,
even the ones the user is best at, are cycled
through after a reasonable amount of time.
This allows the user to get the most out of
short practice sessions, without having to
manually track what has been practised
recently.
Pressing the Done button ends the session.
The Next button submits the rating and
brings up the next pattern.

8. The Hint button opens up the reference
manual and displays an on screen
keyboard that shows how to play the
selected pattern.

9. It shows ascending and descending
versions of each pattern, and for chords it
will display inversions as well. It will also
play back the scale, chord, or arpeggio at
the correct speed.
The reference manual can also be accessed
while not in a practice session, so users can
look up patterns, see which notes they have,
and hear them played back.
One last feature is a playable multitouch
piano keyboard.

10. This app is useful for piano students who
are learning several scales, chords, and
arpeggios, and want to keep track of their
progress without manually creating
flashcards or charts. The way it optimizes
practice sessions makes it useful for
students who don't have enough time to
practice as often as the should.