Here are 12 Public Domain piano songs as adapted from
The Public Domain Songbook by David Berger and Chuck
Israel. Follow along in their book to learn to read music!
Many new cool features including note for note playing
with the ability to go backwards to play notes again.
Note names shown as on the score and as played in a
key signature.
Songs with lyrics:
I’m Alway Chasing Rainbows
Let Me Call You Sweetheart
Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning
Low Bridge Everybody Down
Oh! Danny Boy
Pack Up Your Trouble in Yoy Kit Bag
Nearer My God to Thee
Columbia the Gem of the Ocean
Look for the Silver Lining
Lift Every Voice and Sing
Greensleeves
It’s a Long Way to Tipperary
Suitable for a sing along.
12 more great simple piano songs.
program uses wav files from a Steinway piano.
Key and octave changes possible.
Continuous play.
Original lyrics with bouncing ball.
Learn about the major scales.
Program code in BBC included.
Easy and fun.
Songs included:
AFTER YOU’VE GONE
ALEXANDER’S RAGTIME BAND
APRIL SHOWERS
THE BAND PLAYED ON
BILL BAILEY, WON’T YOU PLEASE COME HOME
BEAUTIFUL DREAMER
BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA
THE BOWERY
BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON
CAROLINA IN THE MORNING
CHICAGO (THAT TODDLIN’ TOWN)
YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU
Much music can be made of the twelve notes of the scale.
This program does this:
Shows a scale of notes.
Plays the notes one by one with its note lit up in red.
The purpose of this program:
Familiarizes you with the notes and their pitches.
You should be able to recognize which note is being played.
This will make it so you can read music from notes on a scale.
WHY AM I WRITING MUSIC PROGRAMS? SKITTONE 2023
Many people sing and hum; however; the musical score is a barrier
to many. Have you even looked at a sheet of music and tried to read it?
What I intend to do is make programs to aid in playing the piano:
Which key to press to make what sound. I think of it like learning touch
typing. There is a good dose of rote learning in it. The kind of thing a
computer can aid in. Sight reading of notes; playing are composing are
goals
On the way; I will have to teach the computer to read music too. The
computer must have sounds that come out in response to some sort of notation system that is computer like.
In this program, you pick the notes you hear.
The program plays one of these notes.
You pick which note was played.
The answer is give.
It has auto play which plays notes automatically.
This is ear training; you will gain the ability to distinguish
what note is being played.
Because you can pick notes further apart, it is easier.
You may want to pick notes one octave apart, etc.
This program play a song.
You can change the key.
It also plays the song in random keys (there are 12 major keys)
so you can hear the differences the keys make.
HOW TO LEARN TO READ MUSIC SKITTONE 2023
A pleasant way to do this is to follow simple music scores as you hear the music.
I am writing music players that shows the note names as the music is played.
I am using the book The Public Domain Song Book by David Berger and Chuck Israel - Such Sweet
Thunder Press. This has a lot of well known, simple piano music with no double notes, perfect for
a beginner or a computer program. The lyrics are fun too.
The Music Player:
I have written a computer program to play piano. I started from scratch with children's
books and a keyboard. I learned that the music scale has three half notes in it, making it all a horror.
Players must memorize scales - which black keys are required in a particular scale (there are
twelve of them!). This is a daunting task. The piano keyboard is designed with this issue in mind.
Some white keys have the half notes built into them. The key of C requires no black keys because
the half notes are built in. If you want to raise the pitch (up to 11 keys) and play a
scale it involves black keys; ingenious but a real mess. In other words; you see B on the score
and press the appropriate key, knowing the key signature. The staff has which keys are sharp or flat
as an aid at the beginning of the line.
There are 6 sets of 12 keys playing the FACE EGBDF pitches; sounds complicated. The repeating black
key pattern configurations serve as landmarks on the keyboard. Becoming an accomplished player
is a lengthy and commendable accomplishment.
An alternative to this is a computer program to sort this out. The 85 keys of the piano
can be treated equally so key shifts are accomplished by just moving up and down a number of keys.
The tune is just a pattern; recognizable if shifted up or down the keyboard. This works!
Tricks are possible like changing key signtures and octaves; playing note by note;
backing up, etc. Note names are shown both as on the score and the key pressed after the
key signature change.
The Limitations of my Music Player:
Being reckless, impulsive and irreverant, I took on this project directly irregardless
to music traditions. This quickly resulted in a workable player that has problems and limitations.
Music is divided into beats with time signatures. My player uses wait times. That is, it has recorded
piano notes which are allowed to play different amounts of time. This greatly simplifies writing
music but is wrong. It even greatly upsets real musicians! Sorry.
My computer has a limited tolerance to playing sounds quickly; if overloaded it just breaks down,
so having a precise idea on the length of played sounds is a good idea.
Beats help organize several instruments playing together but my program is solo voce.
Here are 12 beginner piano songs played by the computer.
Note names and notes on a staff included.
Features to change the key and octave.
Note by note playing option.
The BBC BASIC program code is included.
Song:
1 Deck the Halls
2 Down in the Valley
3 Go Tell It on the Mountain
4 Hark the Herald Angels Sing
5 Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush
6 I’ve Been Working on the Railroad
7 If You Were the Old Girl in the World
8 It Came Upon the midnight Clear
9 John Henry
10 Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho
11 Joy to the World
12 The Marseillaise
Here is a computer piano player with tools for studying the scores.
Twelve beautiful student piano pieces from the past:
Jingle Bells
Michael Row the Boat Ashore
Just a Closer Walk With Thee
Listen to the Mocking bird
Ma, He’s Making Eyes at Me
MacNamara’s Band
Mademoiselle From Armentieres
Mary’s a Grand Old Name
My Man
My Old Kentucky Home
My Melancholy Baby
My Wild Irish Rose
Easy to use to play and study the scores.
Follow along line by line.
Fast forward to plays of the score.
Note by note mode.
Change key and octave.
Learn music in a pleasant way.
Paul Skittone
12 Nice piano songs with lyrics.
The computer plays with Steinway piano sound.
One line simple scores can be played one note at a time to aid study of the scores.
Many easy to use features including fast forward and visual notes on a staff.
Note names.
The ability to change key and octave.