Playground Forums

Hello!

We are excited to announce a big update to our iPad version. We now support videos! This is a big step in bringing the features and functionality over to the iPad version of Playground. We also have added some other big improvements, including that you can now play/test Playground without a keyboard connected using the on screen keyboard that now supports multi-touch and can be used in the lesson player for real time feedback. We also have added in the ability to configure the onscreen keyboard to match your actual MIDI device. Hope everybody enjoys the new version, let us know what major feature for the iPad you'd like to see next!

Change Log

On Screen Keyboard

• Now can play more than one note at a time.
• Now can use in lesson player, for when you don't have a keyboard with you.

Lesson Player

• Video player with notation-sync
• Minor performance improvements for sheet music

Lesson Library

• Removed checksum checking (lessons download much quicker now)

Login Prompt

• Moved input prompts up to allow more space for onscreen keyboard (soft keyboard)

Settings -> Piano

• 85 key option replaced with 88 key option.
• 73 key option replaced with 89 key option.
• Custom keyboard option added to set the on screen keyboard to match your actual keyboard.

Misc

• We've added in a new update check system that will notify users of updates, similar to how the desktop version of Playground does today.
• New crash reporting system to catch more fatal crashes, so we can continue to make Playground more stable

Fantastic news...genuinely buzzing as been dying for this!

Been having a go and is brilliant, especially pleased it opens in landscape! Unfortunately, when I close a lesson the video audio starts playing in the background and can't be stopped unless app closed or pushed into background and pulled back out again. This only seems to happen after being on lesson 2.

Also, any chance of variable speed rather than the two options?

Cheers

Hey Arnie,

We are going to be adding in a custom tempo prompt in the next update (coming very soon).

I'll take a look into the audio playing in the background issue.

Thanks, seems fine today, and thanks for the tempo update, will be cool. Not sure if all is well with lesson 1 of rookie lesson 46 (the first video I have watched on ipad) as I have done it twice and doesn't show as completed (unlike lesson 2 which works as expected).

Also, occasionally I get keys coloured grey on the screen AFTER they have been played (instead of just being grey as played), which is fine if I exit and then re-enter the lesson. Thanks

Edit: I just closed the lesson and the audio started again in background and the only way to stop it is to close the app so still an issue. Also, just been on lesson 47 and there seems no way to 'complete' the videos - as in, video lessons not showing up as completed in main index of lessons...plus no scores/percentages appearing after non-video lessons. All these seem intermittent - just tried another lesson and player plays two bars in the middle of the tune and then freezes. Cheers

Hey Sean,
"let us know what major feature for the iPad you'd like to see next!"

How about scrolling,
ability to pause and restart from any point
ability to select bar/measure to work on with looping
When you close a piece/lesson return to that point in the library list.

That's enough for now.

Tom

tadiorio wrote:Hey Sean,
"let us know what major feature for the iPad you'd like to see next!"

How about scrolling,
ability to pause and restart from any point
ability to select bar/measure to work on with looping
When you close a piece/lesson return to that point in the library list.

That's enough for now.

Tom

Great start to an ipad app : )

I'll echo Tom's suggestions ...

#1 Being able to scroll through the music without being in play mode would let me practice keying through the notes at my own pace.
#2 Selecting an area to loop would be a huge add to my practice routine.
#3 Being able to pause and restart would be nice.

But most of all ... avoiding falling into states where the sound disappears would be my number one request!

It's been almost a year since the iPad version was last updated. Can you share the roadmap for the iPad version?

Do you plan to update it in the near future? If so, can you provide us a date or estimate?