My 2 cents...

General user help and bug reports for Playground Sessions for iPad tablets
Locked
merlino
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2018 9:57 am

My 2 cents...

Post by merlino » Thu Mar 01, 2018 4:55 am

After evaluating various apps, I chose Playground Sessions because it seemed like the best way to learn by combining technology with a serious and "traditional" piano study.

There are very appealing and fun apps to study, but I was looking for something more than a game or a way to quickly learn to play a few pieces by ear. My fear was above all repeating mistakes that are consolidated over time or spending a lot of hours practicing and then finding myself illiterate in front of a traditional score, because I got used to the specific interface of an app. That's why I liked PS right away.

Unfortunately, I see that the iPad version still has big limits and there seems to be updates on the horizon. It's really a shame, because my fear is to subscribe to a service that does not grow.

Below in this forum section there is a topic that lists a number of features that would be important to have, I agree with them all. In addition I would have some other small request:
  • In the version I'm using (I'm in the trial period) there aren't introductory video, but I was "catapulted" directly on the exercises. I do not think there is even a way to see them. I do not start from 0 but a little theory and seeing the exercise performed by an expert pianist could be very helpful.
  • During the exercises various erorros are detected, but not if a note is kept longer than its value. I can keep a note where there should be a break without the app reporting anything.
  • My piano has a better and more expressive sound than the one simulated by the app. I would like there to be the possibility to play with mine and that even the reference one in the exercise would play midi away on the real instrument.
  • I would like to be able to set up volumes (piano, metronome, accompaniment, ...) and ambience directly within the lesson, without having to go out and enter a specific section of settings. It would all be faster and I would have immediate feedback, to keep changes or quickly change again.
  • I would like there to be the possibility of using the Italian names of the notes, and not just the A ... G system. It is not essential, but I think it would not even be difficult to implement :)

andrewwegierski
Posts: 783
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 4:37 pm

Re: My 2 cents...

Post by andrewwegierski » Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:45 pm

Hi there,

Thanks for the feedback, and sorry for the delayed response on our end. I am helping manage the forums from now on, and we hope to stay on top of things in the future.

I'm not EXACTLY familiar with the trial period myself, but there should be a number of video lessons in the rookie bootcamp where David spells everything out for you. I do think that you bring up a good point though; however, we can only produce so many video lessons. In all lessons, the on screen keyboard corresponds with the interactive sheet music, guiding you through the music.

The duration issue is a known one, and we hope to have a fix for that in the future along with other advances in notation.

My digital piano has a better sound too! I recommend turning down the in-app piano volume all the way, then turning up the volume on your keyboard. This way, you'll hear only sounds from your keyboard, but it will still be recognized by the software. There's no way for the piano demo to be played through your keyboard sounds, unfortunately. So, if you want to hear a piano demo, you'll have to turn the piano volume in the app up again.

While the volumes would be convenient for each lesson, we don't have plans on changing the accessibility for those settings. Right now, I'm not sure about other languages.
Andrew Wegierski

Customer Support Representative
Music Arranger

support@playgroundsessions.com

merlino
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2018 9:57 am

Re: My 2 cents...

Post by merlino » Thu Apr 19, 2018 8:52 am

Hello! Thank you for your help :)

Emanuele

Laurensss
Posts: 105
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2017 5:20 am

Re: My 2 cents...

Post by Laurensss » Sat Apr 21, 2018 3:17 pm

andrewwegierski wrote:
Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:45 pm
(...)There's no way for the piano demo to be played through yoo ur keyboard sounds, unfortunately. So, if you want to hear a piano demo, you'll have to turn the piano volume in the app up again.

While the volumes would be convenient for each lesson, we don't have plans on changing the accessibility for those settings. Right now, I'm not sure about other languages.
Hi Andrew, this is why we need separate controls for in-app piano (player) sound volume and piano demo volumes. PGS' piano samples just do not cut it so please make it easy for us to listen to our own pianos, while having the demo readily available. A piano sounds toggle right in the main interface would work as well but you seem to have decided that's not the way to go. So please, give us separate volume sliders. Thanks!
Last edited by Laurensss on Sun Apr 22, 2018 11:48 am, edited 1 time in total.

andrewwegierski
Posts: 783
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 4:37 pm

Re: My 2 cents...

Post by andrewwegierski » Sat Apr 21, 2018 8:21 pm

Yeah, that's a good idea - if we could have separate volume settings. I'm not sure how that would work on the developer side of things, but I can make a note of it and discuss it Monday! Thanks.
Andrew Wegierski

Customer Support Representative
Music Arranger

support@playgroundsessions.com

andrewwegierski
Posts: 783
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 4:37 pm

Re: My 2 cents...

Post by andrewwegierski » Mon Apr 23, 2018 11:42 am

After some brief discussion, we've come to the unfortunate conclusion that the separate volume settings are not a possible feature of the app.

The short answer is that the piano volume itself is one sound program, so the volume setting for it affects any instance in which the in-app piano is sounded, whether you're playing the keys yourself along with a lesson, or you're using the piano demo option (which is essentially the same programming action as you playing the keys). It would be a long and complicated road to try and create different settings for the same piano sound.

The piano demo feature still highlights the keys, regardless of the sound settings, though.

Edit: In addition, it's not possible for the piano demo to come out of your keyboard speakers, because the MIDI or USB cable doesn't allow for this type of data transfer.
Andrew Wegierski

Customer Support Representative
Music Arranger

support@playgroundsessions.com

Locked