Using the official drills
Official drills are basic exercises prepared by Pianium. There are three kinds, scales, cadences and arpeggios, each in 24 keys. All of them use a tempo of ♩=80.
If your screens look different from this guide, update the app to the latest version.
Find the official drills
- Open the Records tab.
- Choose Drills in the switcher at the top.
- Scroll down past your list to Official drills.
As the note says, "Counted by recordings of 60 seconds or more. No scoring, any instrument." The app counts your recordings; it does not judge how well you played.
Read about each kind before you choose
Under each kind's heading you will find Purpose, How to practice and What it can help with, so you can read them before adding anything.
| Kind | Purpose | How to practice |
|---|---|---|
| Scales | Teach your hands the notes of a key and even out your tone | At ♩=80, two octaves up and down, hands together. Minor keys use the harmonic minor scale |
| Cadences | Learn how chords connect, by hand and by ear, and get the sound of the key | At ♩=80, play Ⅰ-Ⅳ-Ⅰ-Ⅴ7-Ⅰ hands together |
| Arpeggios | Move your hand widely in the shape of a chord and smooth out the thumb crossing | At ♩=80, two octaves up and down, hands together |
Not sure which key? Pick the key of the piece you are playing now (the same advice as Not sure? in the app).
"What it can help with" is a general guide. How it feels depends on how you practice and how often.
Add a drill
Press Add next to the key you want. When it changes to Added, you are done. If you see "Could not add the drill. Please try again.", press it again.
Added drills appear in the list under Drills in Records.
Record with a drill
- Open a drill and press Record this drill to start recording it.
- When Today shows a Today's drills line, you can pick from there too. Skip removes that drill from today's list, and That's it for today closes the day's drill display.
- Next drill while recording, or on the after-save screen, takes you straight to the next drill.
Recording works the same way as in Your first 15-minute practice.
Drill names and descriptions may appear in Japanese even when the app is set to English.
Delete a drill
You can delete a drill you no longer need from its screen. You are asked "Delete this drill?". Deleting cannot be undone.