pystave 1.3.1

musical stave trainer

This is a Python program that helps you practice sight-reading by flashing up notes on a stave (treble and/or bass clef). You will have a certain number of seconds to correctly identify each note. With the appropriate MIDI adapter plugged in, the -m command-line option (see below) allows you to respond using your instrument. Failing that, respond with keys A, B, C, D, E, F, or G on your computer keyboard. In either case, press Q to quit the program.

Install with python -m pip install pystave. This will install both the pystave package and, if you do not already have it, its dependency pygame.

You can run the game from the command-line with python -m pystave followed by whatever command-line options you want.

On Windows, the simplest way to set it up is to find NoteTrainer.exe in the Scripts directory of your Python distribution (or virtual environment), and make a shortcut to that. In the "Target" field of the "Properties" dialog for the shortcut, you can add any command-line options you want to add. Launch the game from that shortcut.

The game's main command-line options are as follows (use --help to get the full set):

 -m N             Listen to midi channel `N` (default 0, meaning no midi
--midichannel=N   input). It may take some trial and error to find the
                  number that corresponds to the correct channel of your
                  USB MIDI adapter.

 -t T             Set the time limit for responding to `T` seconds
--timelimit=T     (default 4).


 -c C             Include clef `C`. Possible values are `bass` and
--clef=C          `treble`. The default is to test both (choose randomly
                  each time around) which is equivalent to supplying
                  `-c treble -c bass` or `-c bass,treble`.

  -k K            Use key signature `K`. For example `-k "F#"` would
 --key=K          get you F-sharp major, and `-k "Dm"` would get you 
                  D minor.

 -d D             Use file D to specify a custom set of challenges. By
--distribution=D  default, you will be presented with single notes picked
                  with equal probability from the scale specified by `-k`,
                  without accidentals. However, if you do `-d HELP` you
                  will see there are many other possibilities, including
                  chords, accidentals, and the ability to weight the
                  testing towards things you particularly need to practice.