Looking for an app to improve your note-reading AND your sight-reading? Then read this article to learn all about the Note Quest app which allows you to do BOTH of those things.

There are a lot of note-reading apps out there and so-called “sight-reading” apps which are actually just note-reading apps, (except for Read Ahead, which is a genuine sight-reading app). But I haven’t seen an app which is both a note-reading AND a sight-reading app except for Note Quest, which does BOTH. This app is ideal for you if you want to get your note-reading up to speed and practise sight-reading all on the same platform.

Let’s take a closer look at Note Quest and see what it offers.

About Note Quest

Note Quest is a note-reading and sight-reading app founded by piano teacher Grace Lee.

What is unique about Note Quest is its focus on the landmark notes, around which the note recognition and sight-reading exercises are based.

In case you don’t know, the landmark notes are the following:

These landmark notes act as points of reference from which you learn all the other notes. They can be easily remembered because the notes in the treble are a mirror image of the notes in the bass.

Learning the notes with the landmark notes is a far more effective method than learning through mnemonics such as these:

Yes, these mnemonics do help you remember the note names but they don’t allow you to quickly identify notes, which is what we’re after.

Layout of Note Quest

The Note Quest app is divided into two main sections: Note Class and Note Fit.

Note Class is the note-reading side of the app where you learn the notes in the treble and bass with flashcards, starting with the landmark notes. You gradually learn the other notes in reference to these landmark notes. You also learn intervals, starting with the smaller intervals (seconds and thirds) all the way to fourths and fifths.

Note Fit is the sight-reading side of the app where you have short sight-reading excerpts from beginner to advanced. Like the note-reading section, the excerpts are based around the landmark notes and smaller intervals are introduced before the larger intervals. Dynamics and articulation are also introduced progressively.

There are three primer levels containing 20 exercises in each and 5 levels with 40 exercises in each. New content is added regularly.

There is also an extra section called Note Crush with two levels.

This is great if you or your students are more into pop music and want to learn how to read lead sheets with chord symbols. The exercises look like this:

Demo and tutorial of Note Quest

You can also watch this detailed demo and tutorial of Note Quest with the founder Grace Lee:

Pros and cons of Note Quest

Pros

• Progressive

What I particularly like about Note Quest is that it takes you through the notes progressively in a logical manner. You first learn the landmark notes within a two-octave range, then a three-octave range and finally a four-octave range. Intervals are introduced with the landmark notes and are also introduced gradually, starting with steps (seconds) and skips (thirds) before the larger intervals. Accidentals (sharp, flat and natural signs) are then introduced, then notes on the ledger lines, using the landmark notes as a point of reference.

• Customisable

Another neat feature of Note Quest is the Note Selector tool where you can create your own exercises by selecting the notes you want to drill. This is a great way to drill notes that you have trouble remembering.

• Non-tech option

For the less tech-savvy, you can also use PDF flashcards of the sight-reading excerpts which you can purchase from the online shop.

• Interactive

You can listen to each sight-reading excerpt by tapping on the excerpt and clicking on Listen. You can also play along with the recording, with or without the metronome by pressing on Start and adjust the metronome to any speed between 70 to 160 bpm when clicking on Tempo.

• Incentives

The app offers a few incentives to keep you motivated. For example, the note-reading exercises are displayed with a timer, which you can turn on or off, and a hint button, which you can press for help if you get stuck. You can earn badges and rewards after eight minutes of continuous play per day and see your progress on the Stats page from the main page.

• Review

You can flag any of the sight-reading exercises by tapping on the flag in the top right-hand corner and review the flagged exercises by turning on the switch at the bottom of the screen (see image above).

• Versatile

The app can be used with either an acoustic piano, a digital or midi piano, or a virtual piano. This means you can use the app anywhere at any time.

• Fun

The app features a lot of fun elements such as the ability to change the background of the drills and change the sound of the flashcards.

• User friendly

The app is easy to use and has a clear interface.

Cons

• No progress tracker

As of now, the app doesn’t remember where you left off but the developer is working on adding features which would enable you to scroll through the exercises faster.

• No feedback for the sight-reading

The app does not give you feedback on the sight-reading excerpts so if you don’t have a teacher sitting beside you, the only way to know if you’ve sight-read the excerpts correctly is to listen to the excerpts before or after you play, or to play along with the recording. Listening to what you’re playing is a good thing though!

• iOS only

The Note Quest app is only available for iOS devices. The developers are currently working on the Android version.

Is Note Quest free?

Note Quest is free to download from the App store. The landmark notes section is free. To have access to all the other sections in Note Class, you pay a one-time fee. For Note Fit, you pay a monthly or yearly subscription. However, the developers will soon release an updated version where you will be able to purchase an all-in-one bundle where you can get access to everything within the app.

The PDF flashcards are packaged per level and can be purchased separately or as bundles.

Who is Note Quest for?

Whilst Note Quest is primarily designed for piano teachers to use with their students, it can also be used by self-taught piano players.

The app is ideal for beginner and intermediate piano players who want fun and effective drills and exercises to improve their note-reading and sight-reading skills. I highly recommend it.

Have YOU tried Note Quest? Let me know what you think in the comments.