Duolingo will now teach you music

Duolingo, the popular language learning app, will now teach users another way to express themselves: music.

A new music learning course available within Duolingo’s iOS app teaches musical notes and rhythm and even invites users to play basic songs on a virtual piano keyboard. As with other Duolingo courses, the material is taught through a series of basic, game-like exercises that let students practice the basics, from recognizing high and low pitches to finding particular notes on the musical staff.

“We worked really hard to make sure that there’s no expectation of prior experience—that anybody can learn and dive in and start doing lessons right away,” says Vanessa Jameson, director of engineering for new subjects at Duolingo.

Learning to read music and recognize notes is a bit similar to learning a language, says Karen Chow, a senior learning scientist at Duolingo, making it naturally suited to the Duolingo style of instruction. The experience is designed to teach users of any age the basics of music without the need for dry, rote memorization of notes and keys.

“Even in music learning, a lot of times, people kind of stick to just telling you explicit directions and telling you the rules,” Chow says. “But a lot of music learning happens from just your experience actually engaging with an instrument.”

Another advantage of Duolingo’s approach, says Jameson, is that beginners don’t have to have a physical instrument to get started. The on-screen keyboard, somewhat similar to what users might find in music apps like GarageBand, lets users practice playing without having to first buy and commit to an expensive instrument. The instructional material is also available for free, as with other Duolingo classes. Paid subscribers to the Super Duolingo premium program are able to get ad-free access.

Music isn’t Duolingo’s first foray into instruction beyond languages: The company debuted math education last year, and just announced new math skills including calculating tips and hourly wage. Practicing music or math contributes toward the same Duolingo streaks, in-app quests, and other game elements that incentivize coming back to the app.

If students do decide to go on to practice an instrument or sing more seriously, the skills they learned from the app should readily translate, says Chow. After all, a lot of music students start with a traditional piano—which makes it easy to see each note as corresponding to a distinct key—before adding other instruments, she says.

Since the music learning module is available through the existing app, the company is optimistic that existing users will see it and give it a try, perhaps realizing they’re better at learning the subject than they’ve previously thought.

“Nobody needs to be intimidated,” says Jameson. “Everybody can complete the lessons and participate and create music.”

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