With keyboard navigation, huge improvements to the sheet display, and dozens of quality of life improvements, Synthesia 0.8.2 is the biggest release ever.

Artur Gajewski has created a pretty comprehensive Piano Lesson Package. On top of including 60 lessons with printable sheet music, an eBook is included covering a wide variety of topics along with guidance for each lesson.

The lesson package takes advantage of Synthesia's finger number hint feature, so you'll be able to see which finger to use in each lesson, right on the falling notes.

It's definitely worth checking out. Head over there and download the sample lesson.

What's new in 0.8.1:

• Add finger number hints to your songs in a single click. (video)
• Finger hints included for all 100+ built-in songs.
• Simplified track settings let you jump in fast.
• Improved library searching to find your favorite songs quicker.
• Many improvements in MIDI, device, and computer compatibility.
• Tons of tweaks and fixes.

Strictly Come Dancing is the original UK version of Dancing with the Stars. Each year the show puts the trainers through a crazy challenge. This season, Synthesia's falling note display was combined with a giant floor piano in the "ITT Grand Piano Challenge".

They kind of threw them to the wolves by only giving the trainers one attempt and not letting them practice ahead of time.

Check out the final two performances and award ceremony from the show.

What's new in 0.8.0:

• Online song recital. Scores posted for all to see.
• Named profiles. See your name next to your scores after playing locally or online. Compete against friends.
• Many settings can now be changed during gameplay.
• The beginnings of a new look...
• A handful of fixes and other tweaks.

Jonathon from GrooveWindow has made an awesome series of videos that teach how to play a really cool piano funk groove.

Between the top-notch video instruction, the seamless use of Synthesia's falling notes, walkthroughs at multiple speeds, and the downloadable MIDI files so you can try it yourself, there is a lot to check out.

You'll be missing out if you don't take a look.

Everything is ready now for the online scoreboard coming in November!

What's new in 0.7.5:

• Competition-ready songs and scoring.
• Revamped track settings saves time with copy and paste settings.
• Better song library performance, especially with big collections.
• Several tweaks and improvements to all play modes.

This month we have a few things I've wanted to include forever now.

What's new in 0.7.4:

• Lighted keyboard support: the next note will light up while stopped in practice mode. Turn it on via the Keyboard Setup screen.
• Improved note labels: new mode, more accurate, and easier to read.
• New configuration tool with windowed mode and resolution picker.
• Improved looping: easier to use, easier to find, better feedback.
• A number of stability and other bug fixes.

The long-awaited metronome is available at last. Lots of other great engine work made it in to prepare for the upcoming online scoreboard.

What's new in 0.7.3:

• Metronome. Control the speed, volume, and style. Works with simple, compound, and even changing time signatures.
• Have fun with instruments. Click a track's instrument icon to change.
• Find songs faster. Search with the new song library filter box.
• Create quick loops between bookmarks using the < and > keys.
• Speed improvements. Gameplay now runs smoother than ever.

Synthesia is moving full-speed ahead now. This is the first of six monthly releases that will run until the end of the year.

Check out what's new below, download the new version, and enjoy!

What's new in 0.7.2:

• Song looping: Learning Pack users can create loops with one click to keep practicing those tough parts. Statistics are shown in real time detailing how you are improving.
• Synthesia is now aware of smaller keyboards. Set your size on the keyboard screen and Synthesia will play notes outside your reach or move them closer so you can play them yourself.
• Scoring revamp: hold notes for their full duration for maximum points!
• Lots of other improvements and fixes.

Hopefully this new look is better at expressing the exciting changes that are happening to the project. I'm working very hard every day to bring a ton of new features out. With any luck, there should be a new release each month until the end of the year.

It's ready. This is an exciting time for the project. The 0.7.1 release is a great stepping-stone to the newly accelerated development schedule I've just started. Expect to see releases with more, released more often from here on out for the next six months!

In the meantime, check out what's new below, download the new version from the box on the left, and enjoy!

What's new in 0.7.1:

• Song Bookmarks: place markers that let you jump right to those tough sections.
• New play screen navigation: click the timeline to jump, the buttons to navigate, or the mouse-wheel while paused to scroll the song.
• Your keyboard's sustain pedal will now hold the duration of notes.
• Sheet music improvement: notes are much smarter about which staff to appear on.
• Improved song library searching: type a song name to jump right there.
• Better error reporting: crash report files help me jump right to the problem.
• Tons of other improvements and bug fixes.

Synthesia had outgrown the shared hosting solution it had been using for the past 4 years, so it's moved to a dedicated server. If you're reading this, you're on the new box. Not only should site performance improve -- especially forum speed -- now the doors are open for future online features in the game.

The change should be completely transparent, but if you run into any trouble at all with any of the site's features, please email me and describe what's wrong.

... in other news, I can report the development of Synthesia 0.7.1 is nearly complete. That should be coming soon now that the server migration is out of the way.

With Synthesia 0.7.0 out, I took some time to add some new site features. Enjoy!

• Google Checkout and Amazon Payments now supported on the Learning Pack purchase page.
• A new page to retrieve your Learning Pack key.
• Twitter alternatives to the RSS feeds: @SynthesiaNews and @SynthesiaDev.

I am proud to present the 0.7.0 release of Synthesia. This is the biggest update the game has ever received. So, check out the feature list, download the new version from the box on the left, and enjoy!

What's new in 0.7.0 (Learning Pack feature = ):

• New Song Library with audio previews and sorting by difficulty and rating.
• More than 20 new songs and over 100 songs updated to split the left/right hand parts. (Thanks Choul, Rickeeey, and TieDyeGuy from the forums!)
• Scoring for practice mode -- now you can follow your progress.
• Sheet music display improvements including rests and a fixed-width option.
• An option to require all notes in a chord be pressed at the same time in practice mode.
• Keyboard setup screen to help diagnose connection problems.
• Lots of menus re-worked to make navigation easier and more intuitive.
• New "View in Synthesia" right-click shortcut: a quick MIDI viewer.
• Tons of other improvements, fixes, and optimizations!

How cool is this? Sean over at HDPiano.com has begun making video lessons using a combination of Synthesia and live video to show note fingerings. It's very cool and especially helpful. The lessons are free, new videos are posted weekly, and Sean even takes requests.

You should go there now.

It's that time again. Here is the new 0.6.5 release of the game, including the next set of Synthesia Learning Pack features. There is lots of new stuff to check out, so download the new version from the box on the left and enjoy!

What's new in 0.6.5 (Learning Pack feature = ):

• Note and key labels (C, C#, D or Do, Re, Mi).
• Resizeable sheet music display.
• 120+ new songs included from G Major Music Theory.
• Faster startup and gameplay.
• The usual assortment of bug fixes and improvements.

I've described before that none of this would be possible without you guys. From your moral support, feedback, and feature suggestions, all of you have been great. To give everyone even more chance to interact with the project in a fun way, I've created a new area on this site to vote on which upcoming features you'd like to see next.

With your vote, I'll know which of the dozens of requests I should be working on first. And, you'll be sure to get what you want sooner. If you're interested, head over to the feature voting page now. If you're a forum member, you're already all set to vote.

There is also a new RSS feed available in the footer of the page that will track more closely my progress on the project. The "News" feed will continue to be large project announcements and decisions only, updated once every couple months. The new "Development Details" feed will be updated automatically as I work through tasks on the voting list, probably a couple times a week.

I am very pleased to present both the new 0.6.4 release of Synthesia and the all-new Synthesia Learning Pack. Between the two, there are lots of new features. Download the game from the box on the left and enjoy!

What's new in 0.6.4:

• Practice mode that waits for the correct notes.
• Sheet music display with two display styles.
• Measure lines in the falling notes.
• Play-settings screen that gives more control over gameplay.
• Several new options to tweak the display and a handful of bug fixes.

( = Learning Pack Feature)

With the release of Synthesia 0.6.4, the Synthesia Learning Pack is now available. To begin, the Learning Pack consists of the new sheet music display and practice mode where the game waits for you to press the correct keys.

Try it first using the four built-in demo songs that temporarily unlock everything. (Just click the "Learning Pack" button on the main menu of the game.)

Then, if you decide you'd like to unlock the Learning Pack for all songs, visit the Learning Pack page now to learn more and buy an unlock key. Thanks!

What's new in 0.6.3:

• Zoom to song or 'You Play' extents so notes are easier to follow.
• Option screen that allows some tweaking, most-important: play all user input.
• Lots of bug fixes, new DirectX back-end to correct some issues.
• A few visual updates.

This one is smaller than expected because the holidays were busier than I hoped.

Starting February 1st you'll be able to unlock the Synthesia Learning Pack in the game by purchasing an unlock key through this site. The Learning Pack will include the brand new sheet music display to begin with, and the number of features will grow with every new release of the game.

Like the rest of the game, the Learning Pack will be a work in progress, so the price will start very low. The best part is that upgrades are free and unlock keys will work in all future versions of the game! So, purchasing an unlock key now will not only show your support for the project, but also reward you with a lower price for being an early adopter.

An unlock key for personal use will start at $14 USD and increase slowly as the Learning Pack becomes more complete each release. More details will be coming after Dec-31, including a complete list of everything the Learning Pack will eventually include.

Oh yeah, previous donors (of any amount) get an unlock key for free. You guys were the earliest adopters and, subsequently, are awesome.

The holidays have been really hectic so I've had to push a few features out of the Dec-31 release until next time. To keep this from happening again, I'm switching to monthly releases. Starting immediately, keep an eye out at the beginning of every month for a new version of the game.

New in version 0.6.2 (August 29, 2007):

• Rewind / fast-forward during songs.
• Top scores list for each song you play.
• Song and track settings are saved between plays.
• New note spark effect.
• A software keyboard so everyone can try it out.
• Auto-splitting single-track MIDI songs to have one track per instrument.

Highlights coming up in version 0.6.3 (December 31, 2007):

• Sheet music display!
• Zoom to your keyboard or song extents.
• Tons of new built-in music and warm-up exercises.
• Lots of display and game customization via new options screen.
• Many new visual effects!

Synthesia 0.6.1 is now available! Report any problems in the forum. Major changes:

• External devices can now be selected for output in the Mac version.
• The Mac version behaves much nicer now (after about a dozen bug fixes).
• A couple Windows bugs were fixed.

It's here! Download either the Windows or the new Mac version of Synthesia 0.6.0 to get improved graphics and performance.

I have received a cease and desist letter from Activision for the use of the name "Piano Hero". See the cease and desist page for details.

Quick summary: Choose a new name for the project and update the website/game. The 0.6.0 release (introducing Mac support) has been pushed back a week to April-30 to compensate.

Name Suggestions: 430 names (68 duplicates) with 6 images. Check out the complete list.

Winning Name: "Synthesia", suggested by Daniel Lawrence from England. It's an incredible name, thanks again Daniel!

(Check out Destructoid's article about this whole situation. It's funny.)

MIDI input now plays back in the correct instrument, feedback and stats have been improved, there are now tooltips on each menu control, lots of bug fixes, a new installer, and a set of 10 fantastic songs from Game Music Themes! What are you waiting for?

Alright. You guys are awesome.

The response from just a couple of articles has been absolutely unbelievable and in a single day you donated more than enough for a Mac mini. So much, in fact, that I can get an iMac instead. You guys are really incredible, thank you! You will get your Mac version as promised!

Synthesia 0.5.0 Released! MIDI input is now supported. Try to get the highest score and earn the best grade. Download Now!

Want to learn how to play the piano? Synthesia is a fun way to play any kind of music including your favorite video game music, classical music, and holiday music. It's also completely free so check out the feature list, screenshots, and then download it.

Features

• Supports any MIDI file.
• Practice left or right handed parts separately.
• Slow songs down while learning new parts.

Work In Progress

• Real piano is required - no "software" keyboard is provided.
• MIDI input not supported yet - just play along for now.
• Without MIDI input, grading or scoring isn't possible.