A microphone attached to the PC computer sound card is used for input to the sound card. This information is analyzed quickly enough to advise students as to their ability to match pitches. The effect on students is nearly immediate. With such feedback, student quickly adjust their tuning and pitch matching skills. A companion program named Digital Music Mentor can be used to store a digital recording of student performance on a Windows PC hard drive.
Students can then compare their performance with a model played by the teacher.
This program has been used successfully by private teachers and school music teachers alike. The ECS Music Tuner offers fast, automatic note sensing in real time with a broad chromatic range and a special transpose function for various instruments. This final technology marries audio technology with computer graphics technology. Students can stop or start the CD at any point they choose with immediate computer response. Already computer firms are announcing 300 to 1000 Mhz computer processors.