About Auraldesk
A practice tool for the aural part of graded music exams at Grades 1 to 3, for students, the parents who sit beside them, adult candidates and teachers.
Why we made it
The aural tests are the part of a music exam that is hardest to practise alone. Pieces and scales can be played every day, but clapping a pulse or singing back a phrase needs someone to play the music and someone to say whether it was right. Between lessons that someone is usually a parent, who may not read music, may not trust their own ear, and cannot tell whether a note was a little flat or simply wrong.
We built Auraldesk so that daily practice of all four tests needs only a phone, a tablet or a laptop. It plays the music, listens to the answer, and shows what it heard, so the student and the parent can both see where a note or a clap went.
What it does
It generates new tests every time for Grades 1 to 3: clap the pulse, sing back, spot the change, and listen for a feature. Singing is marked by pitch and rhythm, clapping against the beat, and the tapped answers exactly. Every mark comes with a pitch trace or a clap timeline, and anyone can mark an attempt themselves when the microphone gets it wrong. A mock test runs the four in exam order with answer times, and a teacher sheet shows what was practised. The rules and tolerances are on how it works; the check page sets up the microphone; the guides cover a daily routine, a child who will not sing, and what the tests ask.
How it treats your voice
The sound from the microphone is analysed in the browser and nothing is recorded to keep or sent anywhere. The microphone is asked for only when you start a test, and it is closed whenever music plays. Profiles and attempt logs stay in this browser, with a backup file you control. There is no account.
On a phone, and offline
After one visit with a connection, practice works offline, PDFs too once one has been made. On iPhone or iPad: open Auraldesk in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.
What it is not
- Not an examiner. The marker hears pitch and timing only. It cannot judge tone, expression or musical sense; a teacher can.
- Not the exam board's material. Every phrase and passage is generated by this site for practice; no exam board's tests or books are copied.
- Not a prediction of an exam result.
- Not a replacement for a teacher, who hears what a microphone cannot.
Contact
Questions, and reports of a mark that looks wrong, go to socialreminderinfo@gmail.com. Describe the test and what the trace showed; there is no recording to send.
Auraldesk is not affiliated with ABRSM, Trinity College London, AMEB, RCM or any exam board.