# Auraldesk

> Practise the aural tests for Grades 1 to 3: clap the pulse, sing back, spot the change and listen for features, marked through your microphone in your browser.

Auraldesk is a browser only practice trainer for the aural tests of graded music exams at Grades 1 to 3, in the style of the common syllabus (such as ABRSM). Four test types are generated fresh from a seed by rules per grade: clap the pulse of an 8-bar piece and say 2 or 3 time; sing back 3 two-bar echoes in a major key; spot the one changed bar between two playings of a 2-bar phrase (from Grade 3, also pitch or rhythm); and answer one question about a feature of a 4-bar piece (loud and quiet, smooth and detached, getting louder or quieter, speed changes). A synthesised piano plays with the microphone closed; then the microphone listens while the student sings or claps. Singing is marked with a YIN pitch tracker in TypeScript: pitch right within 50 cents in any octave, rhythm within 100 ms after fitting the singer's start and speed. Claps are found by spectral flux and marked within 70 ms of the beat, with the strong beat. Takes less than 12 dB above the background are not marked. Every mark shows a pitch trace or clap timeline, and the student can mark it themselves. A timed mock test, a teacher sheet (PDF or print), up to 5 student profiles and attempt logs stay in the browser. Every phrase and passage is generated by this site for practice; no exam board's tests or books are copied. The marker hears pitch and timing only. It cannot judge tone, expression or musical sense; a teacher can. No speech recognition, no accounts, nothing uploaded.

## Tool

- [Aural test trainer](https://auraldesk.com/): The trainer: Grades 1 to 3 aural tests generated fresh, with singing and clapping marked through the microphone, a mock test and a teacher sheet.
- [Microphone and speaker check](https://auraldesk.com/check/): Check the microphone level, whether the microphone hears the speaker (headphones and routing), and try the singing and clapping marking.

## How it works and guides

- [How the practice and marking work](https://auraldesk.com/how-it-works/): The generation rules by grade, how singing and clapping are marked with every tolerance, headphone and routing advice, and what the marker cannot judge.
- [Guides](https://auraldesk.com/guides/): Guides for parents, students and teachers: 10 minutes a day, a child who will not sing, and what the Grade 1 to 3 aural tests ask.
- [Aural practice at home in 10 minutes a day](https://auraldesk.com/guides/aural-practice-ten-minutes-a-day/): A 10 minute daily routine for the four aural tests at Grades 1 to 3: which test on which day, how to warm up, and how to use marks without chasing them.
- [Helping a child who will not sing](https://auraldesk.com/guides/helping-a-child-who-will-not-sing/): Why some children will not sing in front of a parent, and small steps that get the voice going: humming, singing with them, the right pitch, and private practice.
- [What the aural tests ask at Grades 1 to 3](https://auraldesk.com/guides/aural-tests-grades-1-to-3/): A plain description of the four kinds of aural question at Grades 1 to 3 in the common syllabus: the pulse, echoes, spotting a change and features of a piece.

## Free printables

- [Free printables](https://auraldesk.com/printables/): Free one page PDFs for aural practice at home, made in the browser in A4 or Letter: a practice log, an interval and cadence reference card and a tick chart.
- [Aural practice log](https://auraldesk.com/printables/aural-practice-log/): A free one page aural practice log to print in A4 or Letter: the date, which of the four tests, the minutes, what went well and what to work on next.
- [Interval and cadence reference card](https://auraldesk.com/printables/interval-and-cadence-card/): A free reference card to print: intervals from the keynote with their semitones, four cadences and how each one sounds, and the features to listen for.
- [Aural practice tick chart](https://auraldesk.com/printables/practice-tick-chart/): A free tick chart to print for six weeks of aural practice: a box for each of the four tests on every day, a weekly total and space for a name.

## Reference

- [FAQ](https://auraldesk.com/faq/): Privacy of recordings, headphones, iPhones, grades covered, marking accuracy, teachers, printing, share links, offline use and exam boards.
- [About](https://auraldesk.com/about/): What the site is, who it is for, what it is not, and how to use it offline or add it to a home screen.

## Policies

- [Premium](https://auraldesk.com/premium/): What a paid plan adds when billing is switched on.
- [Privacy](https://auraldesk.com/privacy/): Microphone sound is analysed in the browser and never recorded to keep or sent; profiles and attempts are saved in the browser.
- [Terms of use](https://auraldesk.com/terms/): What the practice and the marking can be relied on for, your data, and support.

## Pricing

Free: Grades 1 to 3, all 4 test types, 2 attempts of each a day; Microphone marking with the pitch trace and clap views, and marking yourself; The microphone and speaker check; 1 student profile with its attempt log, and backup export and import. A paid plan adds: Unlimited attempts (free is 2 of each test a day); The timed mock test in exam order, with a total and a weak-area list; The teacher sheet: what was practised, scores and dates, as a PDF or printed; Up to 5 student profiles in this browser; Grades 4 and 5 when they are added. Prices are shown at checkout.

## What it is not

- Not affiliated: Auraldesk is not affiliated with ABRSM, Trinity College London, AMEB, RCM or any exam board.
- Not an examiner: marks are practice feedback on pitch and timing, not exam marks.
- Not the exam board's material: every test is generated by the site.
- Not an uploader: microphone sound is analysed in the browser and never saved or sent; there is no server.

## Optional

- [Full text of every page](https://auraldesk.com/llms-full.txt): every page as Markdown, in one file.
- Support: socialreminderinfo@gmail.com