Joel Clifft, DMA, director of keyboard studies and an assistant professor of music at Azusa Pacific University, recently launched an iPhone app, Music Theory Pro. He designed the new app to help teach music theory skills to musicians or anyone who wants to learn music.
Similar to how music students learn in the classroom, users can practice naming notes on the piano and on the staff. As they progress, they master key signatures, intervals, and chords. The app provides detailed, multimedia explanations for each concept. It also includes an ear training section for the more advanced student, and a tempo quiz to identify beats per minute by assigning a number to a click track.
“I was looking through the available apps for one that I could use and recommend to my music students," said Clifft. "I wanted something that was fun to use and taught foundational music theory and some advanced ear training. None of the apps I found did anything like what I imagined. I thought that if I wanted this, someone else would too. So, this summer I created it. I began the project on the day after the spring semester finished. I worked all summer long and submitted it to Apple the day before fall semester began."
Clifft also worked with several APU students to test the app in its various stages. "They gave feedback and suggestions, which were incorporated into the app," he said. "Training to be a musician is part artist and part athlete. The athletic side is not only for the fingers, but for the mind and ear as well. The exercises in Music Theory Pro challenge students to develop their mind and ears to identify what they see and hear as quickly and accurately as possible. There is even an option to post your score and compete with other users around the world.”
At Azusa Pacific, Clifft teaches chamber music, private piano, and music classes in the School of Music. He is also an adjunct faculty member and alumni at USC Thornton School of Music, where he teaches collaborative piano. An active collaborative pianist, he has performed in concerts with such world-class musicians as the sensational violinist, Midori Goto, and the principal clarinetist for the Rochester Philharmonic, Ken Grant.