Key Hero: play along with falling notes and score points
Key Hero is a free piano game where notes fall towards the keys and you play them in time on a MIDI keyboard, with the computer keys or on screen. Practice with random melodies, chord progressions or your own MIDI files, and earn points, combos and stars.
Open the tool: Key Hero Needs: A MIDI keyboard (optional)
What you can do
- Random melodies in eight scales and five difficulty levels, with a seed so a good melody can be recreated
- Chord progressions in major, minor and modal with mood tags, from the free-midi-chords project
- Your own MIDI files: pick tracks, limit to the melody and slow the tempo down to 50 percent
- A Training mode where the notes wait until you play the right note, with no score
- Practice each hand separately, with guide sound you can turn off
- Section statistics that show where it went worst, and one tap to practice exactly that part
How it works
- Connect a MIDI keyboard or use the computer keys. Choose Random, Chords, MIDI file or Demo.
- Press Play. The notes fall towards the keys and the key to play lights up in the colour of the hand.
- Play the notes in time. You score by how close you land: Perfect, Good, Early or Late.
- Look at the sections after the run and practice the weakest, or raise the tempo once you manage four stars.
Frequently asked questions
Is Key Hero an alternative to Synthesia?
Yes, for anyone who wants to practice with falling notes for free in the browser. Key Hero needs no installation, plays random melodies and chord progressions, and reads your own MIDI files. It does not show sheet music or fingering.
How do I load a MIDI file?
Choose the MIDI file tab and pick or drop a .mid file. The file is read in the browser and sent nowhere. If it has several tracks Key Hero picks the one most likely to be the melody, and you can tick more.
Where do I find free MIDI files?
Mutopia Project and piano-midi.de have classical pieces on open terms. BitMidi, FreeMidi and VGMusic have many popular melodies, mostly made for personal practice. The dialog in Key Hero lists them with tips.
What happens if I play wrong?
In Training mode the notes stop until you play the right note and there is no score, so you can practise at your own pace. In Play in time mode a missed note counts as a miss and the combo resets.