Earshed

Keyboard setup

Any MIDI keyboard works.

Earshed listens to the notes you play so it can confirm each chord. Most digital pianos and keyboards made in the last fifteen years can send them. No keyboard? The keys on screen work too.

Works today

Chrome, on a computer or an Android tablet

  1. Connect the keyboard's USB port to the computer or tablet. On a tablet you may need a USB-C or OTG adapter.
  2. Open Earshed in Chrome and go to More, then Keyboard.
  3. Allow MIDI when Chrome asks. Earshed only reads notes; it never asks to change your keyboard's settings.
  4. Play middle C to check it hears you.
  5. Run the timing check: eight clicks, a key on each.

Safari and Firefox on iPhone and iPad can't read MIDI keyboards, which is one reason Earshed is becoming an iPad app.

Coming to iPad

The iPad app

  • USB-C: plug the keyboard straight in, or through Apple's USB-C adapter
  • Bluetooth MIDI: pair from inside the app, no cable at all
  • The same timing check, measured for your iPad

Join the list

The timing check

A chord on the beat counts as on the beat.

Every device takes a moment to turn a click into sound, and your note a moment to arrive back. On an Android tablet that's often 100 ms or more, mostly the tablet's own sound delay rather than the cable.

The timing check measures the round trip on your device, and Earshed takes it off every timing grade, so you're never marked late for your tablet's delay.

If it doesn't show up

The usual causes.

  • A charge-only cableSome USB cables carry power but no data. Try the cable that came with the keyboard, or a known data cable.
  • The adapterTablets need a USB-C or OTG adapter that supports data. Cheap ones sometimes don't.
  • Not enough powerSome keyboards need more power than a tablet gives. A powered USB hub fixes it.
  • The keyboard's USB settingSome keyboards have a USB mode in their settings (for audio, storage or MIDI). Choose MIDI.
  • MIDI blocked in ChromeIf you said no once, the Keyboard screen shows how to allow it again from the address bar.
  • Old keyboards with round MIDI portsA USB MIDI interface cable connects them, and they work like any other.