Flashnote Derby is a fun, effective way for kids to learn and practice reading music notes.
Perfect for piano, guitar, band, orchestra, and general music students, this teacher-created app turns note recognition into an engaging game that works equally well at home or in music lessons.
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Race to Learn Music Notes
Each race is a fast-paced challenge: identify notes correctly to speed your horse toward the finish line. Missed or slow answers allow the other horses to catch up.
After each round, students can review the notes they missed—turning every race into a meaningful learning opportunity.
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New! Practice Mode (No Timer, No Stress)
Students can now choose a relaxed 'practice mode' with unlimited time for each note.
Perfect for beginners, this mode builds accuracy and confidence before racing competitively.
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Multiple Ways to Answer
Players can answer flashcards in a variety of of ways:
•Play the note on an any instrument. Flashnote Derby will hear and understand what you play. (Works with transposing instruments too!)
•Use a MIDI instrument
•Tap on-screen letter names
•Or play notes on the on-screen piano keyboard
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Fully Customizable for Any Student
Tailor each drill to match your student’s level:
•Treble, bass, alto, or tenor clef
•Select specific note ranges or individual notes
•Add sharps, flats, or full key signatures
•Adjust time limits (or remove them entirely in Practice Mode)
•Expand difficulty all the way up to five-and-a-half ledger lines above and below the staff.
As skills grow, you can increase the challenge. Higher difficulty earns higher scores—keeping students motivated.
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Multiple themes keeps practice fresh.
In addition to the classic horse race, students can take flight with the whimsical Pretty Pegasus course, blast through an arcade-style space challenge in Ecliptic Encounter, or switch to the seasonal Reindeer Race during the holidays.
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Built for Teachers, Loved by Students
Flashnote Derby is designed to fit easily into lessons:
•Quick to set-up and perfect for a 1–2 minute warm-up
•Send homework assignments directly to students
•Track progress automatically
•See which notes need more review
Teachers see real improvement. Students stay engaged. Parents appreciate the progress.
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Why Flashnote Derby Works
Many students struggle because drilling note names feels boring and difficult. Flashnote Derby turns this essential skill into a game—one they’ll want to keep playing.
A little daily practice adds up quickly, and early success builds confidence that lasts.
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Get on the road to confident music reading today!
Download Flashnote Derby and help your young musician master notes with joy—not frustration.
So disappointed that I can no longer email preset practices to students which was the main reason I bought the app and asked parents to buy the app. I’ve tried logging out, uninstalling the app, etc but nothing fixes it. The buttons to select “send the preset” or “cancel” do not respond when selected. I did email the developer but haven’t gotten a response.
Luke Bartolomeo does not respond!
Amazonchic
I am a teacher. I've been using this app for several years after other teachers highly recommended it. The app itself is good for the most part, but I've had some issues that are not working for my studio. I started having issues with being unable to set a master device and clone my other devices. Although Luke followed up to my initial request, asking if I am logged in, when I answered his questions to explain this issue is not on my end as a user not being logged in, he never responded despite multiple emails. In good conscience, I can not recommend this to my students when the app developer is admittedly MIA. I will use other apps instead.I will update IF the developer ever fixes this and responds to my emails.
Great BUT
CaddFam
This a great app that has made piano lessons more fun for my students. I especially love the option to play the instrument. SUGGESTION: Have an option with no timer or race, just answering the notes, as some kids don’t do well being timed.
Not recognizing E
RVonApps
This is a very fun app and useful, except that it keeps not recognizing the E note. It marks a big X when it is clearly the E note being played on the piano, it also sometimes recognizes it but most of the time it doesn’t. Is this happening to anyone else? It’s just a problem with that one note. It’s worth saying we have only used middle C to G as of now. So don’t k own if other flaws are lurking. Hadn’t had this issue with a competing app.
Fixes an issue where the app wasn’t recognizing played notes on some devices.
Version 4.0.4
The developer, Luke Bartolomeo, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Linked to You
The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
Contact Info
Identifiers
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Diagnostics
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
Luke Bartolomeo
Size
96.3 MB
Category
Education
Compatibility
Requires iOS 16.6 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 16.6 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 16.6 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 13.5 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
Languages
English and 5 more
English, German, Japanese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese