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.
My piano teacher showed me this game on her iPad and it is so nice! To be honest, as a girl who hates pink and purple more, my favourite theme is Pretty Pegasus. I just got this game today and I am IN LOVE with it! I recommend to use the listen option if you have a piano or keyboard, it helps more! Also, can you please let everyone use the Christmas one because I really want to use it, as everyone says it’s the best.
Amazing!
Amelie =)
I have been using this app for almost ten years now and I just love it. The themes, the colours, the way it is desplayed, everything! It has helped me a lot with my piano skills guiding me from simple pieces to much more complacted songs. The new update has highly improved the quality of this well designed app, taking it from amazing to breathtaking! You can now change the theme the sounds and you can even create a teacher account.To conclude if you are considering getting this app I would highly recommend it.
Great, HOWEVER…….
Wonderful splodge
I have been using this app for years with students. It’s not only great fun it’s a brilliant tool to learn note reading. I love the fact that I can choose the notes I want my students to recognise. HOWEVER, since the update, it’s got worse. Unless there’s a setting I can’t find, having only one of each note is not good. If I want a student to practise telling the difference between a G and an E, it’s not going to work. They know that if it’s not one, it’s the other. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give us the choice to choose how many test notes they get OR give us back the 10/20 options for number of test notes.
Brilliant note learning app
Joanna Pieters
I’ve been using with an 8yo and it’s brilliant. It could not be easier to set up and change, and the flexibility of giving responses - note name, keyboard or on a real instrument - is fantastic. In a few minutes he’d sorted out some confusion he has between a couple of notes. I’m going to start using it myself to improve my alto clef reading. A slightly more adult/less frenetic theme would be nice for that, but that’s a request rather than a criticism. Highly recommended.
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 based, for example, 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
Provider
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