Synthesia 0.8

Taking a progressive look at your Synthesia experience, the first thing you are going to like is that the download weighs in at a mere 3.5MB. This means it will only take a moment to get the application off the web and onto your computer. Don’t know about you, but I like it when things take little time to complete.

And speaking of things that take little time to complete, installing Synthesia on your Windows-powered computer will be done in a blink. It is a simple, straightforward process that will go along smoothly and rapidly. It must be said here that (at the time of writing this), Synthesis offers support for the big three: the old but popular Windows XP, the much avoided Windows Vista, and the latest and greatest, Windows 7.

It must also be mentioned that there’s a Mac version of Synthesia as well. It works with Mac OS X 10.4 or later. I’m thinking you are going to like that installing Synthesia takes little time and that you can install the application on Windows and Mac. You are also going to like that Synthesia is freeware. You can get the application, install it, and use it for as long as you want without having to part with your hard earned money.

What will you not be paying money for? Or to put it in other words, what sort of functionality does Synthesia have to offer? To put it bluntly, Synthesia is a game that makes it easier to learn to play the piano. It is useful to novices who are just now getting started with the piano and it is useful to expert players looking for a fun way to practice.

To better put things in perspective, here are Synthesia’s main features:
- You can set the speed and play at your own pace.
- You can enable musical notation or leave the feature turned off and enjoy the falling notes.
- Practice hands separately.
- Comes with more than 100 free songs. You can download MIDI files from the web and Synthesia will play them.
- Online scoreboards let you strike up a challenge with a friend.
- Lighted keyboard displays upcoming notes.

Fun fact: Synthesia was initially named Piano Hero because its gameplay is similar to Guitar Hero. But then Activision made a fuss and Nicholas Piegdon had to change the name.

Pros

• Downloads and installs rapidly
• Easy to use
• Fun
• Play at your own speed
• Numerous songs included, download more from the web
• Online scoreboards
• Freeware
• There’s a Windows and a Mac version

Cons

• For extra features you need to get the Learning Pack which is not free.

For additional information on Synthesia click here.

Synthesia has been reviewed by George Norman on 28 Mar 2011. Based on the user interface, features and complexity, Findmysoft has rated Synthesia 4 out of 5 stars, naming it Excellent