Piano Roll Dictation
Listen, then draw the missing melody or drum pattern into a piano roll.
Set up your piano roll
4/4 · Two connected measures · Blue notes are given and locked. Listen after the four-beat count-in.
Click or tap a cell to add a note. Drag across empty cells to draw its length. Drag the right edge of a note to change its length, or select it and use the controls below. Drum hits are one cell long.
Correct piano roll
Edexcel Music Technology specification and assessment materials →
Learning guide · need a hand?
Piano Roll Dictation: a quick guide
Your goal
Listen, then build what you hear with blocks. Where a block starts tells you when to play; its row tells you the pitch or drum sound.
Try an example
A note starts on beat 1 and lasts two beats. Draw one block across beats 1 and 2. To make it last longer, extend the block sideways.
Easy to mix up
Two short blocks mean two separate notes. One long block means one note held on. Moving a block up or down changes its pitch, not its length.
A tip for your next go
Use the given notes to get started. Click for a short note and drag to make it longer. Work out the rhythm first, then check the pitches.