Class Play-Along Lessons

How it works

1. Choose the music. Pick a Classfern tune, find one of over 2,000 free out-of-copyright pieces by name, or open your own MusicXML or MIDI file. A tune you made in Tune to notes or a song chart from Chord Player works too.
2. Set the speed and key. Type the speed in quarter notes a minute and move the music up or down by half steps to suit your instruments or voices.
3. Add your class. One row for each group: the instrument and a level from 1 (first steps) to 3 (confident). Classfern picks the best part for that level, or you choose it.
4. Add backing. Switch on a drum beat, a metronome click, piano chords, a bass line or a melody guide. If nobody can play a part today, set it to Nobody – Classfern plays it.
5. Play. Open the class screen on the board: a count-in, a beat light, measure numbers and every part lighting up note by note.

Automatic parts for every instrument and level

From one piece Classfern makes:

• Melody – the tune itself, moved up or down an octave if needed so it fits the instrument.
• Easy melody – one note on each beat at most, no eighth notes, kept inside the notes a beginner can play.
• One note per measure – a long note that fits the chord, using only a few different notes. Ideal for a first lesson on glockenspiel, chime bars or recorder.
• Bass line – the root of each chord (level 1), then root and fifth (level 2) and a moving bass (level 3).
• Chords – chord boxes for ukulele and guitar with a strumming pattern; level 1 uses the four most common chords in the key, and a capo is suggested on guitar when it makes the shapes easier.
• Rhythm and beat – clap the rhythm of the tune with rhythm words, keep a steady beat, or play a drum groove from a grid.

Each part is shown in the view that suits the instrument: recorder, flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet and violin fingering; tab and chord boxes for guitar, ukulele and bass; letter names and color notes; do re mi for singers; falling notes; and a staff view. B♭ and E♭ instruments get their own written key. Every part is checked again by a separate set of rules before you see it, and anything that needs a second look is flagged.

The class screen

Big enough to read from the back of the room, at any size from a phone to a 1920 × 1080 projector. The music is split into sections of four measures (A, B, C …) and a banner shows Next: section B just before it arrives.

• Space play or pause · ← → previous or next section · L loop the section
• − + slower or faster · 1–9 switch Classfern’s playing of a part on or off · M mixer (sound, solo and volume for every part)
• K kids’ mode · F full screen · Esc leave

Kids’ mode

For younger classes: bigger buttons and notes, color notes on, and the simplest parts listed first. The same switch is on the class screen.

Practice at home

Every part has its own link and QR code. It opens that part on a student’s phone, tablet or computer with the same music, key and backing, plus wait mode (the music waits until they play the right note) and Listen and mark, which hears each note through the microphone and ticks it. Results are kept on their device under the code you give them, labelled honestly: notes Listen and mark heard are marked by Classfern; anything else is self-assessed.

Printing part sheets

Press Print part sheets for one page per part: the notes measure by measure, the fingering or chord shapes for every note used, and a QR code for practice at home. Save it as a PDF from the print box if you prefer.

Where the music comes from

Classfern tunes are traditional tunes in our own simple versions. The free library holds over 2,000 out-of-copyright pieces from the Mutopia Project and OpenScore, each with its license and credit shown with the music. See where the music comes from. If you open your own file, please make sure you have the right to use it.

Questions

Do I need to sign in or install anything?

No. Class play-along runs in your web browser on a laptop, interactive whiteboard, tablet or phone. Nothing is installed and you do not need an account. Settings stay in this browser.

Which instruments can it write parts for?

Soprano and alto recorders, flute, clarinet, alto and tenor saxophone, trumpet or cornet, violin, cello, voices (children, soprano, alto, tenor and bass), piano or keyboard, glockenspiel, chime bars or colored tuned percussion tubes, ukulele, guitar, bass guitar and untuned percussion such as claps, drums and shakers. More instruments are on the way.

How does it make the easier parts?

All by rules, worked out in your browser. The easy melody keeps the note that is sounding on each beat and leaves out the quicker notes. The one-note part plays a single note in each measure that fits that measure’s chord, using only a few different notes. Bass parts play the root (and later the fifth) of each chord. Every part is then checked again by a separate set of rules – for example that every note is inside the instrument’s range and in the right key – before you see it.

Why is my clarinet or saxophone part in a different key?

B♭ and E♭ instruments read different notes from the sound they make. A B♭ clarinet, trumpet or tenor sax sounds a whole step lower than written, so its part is written a whole step higher; an E♭ alto sax is written a major sixth higher. Classfern writes each part in the instrument’s own key, so everyone plays together in tune.

Is anything uploaded or recorded?

No. Music files you open are read on your device and are not uploaded. The microphone is used only in Listen and mark on a student’s own device, only after they press the button, and only to hear which notes they play. Nothing is recorded, saved or sent. Practice links carry their settings inside the link itself.

How do students practice at home?

Press Student links and QR codes. Each part gets a link (and a QR code for the printed sheet) that opens just that part, with the same music, key, speed and backing. Students type the code you give them, such as 7K-04 – never their name – and their results are kept under that code on their own device. Notes that Listen and mark hears are marked by Classfern; anything else they record is shown as self-assessed.

Where does the music come from?

The Classfern tunes are traditional tunes in our own simple versions. The library has over 2,000 out-of-copyright pieces from the Mutopia Project and OpenScore, each shown with its license and credit. You can also open your own MusicXML or MIDI file, a tune from Tune to notes, or a song chart from Chord Player.