Harmonia is a tool for teaching and learning music theory that uses analytical algorithms to automatically evaluate the harmonies and voice leading of tonal music. Follow this guide to create (and instantly grade) personalized interactive instructional content that combines musical score notation with text, images, audio playback, video, and more.

The Harmonia App opens to a blank white page flanked by a series of icons across the top of the window. The buttons on the right connect users to the Harmonia Cloud, show current user modes, and provide access to document controls; the center buttons include a file pulldown menu and playback controls; and the buttons to the left link to content in the Harmonia Cloud.

Log In To Harmonia Cloud

Click on the white “Sign In” button to connect to the Harmonia Cloud. Follow the directions in the pop-up window to sign in. Once connected, your name will appear in blue in place of the Sign In button. If you are an instructor signed in with a teacher account, the mortarboard icon will be blue. To toggle to student mode, click on the student icon (and watch it turn blue). Note that instructors must be in teacher mode to add content and to enable editing and saving features. If you are an instructor and cannot access the teacher mode, contact Harmonia support to update your account.

Generate Teaching Scores

If you log in with a teacher's account, the Teacher icon will turn blue and the Insert and Teacher menus will be visible in the app. Click the Insert menu to add or generate scores, multiple choice questions, images, and audio and video streaming. The Insert menu contains global commands to help you work in the app. The Teacher menu enables you to toggle between user modes, convert scores to assessments, and reveal where files are stored on your computer so you may quickly access them as necessary.

Add Musical Scores

There are three ways to add musical scores to a page:

1. Select a score from the in-app database of 371 harmonized Bach chorales. To add a Bach chorale, click on Insert menu and select Choose Score… In the popup menu, select Bach Chorales in the pulldown menu and select from the Bach chorale menu. Search by number, title, key, or meter. Double-click on a chorale to add it to the page.
2. Import a musical score in Music XML format. Create a musical example in a music notation program and save it as uncompressed Music XML. In the File menu, select Import MusicXML… Click the Choose… button to locate your file. Fill in the rest of the information in the popup box and click the Import button. Once imported, click on Insert menu and select Choose Score… In the popup menu, select Imported in the drop-down menu near the top of the dialog. Double-click on a score to add it to the page.
3. Use the in-app Score Generators to add a wide variety of instructional score content.

Add Text

Simply start typing to add text to a page. Click the Controls icon at the upper right to open a Text Editor on the right side of the window with basic word processing features and a selection of musical notational symbols. Use text to write instructional content, assignment directions, lessons, etc.

Add Multiple-Choice Questions

Select Multiple Choice from the Insert menu to add gradable questions to the page, providing another way of assessing student comprehension of course content. Type the question and answers directly in the text box on the page, but use the Multiple Choice Editor on the right side of the window to configure various elements. (Click the Controls icon to access the menu if it does not automatically appear.) Determine point values and how many answers may be selected as correct (i.e. does the question require one or more answers?), and how many answers should appear on each line for preferred formatting. There are three answers to type by default, but teachers may add or subtract answer choices by selecting the +/- symbols. Once you have typed the desired number of answers, move your cursor to the correct answer(s) and click the “is Correct Answer” box to enable automatic grading. Click on the up/down arrows to move answer-choice selections to the desired location.

Add Images

Click Choose Image… from the Insert menu to add pictures, charts, graphs, etc. to a page. Harmonia supports a variety of formats including GIF, JPG, and PNG. Use the Image Editor on the right to justify and resize the image. (Click the Controls icon to access the Editor if it does not automatically appear.)

Add Streaming Video

To add video content, follow these steps:

1. Find or upload a video to YouTube or Vimeo and copy the link.
2. In Harmonia, click on Streaming Video in the Insert menu.
3. In the Streaming Video Editor on the right (accessed by clicking the Controls icon if it does not automatically appear), copy-and-paste the selected link.
Click the Test Video button to test the link. A blue video strip icon will appear in the margin beside a text-box cursor.
4. Add text to label or describe the video if desired.
5. Once the document is added to a course in the Harmonia Cloud, users may access the video by clicking on the video strip icon in the margin. Note: Internet connection is required to view video content.

Click here for more information.

Add Streaming Audio

Harmonia features high-quality in-app MIDI playback and supports streaming audio content. To add streaming audio content, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the Harmonia website using a teacher account and select Media Library. (Note: Media Library is only visible when logged in using a teacher account.)
2. Select the gold Add Collection button. Give the collection a title, such as “Week 1 Files” or “Clara Schumann examples” or “Theory 3 Audio”
3. Upload the desired file(s). Give the file(s) a specific title if desired and click the Preview button to test the file. Harmonia accepts a all currently available audio formats so there is no need to convert files first.
4. Use the green up/down arrows to move files around within each collection. If adding multiple collections, use the blue up/down arrows to move collections around to the desired order.
5. In the Harmonia app, log in using a teacher account. From the Insert menu, select Streaming Audio.”
6. Select the desired file from the pulldown list. A blue headphone icon will appear in the margin beside a text box cursor.
7. Add text to label or describe the audio example if desired.
8. Once the document is added to a course in the Harmonia Cloud, users may access the audio by clicking on the headphone icon in the margin. Note: Internet connection is required to hear the audio content. Click here for more information.

Questions?

Visit https://harmonia.cloud to download the free Harmonia app and sign up for a teacher account. To access the Try Harmonia! Demo, download the app and log in as a visitor. Try out a variety of instructional content in the Cloud menu.