Start by opening the MIDI file that corresponds to the piece that you wish to learn (File Menu : Open...). Once the file is open, make sure that you are in Notation View (i.e. the score is displayed on the screen). If you are not in Notation View, click the Notation View button (the one with the bass clef symbol) or select Notation from the View menu.

(Unless you have made changes to the MIDI file settings, the piano part should be visible in Notation View by default. If you see a different part displayed, go to the Settings menu in Home Concert 2000, select Following..., and choose the correct tracks to be displayed. You can bring up the same settings in Home Concert Xtreme by clicking the Preferences button and then clicking the Following button in the Preferences window.)

Before proceeding, be sure to set all of the desired features of the display. To do so in Home Concert 2000, go to the Settings menu and select Notation... (or double-click somewhere in the notation area on the screen). This action will bring up the Notation dialog box. In Home Concert Xtreme, click the Preferences button and then click the General Display button in the Preferences window.

We recommend that you turn on the display of the MIDI keyboard and that you select a comfortable viewing size for the notation.

Lastly, make sure that you are in Learn mode. You can do this by clicking the L button.

Before trying to play your part, it is a good idea to listen to the entire piece, including the accompaniment tracks. To do this, click the Play File button (the button with the 8th note icon). When you do this, you will be able to watch the music and listen to both your part and the accompaniment.

As the MIDI file plays, notice how the page-turning feature works. When you get to the last line on the screen, a "wiper" moves down the page and pauses above the last line. You can see the notes of the current line below the wiper and the notes of the next page above the wiper.

After you have listened to the file, it is your turn to play. Double-click the Rewind button to rewind instantly to the beginning of the piece.

You may choose to play just one hand or both hands. Make your choice by clicking the Hand button that corresponds to the hand(s) that you wish to play.

Next, set a realistic tempo by dragging the Tempo Slider to the left or right as appropriate. If you want to test your setting, you can click and hold the Preview button (the play button with the speaker icon). As long as you hold down this button, Home Concert will play the piece from the current location without moving the location indicator. Playback stops when you release the button.

Tip: To reset the tempo to 100%, double-click the tempo slider.

Now that you are ready to play, click the Play & Follow button (the one with the green triangle) or press the spacebar on your computer keyboard. Home Concert will start playing all active tracks of the MIDI file except for the right and/or left hand tracks that you intend to play.

In this mode, Home Concert expects you to play all of your notes perfectly and at the right time. If you fail to play the expected note(s) on time, Home Concert will pause and wait for you to play the correct note(s). If the on-screen keyboard is visible, Home Concert will show you the expected notes if you get stuck.

We suggest that you set a slow enough tempo that you avoid all pauses during Play & Follow. If necessary, decrease the playback tempo. Once you get used to playing at an appropriately slow tempo without pauses, you can gradually increase the tempo setting and enjoy the challenge of playing a little faster. Be sure to master the notes before proceeding to a faster tempo! Your objective is to play confidently and without pauses.

As you become more and more comfortable playing your part, focus on playing as expressively as you can. Home Concert is capable of tracking your dynamics and adjusting the dynamics of the accompaniment to match your playing.

To make sure that Home Concert is properly set to track your dynamics, go to the Settings menu in Home Concert 2000 and select Following.... In Home Concert Xtreme, click the Preferences button and then click the Following button in the Preferences window.

Under the heading of Volume Tracking, be sure that you have selected Track Soloist's Volume. Next to Volume Sensitivity, make sure that you have chosen a setting other than None. Normal or High are the best settings to try at first. (The ideal setting depends on how your particular keyboard interacts with Home Concert.) Lastly, choose Relative to Solo Track(s) in File.

(The following graphic shows the settings in Home Concert 2000. The same settings are available in Home Concert Xtreme.)

Click the OK button to apply your settings in Home Concert 2000. There is no OK button to click in Home Concert Xtreme.

In order to get a good feel for how Home Concert applies the settings that you have made, try playing the piece again (using Play & Follow) and make exaggerated differences between loud and soft. The accompaniment should respond according to the way that you play.

Once you have developed a feel for how Home Concert works with you in this musical way, play your part using the suggested dynamics that are printed in the music, and focus on creating an interpretation that sounds musical.

Other Practice Suggestions
At any time you can use the Metronome feature or the Loop feature in Learn mode.

Regular Practice using Jam Mode
Once you know your part pretty well and can play confidently between 70% and 100% tempo, try switching to Jam mode (by clicking the J button).

In Jam mode, Home Concert will no longer wait for you. You must keep up with Home Concert! Home Concert will expect you to play in time and will not track your tempo in Jam mode.

Use Jam mode in the same ways that you have used Learn mode. Start with an appropriately slow tempo and gradually increase it as you get more and more confident with your part. Practice hands separately as necessary. If it helps, try turning on the metronome.

Always play expressively. Home Concert will follow your dynamics in a general way when you are in Jam mode if you have made the appropriate settings in the Following dialog box (which you can access by going to the Settings menu and selecting Following...).

Please note that you can have different Following settings for Learn, Jam, and Perform. Although you may have set Volume Tracking to Normal or High for Learn mode, those settings may not be the same for Jam mode. Therefore, we suggest that you check to make sure that your settings are correct for Jam mode.

As you work in Jam mode, use Home Concert's Play Performance feature to evaluate your playing. Try this feature in the following way:

Rewind the piece to the beginning and click the Play & Follow button. Play your part as you normally do. When you get to the end, Home Concert will stop playback automatically. (If you wish to stop before the end, click the Stop button.)

While Play & Follow was engaged, Home Concert was busy recording your performance. As long as you do not start another Play & Follow session, Home Concert will remember the performance that you just completed.

To hear your performance, click the Play Performance button (the one with the keyboard icon). Home Concert will play back your performance along with the accompaniment. Listen carefully to your part. Was your playing in time? Was it expressive?

Additional Practice Suggestions for Jam Mode
During practice, it is often very helpful to pause at the end of a phrase or just before a difficult passage. The purpose of the pause is to allow yourself time to relax, breathe, and to prepare your mind and your hands for the next part.

You can easily introduce these sorts of pauses in Jam mode. Find a place in the music that immediately follows the place where you would like to pause. Insert a Wait-for-Soloist marker at this point.

To insert a Wait-for-Soloist marker on a Windows computer, right-click at this point in the score and choose Wait-for-Soloist from the drop down menu that appears at the point where you clicked.

Note that you must check the box called Observe Special Markers in the Following dialog box for this feature to become active.

Once you have inserted one or more Wait-for-Soloist markers, rewind to the beginning and engage Play & Follow in the normal manner. Notice that when you get to a Wait-for-Soloist marker, Home Concert will pause and wait for you to play the expected note. If you are expected to play a chord at this point, Home Concert will continue playback the moment that you play any single note in the chord.

To use these pauses effectively, be sure that you take as much time as you need at each pause before continuing. As you become more and more comfortable with your part, diminish the length of each pause until it is no longer necessary for you to have these pauses. At that point, you can remove the Wait-for-Soloist markers.

To remove a Wait-for-Soloist marker, go through the same procedure that you used for inserting the marker.

Challenging Yourself with Perform Mode
Perform mode is a mode in which Home Concert can do any or all of the following:

• start playback automatically when you start playing
• stop playback automatically when you stop playing
• follow your dynamics
• follow your tempo
• jump to a new location if you jump
• respond to Special Markers

It is up to you to choose the appropriate settings for these features in the Following dialog box.

When learning new pieces, the most important features to use in Perform mode are Volume Tracking and Tempo Tracking. We recommend that you leave the other features turned off, at least for the purpose of this tutorial.

Start by switching to Perform mode (by clicking the P button). Bring up your Following settings and set Volume Tracking to Track Soloist's Volume, make an appropriate choice for Volume Sensitivity, and choose Relative to Solo Track(s) in File.

For now, leave Start Automatically and Stop Automatically unchecked and set Automatic Jumping to Off. Make sure that you have checked the box for Observe Special Markers and that you have set Tempo Sensitivity to 100%.

Now you are ready to play your piece. Use the tempo slider to set the tempo close to the desired tempo and then start a Play & Follow session. If you play expressively, Home Concert will respond. If you play louder and softer or go faster or slower, Home Concert will respond and do the same.

If, from a musical perspective, your piece demands that you play in strict time, you can give yourself a challenge: Engage Play & Follow and play along as steadily as you can. When you are done, click the Play Performance button. As Home Concert plays back your performance, listen to your performance and watch the tempo indicator. How steady was your playing?

What we call steady playing will usually have a little tempo fluctuation, but the tempo variation should not be large. If your tempo was not steady, try again, and see just how steady you can keep the tempo indicator during Play & Follow.

If your piece calls for ritards or accelerandos, Perform mode is the mode to use. To get a feel for how Home Concert responds to your tempo changes, start by making them very gradual. Each time you play your piece during Play & Follow, you will develop a greater sense of tempo control. As your control increases, you can make your tempo changes less subtle, if appropriate.

Special Markers
When playing pieces that require a lot of rubato, you can improve Home Concert's ability to follow your tempo changes by adding Special Markers. If you want to pause or take extra time at the end of a phrase, add a Wait-for-Soloist marker on the note that immediately follows the pause. If you end a phrase with a ritard and intend to start the next phrase a tempo, add a Restore Tempo marker on the first note of the new phrase.