Duolingo is bringing its gamified learning style—fun, bite-size sessions on your phone—to music later this year. The new curriculum, which is free with ads and will appear in the original Duolingo app, uses an on-screen piano to teach principles like harmony, meter, pitch, and beat. You learn by interacting with over 200 popular songs (from nursery rhymes to Beethoven’s Ninth), matching sounds to notes and contributing to the larger musical piece. Karen Chow, a Duolingo senior learning scientist, says there’s a misconception that you need innate talent to learn music, but “we’re trying to break those boundaries—you don’t have to feel intimidated.”
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Why Cell Phone Reception Is Getting Worse
- The Dirty Secrets of Alternative Plastics
- Israeli Family Celebrates Release of Hostage Grandmother
- We Should Get Paid for Our Online Data: Column
- The COP28 Outcomes Business Leaders Are Watching For
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2023
- The Top 100 Photos of 2023
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time