What this skill is

Improvise a melody on the 5 black keys (C♯ D♯ F♯ G♯ A♯) over an F♯ drone. The pentatonic-on-blacks set sounds good no matter what — we’re not scoring what notes you play. We’re scoring when you play, how varied your phrase is, and whether it has shape (rests + a clean ending).

Common misconception

“If I tap key 1 on every click, I’m doing it.” That’s steady-quarters, not improvisation. The audit splits the criteria into three: timing (taps on the eighth-note grid), variety (≥3 distinct keys at T3, all 5 at T5), and phrase structure (rests + ending on the final click). At T5 you must use all 5 keys with ≥3 rest gaps and end on beat 16.

What counts as “on time”

You’ll hear a click on every quarter — 16beats total. Tap on any click OR on the silent halfway-point (the “and”). A tap counts if it’s within ±20% of either.