Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
02 August 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba
Red Square Upgrade artist impression
Eco-friendly measures will ensure better water management at the University of the Free State.
The first phase of an exciting environmentally focused project to upgrade Red Square between the Johannes Brill Building and the H van der Merwe Scholtz Hall on the Bloemfontein Campus is currently underway.

The project forms part of the water-wise and grey-water initiative of the University of the Free State (UFS) implemented in 2018 in response to climate change and drought conditions in the Free State, and to save water in alignment with global standards of environmental efficiency.

Out with the old, in with the new

Modern architecture will be used at Red Square to project the image of a campus that cares for the environment and believes in sustainable solutions. Phases 1, 2, and 4 of the upgrade will be dealt with during the current project. This will take approximately three months to complete, with the remaining phases to follow. 

The initiative also entails the upgrading of areas with crucial focal points that have a visible impact, such as the traffic circles at the George du Toit and Francois Retief buildings. Vegetation such as artificial grass, stones and drought-resistant plants will be the new signature look for these and other areas. 

Going green 
 
More than 100 indigenous trees will be planted as part of the initiative. This will ensure that all available water sources are used for consumption and for maintaining a healthy ecological footprint.
 
Red Square
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
6
6
7
7
8
8
9
9
10
10
11
11

News Archive

Pianoboost a hit on Google Play Store
2017-03-01

Description: Pianoboost Tags: Pianoboost

Pianoboost is an interactive app developed by
Dr Frelet de Villiers, lecturer in the Odeion School of Music
at the University of the Free State.
Photo: Supplied

“I got the idea after watching my children play Sing Star on PlayStation, where the game can detect how accurately you sing. I realised this could turn my dream into a reality if I looking into the possibility of an app that can do note recognising,” says Dr Frelet de Villiers, developer of the Pianoboost app, about her brainchild.

Dr De Villiers, lecturer in the Odeion School of Music (OSM) at the University of the Free State (UFS), developed this interactive app for piano learners to learn music. She started the developing process three years ago, but the project only got momentum when she  approached LivX, a digital developing company in Pretoria, six months ago.

Useful for other instruments
Pianoboost has been live since 9 February 2017 and already received positive reviews, with a five-star rating on the Google Play Store. “In my experience as piano teacher, I know that learners struggle to learn their notes. They can’t recognise the note on the music sheet and therefore cannot play it on the piano,” says Dr De Villiers. Although this app is developed for piano, it is also successfully used for other instruments like the marimba, violin, and guitar, because it can pick up sounds from almost any instrument.

Ideal for use in academic programme
There are students in the certificate and diploma modules at the OSM who haven’t received any formal music training. Therefore, the app is ideal for them to use. “We have instrument-specific methodology in our degree courses. So, those students could also be exposed to the app for use in their own teaching of young learners,” says Dr De Villiers.

Different features sets app apart
The app, available on Android devices, has instant music recognition and impressive features that already sets it apart from existing learning apps. It is used on a real acoustical piano (you do not need to plug the tablet into a keyboard), has instant note recognition, shows the correct position of the note on the piano when you are wrong, and works like a flash card system, to name a few. “By using the app, you also learn the names of notes whether you played it right or wrong,” says Dr De Villiers.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept