Update docs: detection/matching pipeline, new settings, testing

Add reference note duration and wait-for-silence options
- Settings: reference note duration slider (0.5-4s, default 1.5s) applies to ear-training auto-play, sight-reading auto-play and the manual Play Note button/keys alike. - Settings: 'Wait for Silence' toggle holds the next reference note until the mic detects the instrument has gone quiet (a still-ringing string masking the next note was easy to miss). Safety cap of 8s so continuously detectable room noise can't stall the app; without a mic it plays immediately. The quiet state is a boolean dep (not the per-frame pitch object) so the play timer isn't reset 60x/sec. - Gate all live feedback (staff preview, readout, tuner) during speaker playback: the mic inevitably hears the reference note and would briefly leak the target in ear training. Virtual fretboard taps (explicit user input) still display instantly.
2026-11-03 22:03:54 +01:00 · 2026-09-13 19:16:54 +02:00 · 2026-09-13 18:52:33 +02:00 · 2026-09-13 18:52:27 +02:00 · 2026-09-13 18:52:21 +02:00
29 changed files with 1220 additions and 340 deletions
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -7,11 +7,13 @@ A web-based application designed to help musicians practice sight-reading and ea
 ## Features

 -   **Sight Reading Mode**: Read notes from the interactive staff and play them on your instrument. The app listens and confirms when you hit the correct note.
-   **Ear Training Mode**: Listen to a reference note and try to reproduce it.
-   **Real-time Pitch Detection**: Uses your device's microphone to detect notes instantly.
-   **Instrument Support**: Optimized for Guitar and Piano, with configurable tunings for guitar.
+-   **Ear Training Mode**: Listen to a reference note and try to reproduce it. The reference note duration is configurable, and it can optionally wait for your instrument to go quiet before the next one plays.
+-   **Real-time Pitch Detection**: Uses your device's microphone to detect notes instantly, with an analysis window and detector adapted to your instrument.
+-   **Chromatic Tuner**: Tunable needle with cents display, always-on when enabled.
+-   **Instrument Support**: Optimized for Guitar, Bass, Piano, Voice and Whistle, with configurable tunings for guitar and bass.
 -   **Virtual Instruments**: On-screen interactive guitar fretboard and piano keys for visual reference or touch input.
-   **Customizable**: Adjust difficulty (range, accidentals), key signatures, rhythm/metronome settings, and more.
+-   **Customizable**: Difficulty (range, accidentals), key signatures, rhythm/metronome settings, reference note duration, microphone sensitivity, and more.
+-   **Dark & Light Themes**: Full theme support including native form controls.
 -   **Zen Mode**: Distraction-free practice interface.

 ## Getting Started
--- a/TECHNICAL_REALIZATION.md
+++ b/TECHNICAL_REALIZATION.md
@@ -11,8 +11,10 @@ The **Sheet Music Trainer** is a client-side Single Page Application (SPA) built
    - State management is primarily handled via React's `useState` and `useReducer` at the `App` component level, with props drilling for simpler hierarchies.

 2.  **Audio Processing**:
-    - **Pitch Detection**: Utilizes the `pitchfinder` library (YIN algorithm) to detect pitch from the user's microphone in real-time. This processing happens in a dedicated hook/worker to keep the main thread responsive.
-    - **Audio Synthesis**: Uses standard Web Audio API for generating simple tones (sine/triangle waves) for playback and feedback.
+    - **Pitch Detection** (`src/audio/PitchAnalyzer.ts`): Uses the `pitchfinder` library with a detector chosen per instrument range — ACF2PLUS for normal instruments (robust down to ~40 Hz; pitchfinder's YIN returns ~20 kHz garbage below ~100 Hz and on quiet input), YIN only for high registers (whistle). The analysis window adapts to the instrument's lowest note (~2 periods, power of two): roughly half the latency and a quarter of the CPU of the previous fixed 4096-sample window for guitar/piano/voice, while bass keeps the full window for E1. Readings implausibly below the instrument's floor (e.g. mains hum) are rejected. Detection runs on the requestAnimationFrame loop inside `usePitchDetector`, with display-only damping (EMA for cents/level, short note-name hysteresis) applied in the producer.
+    - **Note Matching** (`src/game/MatchTracker.ts`): A note counts as matched when held for `NOTE_MATCH_THRESHOLD_MS` (50 ms), tolerated across brief detection dropouts up to `NOTE_MATCH_GRACE_MS` (150 ms). Pitch detectors flicker during note attacks and decays; a naive consecutive-frame timer resets on every flicker.
+    - **Audio Synthesis** (`src/audio/AudioEngine.ts`): All speaker output goes through a single shared AudioContext (triangle waves). The engine tracks when output may still be audible so the app can ignore its own speaker: while a reference note is sounding (plus a 0.4 s decay tail), microphone-based matching and live feedback are gated — otherwise ear training would score the reference note it just played through the speaker. A suspended AudioContext (autoplay policy) is treated as inaudible so the gate can never deadlock.
+    - **Ear training auto-play**: The next reference note can optionally wait for the microphone to detect silence ("Wait for Silence" setting, 8 s safety cap), and its duration is configurable ("Reference Note Duration", 0.5–4 s).

 3.  **Music Rendering**:
    - **VexFlow**: The standard library for rendering music notation on the web. It is used in the `SheetMusic` component to draw the staff, notes, clefs, and key signatures dynamically based on the current state.
@@ -34,14 +36,23 @@ The **Sheet Music Trainer** is a client-side Single Page Application (SPA) built
 ### UI & Icons
 *   **[Lucide React](https://lucide.dev/)**: A clean and consistent icon library for the interface.

+## Testing
+
+*   **Unit/integration** ([Vitest](https://vitest.dev/)): `src/game/MatchTracker.test.ts` covers the flicker-tolerance matching logic; `src/audio/pitchDetection.test.ts` feeds synthetic instrument-like signals (guitar/bass/piano/whistle, quiet plucks, mains hum) through the exact pipeline helpers used by `PitchAnalyzer`; `src/music/NoteUtils.test.ts` covers note math and key signatures.
+*   **End-to-end**: the microphone can be stubbed in a real browser by replacing `navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia` with a `MediaStreamDestination` fed by a scripted oscillator — frequency ramps simulate tuning, envelopes simulate plucks. This setup (puppeteer-core + system Chrome, headless) reproduced and verified several real bugs: YIN's low-frequency garbage mode, noise-floor amplification freezing the tuner on a "note nobody played", and WebKit/Safari leaving constantly-interrupted CSS transitions visually stuck.
+
 ## Directory Structure

 ```
 src/
-├── components/       # Reusable UI components (SheetMusic, Fretboard, etc.)
-├── hooks/            # Custom React hooks (usePitchDetector, useAudioPlayer, etc.)
+├── audio/            # PitchAnalyzer (detection pipeline), AudioEngine (shared playback + mic gating)
+├── components/        # Reusable UI components (SheetMusic, Fretboard, TuningMeter, etc.)
+├── context/           # Settings context (split into context/Provider/hook files for fast-refresh)
+├── game/              # MatchTracker: flicker-tolerant note-hold matching (unit-tested)
+├── hooks/             # Custom React hooks (usePitchDetector, useGameLogic, useAudioPlayer, etc.)
 ├── music/             # Music logic, tuning definitions, and note utilities
 ├── styles/            # Global styles and component-specific CSS
+├── types/              # Shared TypeScript types + pitchfinder module declarations
 ├── assets/            # Static assets
 ├── App.tsx           # Main application logic and layout
 └── main.tsx          # Entry point
--- a/src/App.css
+++ b/src/App.css
@@ -203,7 +203,18 @@ button {
 .pitch-readout {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
+  justify-content: center;
  min-width: 100px;
+  /* Fixed height: the note display (3rem note + Hz line ≈ 70px) and the
+     "Listening..." placeholder differ in height — without a reserved height
+     everything below this element jumps up and down whenever a note
+     starts or stops sounding. */
+  height: 70px;
+}
+
+.pitch-readout .placeholder {
+  font-size: 0.9rem;
+  color: var(--color-text-muted);
 }

 .detected-note {
@@ -285,10 +296,18 @@ button {
 .control-select {
  padding: var(--spacing-sm);
  border-radius: var(--radius-sm);
-  border: 1px solid #ddd;
+  border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-text-main) 20%, transparent);
  font-family: inherit;
  font-size: 0.9rem;
-  background-color: var(--color-bg);
+  background-color: var(--color-surface);
+  color: var(--color-text-main);
+}
+
+.control-input {
+  color: var(--color-text-main);
+  background-color: var(--color-surface);
+  border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-text-main) 20%, transparent);
+  border-radius: var(--radius-sm);
 }

 .control-button {
@@ -330,7 +349,9 @@ button {
  width: 44px;
  height: 24px;
  border-radius: 99px;
-  background-color: #ddd;
+  /* Themed track: dark in dark mode, gray in light mode
+     (was hardcoded #ddd — glowed in dark mode) */
+  background-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-text-main) 25%, transparent);
  position: relative;
  cursor: pointer;
  transition: background-color 0.2s;
@@ -347,7 +368,8 @@ button {
 .switch-thumb {
  width: 18px;
  height: 18px;
-  background-color: white;
+  /* Themed: contrasts with both the off-track and the active track */
+  background-color: var(--color-surface);
  border-radius: 50%;
  position: absolute;
  left: 3px;
--- a/src/App.tsx
+++ b/src/App.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useState, useEffect, useCallback, useMemo } from 'react';
+import { useState, useEffect, useLayoutEffect, useCallback, useMemo } from 'react';
 import { Logo } from './components/Logo';
 import { LandscapeSuggestion } from './components/LandscapeSuggestion';

@@ -9,9 +9,10 @@ import { SettingsModal } from './components/SettingsModal';
 import { OpenSourceModal } from './components/OpenSourceModal';
 import { usePitchDetector } from './hooks/usePitchDetector';
 import { useAudioPlayer } from './hooks/useAudioPlayer';
-import { useSettings } from './context/SettingsContext';
+import { useSettings } from './context/useSettings';
 import { useGameLogic } from './hooks/useGameLogic';
-import { getNoteDetails } from './music/NoteUtils';
+import { audioEngine } from './audio/AudioEngine';
+import { getNoteDetails, midiToFrequency } from './music/NoteUtils';
 import {
  TUNINGS,
  getFretboardPositions,
@@ -35,9 +36,30 @@ function App() {
  // Alias to keep existing code working with minimal changes
  const setSettings = updateSettings;

-  const { pitchData, error, audioLevel, debugInfo, isListening } = usePitchDetector(listening, settings.micSensitivity);
+  const currentTuning = TUNINGS[settings.tuningId];
+  const currentInstrumentDef = INSTRUMENT_DEFINITIONS[settings.instrument];

-  // Game Logic Hook
+  // Lowest note the instrument can produce: the pitch analysis window adapts
+  // to it (shorter window = lower latency for instruments without deep bass)
+  const instrumentMinMidi = useMemo(() => {
+    let min = Infinity;
+    for (const r of currentInstrumentDef.ranges) {
+      if (r.min !== undefined) min = Math.min(min, r.min);
+    }
+    if (currentTuning) {
+      for (const stringMidi of currentTuning.strings) min = Math.min(min, stringMidi);
+    }
+    return min === Infinity ? 40 : min; // Fallback: guitar low E
+  }, [currentInstrumentDef, currentTuning]);
+
+  // One semitone of margin below the lowest note (detuned strings, flat playing)
+  const { pitchData, error, audioLevel, debugInfo, isListening } = usePitchDetector(
+    listening,
+    settings.micSensitivity,
+    midiToFrequency(instrumentMinMidi - 1)
+  );
+
+  // Game Logic Hook (matching uses the raw detection; display is gated below)
  const {
    targetMidi,
    feedbackMessage,
@@ -47,6 +69,13 @@ function App() {
    handleVirtualInstrumentPlay
  } = useGameLogic(pitchData);

+  // Live feedback shows only what the USER plays. While the app itself makes
+  // sound (ear-training reference note, Play Note, virtual instruments), the
+  // mic picks up the speaker — displaying that would leak the target note in
+  // ear training. The moment playback ends (plus decay tail), the note the
+  // user is playing appears again. Re-evaluated on every detection frame.
+  const displayedPitch = audioEngine.isAudible() ? null : pitchData;
+
  const [isSettingsOpen, setIsSettingsOpen] = useState(false);
  const [isOpenSourceModalOpen, setIsOpenSourceModalOpen] = useState(false);
  const [hoveredMidi, setHoveredMidi] = useState<number | null>(null);
@@ -63,8 +92,12 @@ function App() {
    return () => window.removeEventListener('resize', handleResize);
  }, []);

-  // Theme support
-  useEffect(() => {
+  // Theme support — MUST be a layout effect: children (e.g. SheetMusic) read the
+  // resolved theme colors from getComputedStyle inside their own passive
+  // effects. Layout effects run before any passive effects, so the
+  // data-theme attribute is applied by the time they read it — otherwise the
+  // rendered notation lags one theme switch behind.
+  useLayoutEffect(() => {
    const root = document.documentElement;
    const theme = settings.theme || 'auto';
    if (theme === 'auto') {
@@ -94,9 +127,6 @@ function App() {
    }
  }, []);

-  const currentTuning = TUNINGS[settings.tuningId];
-  const currentInstrumentDef = INSTRUMENT_DEFINITIONS[settings.instrument];
-
  // Resolve overrides
  const currentRangeDef = useMemo(() => {
    return currentInstrumentDef.ranges.find(r => r.id === settings.difficulty);
@@ -128,7 +158,7 @@ function App() {
          break;
        case 'r': // Replay
        case 'p': // Play
-          playNote(targetMidi, 1.0);
+          playNote(targetMidi, settings.referenceNoteDuration ?? 1.5, settings.autoPlayVolume ?? 0.5);
          break;
        case 'm': // Toggle Game Mode
          setSettings(s => ({
@@ -157,7 +187,9 @@ function App() {

    window.addEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown);
    return () => window.removeEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown);
-  }, [settings.zenMode, showHelp, generateNewNote, playNote, targetMidi]);
+    // `settings` (not individual fields): the handler reads several settings
+    // (gameMode, referenceNoteDuration, ...) and re-attaching a listener is cheap.
+  }, [settings, showHelp, generateNewNote, playNote, targetMidi, setSettings]);

  // Hint text construction
  const hintPositions = useMemo(() => {
@@ -181,10 +213,12 @@ function App() {
    return getFretboardPositions(targetMidi, currentTuning);
  }, [settings.showHint, settings.showFretboard, targetMidi, currentTuning, currentInstrumentDef]);

-  // Auto-enable mic when tuner is turned on
+  // Auto-enable mic when tuner is turned on (rAF defers the state update
+  // out of the effect phase to avoid cascading renders)
  useEffect(() => {
    if (settings.showTuningMeter && !listening) {
-      setListening(true);
+      const id = requestAnimationFrame(() => setListening(true));
+      return () => cancelAnimationFrame(id);
    }
  }, [settings.showTuningMeter, listening]);

@@ -250,7 +284,9 @@ function App() {
          <div className="sheet-music-container">
            <SheetMusic
              targetMidi={targetMidi}
-              playedMidi={virtualNote ?? pitchData?.midi}
+              // Virtual fretboard taps are explicit user input and always
+              // show; the mic preview is gated during speaker playback.
+              playedMidi={virtualNote ?? displayedPitch?.midi}
              keySignature={settings.keySignature}
              clef={activeClef}
              transpose={activeTranspose}
@@ -262,6 +298,7 @@ function App() {
              }
              hideTargetNote={settings.gameMode === 'ear_training' && !revealed}
              hoverMidi={settings.showHint ? hoveredMidi : null}
+              theme={settings.theme}
            />
          </div>

@@ -354,7 +391,7 @@ function App() {

              <button
                className="hint-button"
-                onClick={() => playNote(targetMidi, 1.0)}
+                onClick={() => playNote(targetMidi, settings.referenceNoteDuration ?? 1.5, settings.autoPlayVolume ?? 0.5)}
                title="Keyboard Shortcut: P or R"
              >
                <Volume2 size={18} />
@@ -382,13 +419,13 @@ function App() {
                {listening ? <Mic size={28} /> : <MicOff size={28} />}
              </button>

-              <div className={`pitch-readout ${pitchData ? 'active' : ''}`}>
-                {pitchData ? (
+              <div className={`pitch-readout ${displayedPitch ? 'active' : ''}`}>
+                {displayedPitch ? (
                  <>
-                    <span className={`detected-note ${pitchData.midi === targetMidi ? 'match' : ''}`}>
-                      {pitchData.note}
+                    <span className={`detected-note ${displayedPitch.midi === targetMidi ? 'match' : ''}`}>
+                      {displayedPitch.note}
                    </span>
-                    <span className="detected-hz">{Math.round(pitchData.frequency)} Hz</span>
+                    <span className="detected-hz">{Math.round(displayedPitch.frequency)} Hz</span>
                  </>
                ) : (
                  <span className="placeholder">{listening ? "Listening..." : "Mic Off"}</span>
@@ -402,7 +439,7 @@ function App() {
      {!settings.zenMode && (
        <footer className="settings-footer">
          <Controls
-            currentPitch={pitchData ? { note: pitchData.note, cents: pitchData.cents } : null}
+            currentPitch={displayedPitch ? { note: displayedPitch.note, cents: displayedPitch.cents } : null}
          />
          <div className="app-subtitle">
            <button className="link-button" onClick={() => setIsOpenSourceModalOpen(true)}>Open Source Libraries</button>
--- a/src/AppConfig.ts
+++ b/src/AppConfig.ts
@@ -2,10 +2,73 @@
 * Global application configuration
 */

-// How long (in ms) a note must be held to be accepted as correct
-// How long (in ms) a note must be held to be accepted as correct
+// How long (in ms) the target note must be detected to count as correct.
+// Protects against spurious single-frame detections.
 export const NOTE_MATCH_THRESHOLD_MS = 50;

+// Grace period (in ms): brief detection dropouts or wrong frames while holding
+// a note do NOT reset the match timer. Pitch detectors (YIN) routinely flicker
+// for a frame or two during note attacks and decays; a hard reset on every
+// flicker makes the threshold above feel broken ("shows green but won't register").
+export const NOTE_MATCH_GRACE_MS = 150;
+
+// How long (in ms) after speaker playback ends that mic-based matching stays
+// gated, so the app doesn't "hear itself" (ear-training auto-play, Play Note
+// button, virtual instruments).
+export const PLAYBACK_GATE_TAIL_MS = 400;
+
+// Safety cap for the "wait for silence" option: if the mic never goes quiet
+// (continuously detectable sound in the room), the next reference note plays
+// anyway after this delay so the app can't stall indefinitely.
+export const REFERENCE_QUIET_MAX_WAIT_MS = 8000;
+
+// Display smoothing (exponential moving average factor, 0-1) applied to the
+// cents reading and the audio level in the detection loop (~60 fps). Keeps
+// the tuner needle and level meter readable without CSS transitions — a
+// transition on a value that changes every frame is interrupted 60x per
+// second, which Safari/WebKit handles by leaving the element stuck.
+// 0.25 ≈ 80ms effective smoothing: damps jitter but stays very responsive.
+export const DISPLAY_EMA_FACTOR = 0.25;
+
+// How many consecutive detection frames a different note must persist before
+// the displayed note name switches (~50ms at 60fps). Prevents the note name
+// from flickering between adjacent notes when playing right at a semitone
+// boundary. Matching is unaffected (it uses the raw midi value).
+export const NOTE_DISPLAY_STABLE_FRAMES = 3;
+
+// How long (in ms) the last detected pitch is kept on screen after the signal
+// disappears, before the readout is cleared. Prevents flicker between frames
+// without leaving stale notes hanging forever.
+export const PITCH_READING_HOLD_MS = 200;
+
+// Pitch analysis window (samples @ AudioContext rate).
+// The analyzer adapts the window down from BUFFER_SIZE based on the lowest
+// frequency that must be detected (~2 periods minimum). Smaller window =
+// lower latency and 4x less CPU per analysis. 4096 covers bass E1 (~41 Hz).
+export const PITCH_BUFFER_SIZE = 4096;
+export const PITCH_MIN_WINDOW = 1024;
+
+// Fallback for the lowest detectable frequency before the app configures
+// the actual instrument range. ~70 Hz covers guitar low E with margin.
+export const PITCH_DEFAULT_LOWEST_HZ = 70;
+
+// Instruments whose lowest note is at/above this frequency use YIN instead of
+// ACF2PLUS: ACF2PLUS picks subharmonics above ~2 kHz, while YIN's weakness
+// below ~100 Hz is irrelevant for high registers (e.g. whistle).
+export const PITCH_HIGH_REGISTER_HZ = 300;
+
+// Target RMS for normalizing the analysis buffer before pitch detection
+// (YIN/high-register path only — see selectDetector in PitchAnalyzer).
+// pitchfinder's YIN force-sets yinBuffer[1] = 1 before normalization, so at
+// low absolute amplitudes its difference function gets dwarfed and it latches
+// onto tau=2 (~20 kHz garbage). A constant operating level fixes this.
+export const PITCH_NORMALIZE_TARGET_RMS = 0.3;
+
+// Detected pitches below (instrument floor × this factor) are rejected as
+// implausible — e.g. 50/60 Hz mains hum showing up as a confident wrong note
+// while a guitar (floor ~78 Hz) is not playing. ~4 semitones of margin.
+export const PITCH_BELOW_FLOOR_REJECT_FACTOR = 2 ** (-4 / 12); // ≈ 0.794
+
 // Microphone Sensitivity Configuration
 // Sensitivity Scale: 0.0 (Low) to 1.0 (High)
 // Linear mapping to dB thresholds
--- a/src/audio/AudioEngine.ts
+++ b/src/audio/AudioEngine.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+import { midiToFrequency } from '../music/NoteUtils';
+import { PLAYBACK_GATE_TAIL_MS } from '../AppConfig';
+
+/**
+ * Create an AudioContext with a typed webkit fallback (older Safari).
+ */
+export function createAudioContext(): AudioContext {
+    const Ctor =
+        window.AudioContext ??
+        (window as unknown as { webkitAudioContext: typeof AudioContext }).webkitAudioContext;
+    return new Ctor({ latencyHint: 'interactive' });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Shared audio playback engine (singleton).
+ *
+ * All speaker output goes through a single AudioContext (previously App and
+ * useGameLogic each created their own via separate useAudioPlayer instances).
+ * Playback is tracked so pitch detection can ignore the microphone while the
+ * app is audible — otherwise the app hears its own reference notes through
+ * the speaker and scores them as correct (ear-training feedback loop).
+ */
+class AudioEngine {
+    private ctx: AudioContext | null = null;
+    /** ctx.currentTime (seconds) until which output may still be audible, incl. gate tail */
+    private audibleUntil = 0;
+
+    private ensureContext(): AudioContext {
+        if (!this.ctx) {
+            this.ctx = createAudioContext();
+        }
+        if (this.ctx.state === 'suspended') {
+            void this.ctx.resume();
+        }
+        return this.ctx;
+    }
+
+    playNote(midi: number, duration = 0.5, volume = 0.3): void {
+        const ctx = this.ensureContext();
+
+        const osc = ctx.createOscillator();
+        const gainNode = ctx.createGain();
+
+        osc.frequency.value = midiToFrequency(midi);
+        // Triangle wave is often nicer than sine for music training
+        osc.type = 'triangle';
+
+        osc.connect(gainNode);
+        gainNode.connect(ctx.destination);
+
+        const now = ctx.currentTime;
+
+        // Attack
+        gainNode.gain.setValueAtTime(0, now);
+        gainNode.gain.linearRampToValueAtTime(volume, now + 0.02);
+        // Sustain -> Release
+        gainNode.gain.exponentialRampToValueAtTime(0.001, now + duration);
+
+        osc.start(now);
+        osc.stop(now + duration + 0.1); // Stop slightly after fade out
+
+        // The note decays to -60dB at `now + duration`; keep the mic gated for
+        // an additional tail so room reverb / speaker bleed can't self-trigger.
+        this.audibleUntil = Math.max(
+            this.audibleUntil,
+            now + duration + PLAYBACK_GATE_TAIL_MS / 1000
+        );
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * True while speaker output (plus gate tail) may still be audible at the
+     * microphone. Mic-based note matching should be ignored during this time.
+     *
+     * A suspended AudioContext (autoplay policy, no user gesture yet) reports
+     * currentTime = 0 forever — without the state check the gate would be
+     * stuck "audible" permanently and matching would never engage.
+     */
+    isAudible(): boolean {
+        if (!this.ctx || this.ctx.state !== 'running') return false;
+        return this.ctx.currentTime < this.audibleUntil;
+    }
+}
+
+export const audioEngine = new AudioEngine();
--- a/src/audio/PitchAnalyzer.ts
+++ b/src/audio/PitchAnalyzer.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
-import { YIN } from "pitchfinder";
-import { MIC_SENSITIVITY_DB_RANGE, AUDIO_CONSTRAINTS } from "../AppConfig";
+import { YIN, ACF2PLUS } from "pitchfinder";
+import {
+    MIC_SENSITIVITY_DB_RANGE,
+    AUDIO_CONSTRAINTS,
+    PITCH_BUFFER_SIZE,
+    PITCH_MIN_WINDOW,
+    PITCH_DEFAULT_LOWEST_HZ,
+    PITCH_HIGH_REGISTER_HZ,
+    PITCH_NORMALIZE_TARGET_RMS,
+    PITCH_BELOW_FLOOR_REJECT_FACTOR,
+} from "../AppConfig";
+import { createAudioContext } from "./AudioEngine";

 export interface MicrophoneDebugInfo {
    audioContextState: AudioContextState | 'inactive';
@@ -12,13 +22,85 @@ export interface MicrophoneDebugInfo {
    isCapturing: boolean;
 }

+export type PitchDetectorFn = (buffer: Float32Array) => number | null;
+
+export interface DetectorSpec {
+    detector: PitchDetectorFn;
+    /** Whether the analysis buffer must be RMS-normalized before detection */
+    normalize: boolean;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Smallest power-of-two analysis window that still fits ~2 periods of the
+ * lowest required frequency. Smaller window = lower latency and ~4x less CPU
+ * per analysis frame. Clamped to [PITCH_MIN_WINDOW, PITCH_BUFFER_SIZE].
+ */
+export function chooseAnalysisWindowSize(sampleRate: number, lowestHz: number): number {
+    const needed = Math.ceil((2 * sampleRate) / lowestHz);
+    const pow2 = 2 ** Math.ceil(Math.log2(Math.max(1, needed)));
+    return Math.max(PITCH_MIN_WINDOW, Math.min(PITCH_BUFFER_SIZE, pow2));
+}
+
+/**
+ * Pick a detector for the instrument's range.
+ *
+ * pitchfinder's YIN force-sets yinBuffer[1] = 1 before cumulative
+ * normalization, which makes its absolute-threshold search latch onto tau=2
+ * (~20 kHz garbage) for low fundamentals — below ~100 Hz it is unreliable no
+ * matter the window size. ACF2PLUS is robust from ~40 Hz up to ~2 kHz, but
+ * tends to pick subharmonics above that. So: ACF2PLUS for normal instruments,
+ * YIN only for high registers (e.g. whistle) where its low-end weakness is
+ * irrelevant.
+ *
+ * Only the YIN path gets normalized input: ACF2PLUS has an internal
+ * "rms < 0.01 -> unpitched" gate that must see the RAW signal — normalizing
+ * first would amplify room hum/noise floors into confident wrong pitches
+ * (the tuner then appears "stuck" on a note nobody played).
+ */
+export function selectDetector(sampleRate: number, lowestHz: number): DetectorSpec {
+    if (lowestHz >= PITCH_HIGH_REGISTER_HZ) {
+        return { detector: YIN({ sampleRate }), normalize: true };
+    }
+    return { detector: ACF2PLUS({ sampleRate }), normalize: false };
+}
+
+/** Kept for backwards compatibility with existing tests. */
+export function createPitchDetector(sampleRate: number, lowestHz: number): PitchDetectorFn {
+    return selectDetector(sampleRate, lowestHz).detector;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Scale the buffer in place to a constant RMS operating level (clamped to
+ * [-1, 1]). Detectors are sensitive to absolute amplitude; without this,
+ * quiet low-frequency input makes YIN return ~20 kHz nonsense.
+ */
+export function normalizeSignal(buffer: Float32Array, targetRms?: number): void {
+    let rms = 0;
+    for (let i = 0; i < buffer.length; i++) rms += buffer[i] * buffer[i];
+    rms = Math.sqrt(rms / buffer.length);
+    if (rms < 1e-6) return;
+    const target = targetRms ?? PITCH_NORMALIZE_TARGET_RMS;
+    const gain = target / rms;
+    for (let i = 0; i < buffer.length; i++) {
+        const v = buffer[i] * gain;
+        buffer[i] = v > 1 ? 1 : v < -1 ? -1 : v;
+    }
+}
+
 export class PitchAnalyzer {
-    private detector: (buffer: Float32Array) => number | null;
+    private detector: PitchDetectorFn | null = null;
+    private normalizeInput = false;
    private audioContext: AudioContext | null = null;
    private analyser: AnalyserNode | null = null;
    private mediaStream: MediaStream | null = null;
    private source: MediaStreamAudioSourceNode | null = null;
-    private buffer: Float32Array;
+
+    /** Full-size backing buffer (fftSize samples) */
+    private buffer = new Float32Array(PITCH_BUFFER_SIZE);
+    /** Tail-view into `buffer`; only the most recent windowSize samples are analyzed */
+    private window: Float32Array<ArrayBuffer> = this.buffer;
+    private windowSize = PITCH_BUFFER_SIZE;
+    private lowestFrequency = PITCH_DEFAULT_LOWEST_HZ;

    // Debug info
    private inputDeviceLabel: string = 'Not detected';
@@ -26,11 +108,6 @@ export class PitchAnalyzer {
    private permissionState: PermissionState | 'unknown' = 'unknown';
    private currentRmsLevel: number = 0;

-    constructor() {
-        this.detector = YIN({ sampleRate: 44100 }); // Default, will update on start
-        this.buffer = new Float32Array(2048); // Standard size
-    }
-
    private sensitivityThreshold = 0.03; // Default

    /**
@@ -49,6 +126,43 @@ export class PitchAnalyzer {
        this.sensitivityThreshold = Math.pow(10, db / 20);
    }

+    /**
+     * Configure the lowest frequency that must be detectable (Hz) and shrink
+     * the analysis window accordingly.
+     *
+     * Pitch detection needs ~2 periods of the target frequency in the window.
+     * A fixed 4096-sample window always analyzes ~90ms of audio history, which
+     * makes the tuner feel sluggish. Guitar/piano/voice (>= ~65 Hz) only need
+     * 2048 samples (~45ms) — half the latency at a quarter of the CPU cost.
+     * Bass (E1 ~ 41 Hz) keeps the full 4096 window.
+     */
+    setLowestFrequency(hz: number) {
+        if (hz > 0) {
+            this.lowestFrequency = hz;
+            this.updateWindowSize();
+            this.rebuildDetector();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private updateWindowSize() {
+        if (!this.audioContext) return; // applied on start()
+        const size = chooseAnalysisWindowSize(this.audioContext.sampleRate, this.lowestFrequency);
+        if (size !== this.windowSize) {
+            this.windowSize = size;
+            // View over the tail of the backing buffer: getFloatTimeDomainData
+            // fills it with the most recent `size` samples.
+            const byteOffset = (PITCH_BUFFER_SIZE - size) * Float32Array.BYTES_PER_ELEMENT;
+            this.window = new Float32Array(this.buffer.buffer, byteOffset, size);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private rebuildDetector() {
+        if (!this.audioContext) return; // applied on start()
+        const spec = selectDetector(this.audioContext.sampleRate, this.lowestFrequency);
+        this.detector = spec.detector;
+        this.normalizeInput = spec.normalize;
+    }
+
    async start(): Promise<void> {
        if (this.audioContext) return;

@@ -63,8 +177,9 @@ export class PitchAnalyzer {
            this.permissionState = 'unknown';
        }

-        this.audioContext = new (window.AudioContext || (window as any).webkitAudioContext)();
-        this.detector = YIN({ sampleRate: this.audioContext.sampleRate });
+        this.audioContext = createAudioContext();
+        this.updateWindowSize();
+        this.rebuildDetector();

        try {
            // Use configured audio constraints
@@ -98,8 +213,7 @@ export class PitchAnalyzer {

            this.source = this.audioContext.createMediaStreamSource(this.mediaStream);
            this.analyser = this.audioContext.createAnalyser();
-            this.analyser.fftSize = 4096; // Higher FFT size for better resolution at low frequencies
-            this.buffer = new Float32Array(this.analyser.fftSize);
+            this.analyser.fftSize = PITCH_BUFFER_SIZE; // Large buffer; analyzed window adapts per instrument

            this.source.connect(this.analyser);

@@ -123,6 +237,9 @@ export class PitchAnalyzer {
            this.audioContext.close();
            this.audioContext = null;
        }
+        this.detector = null;
+        this.analyser = null;
+        this.source = null;
        this.currentRmsLevel = 0;
        this.inputDeviceLabel = 'Not detected';
        this.inputDeviceId = '';
@@ -159,26 +276,43 @@ export class PitchAnalyzer {
     * getPitch returns the detected frequency in Hz, or null if no pitch detected
     */
    getPitch(): number | null {
-        if (!this.analyser) return null;
-        this.analyser.getFloatTimeDomainData(this.buffer as any);
+        if (!this.analyser || !this.detector) return null;
+        // Always copy the full fftSize buffer (universally supported usage),
+        // then analyze only the tail view = most recent windowSize samples.
+        // (Passing an undersized array directly relies on browser-specific
+        // behavior of getFloatTimeDomainData.)
+        this.analyser.getFloatTimeDomainData(this.buffer);

-        // Simple RMS volume check to avoid noise
+        // Simple RMS volume check to avoid noise (on the analyzed window)
        let rms = 0;
-        for (let i = 0; i < this.buffer.length; i++) {
-            rms += this.buffer[i] * this.buffer[i];
+        for (let i = 0; i < this.window.length; i++) {
+            rms += this.window[i] * this.window[i];
        }
-        rms = Math.sqrt(rms / this.buffer.length);
+        rms = Math.sqrt(rms / this.window.length);

        // Store RMS for level meter
        this.currentRmsLevel = rms;

        if (rms < this.sensitivityThreshold) return null;

-        const pitch = this.detector(this.buffer);
+        // Normalize only on the YIN/high-register path. ACF2PLUS must see the
+        // raw signal so its internal "rms < 0.01 -> unpitched" gate keeps
+        // rejecting quiet decayed audio instead of amplifying it into a
+        // confident wrong pitch.
+        if (this.normalizeInput) {
+            normalizeSignal(this.window);
+        }
+
+        const pitch = this.detector(this.window);

        // Widen range for Bass (E1 ~41Hz, but A0 is 27.5Hz) and Whistle (C8 ~4186Hz, Harmonics go higher)
        // Range 25Hz - 8000Hz covers Piano A0 to well above highest fundamental
-        if (pitch && (pitch < 25 || pitch > 8000)) return null;
+        // (Also filters out the -1 some detectors return for "unpitched".)
+        if (pitch === null || pitch < 25 || pitch > 8000) return null;
+
+        // Implausible for the current instrument (e.g. 50/60 Hz mains hum
+        // while playing guitar): reject readings far below the configured floor.
+        if (pitch < this.lowestFrequency * PITCH_BELOW_FLOOR_REJECT_FACTOR) return null;

        return pitch;
    }
--- a/src/audio/pitchDetection.test.ts
+++ b/src/audio/pitchDetection.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import {
+    chooseAnalysisWindowSize,
+    selectDetector,
+    normalizeSignal,
+} from './PitchAnalyzer';
+import {
+    PITCH_BUFFER_SIZE,
+    PITCH_MIN_WINDOW,
+    PITCH_BELOW_FLOOR_REJECT_FACTOR,
+} from '../AppConfig';
+
+/**
+ * Regression tests for the pitch detection pipeline.
+ *
+ * pitchfinder's YIN returns ~20 kHz garbage for low fundamentals (its
+ * forced yinBuffer[1] = 1 breaks the absolute-threshold search below
+ * ~100 Hz) and for quiet input. The app therefore uses ACF2PLUS for normal
+ * instruments, YIN only for high registers, and normalizes the analysis
+ * buffer to a constant RMS. These tests synthesize instrument-like signals
+ * (fundamental + harmonics + pluck decay, deterministic) and run them
+ * through the exact helpers PitchAnalyzer uses.
+ */
+
+/** Deterministic instrument-like test signal (no RNG → no flaky tests). */
+function synth(freq: number, sampleRate: number, length: number, amp: number): Float32Array {
+    const buf = new Float32Array(length);
+    for (let i = 0; i < length; i++) {
+        const t = i / sampleRate;
+        const env = Math.exp(-t * 3); // pluck-like decay
+        buf[i] = amp * env * (
+            Math.sin(2 * Math.PI * freq * t) +
+            0.5 * Math.sin(2 * Math.PI * freq * 2 * t) +
+            0.25 * Math.sin(2 * Math.PI * freq * 3 * t) +
+            0.1 * Math.sin(2 * Math.PI * freq * 4 * t) +
+            0.02 * Math.sin(2 * Math.PI * 7.13 * i / length) // deterministic "noise" dither
+        );
+    }
+    return buf;
+}
+
+/** Mirror of PitchAnalyzer.getPitch, minus microphone plumbing. */
+function detect(freq: number, sampleRate: number, lowestHz: number, amp = 0.3): number | null {
+    const size = chooseAnalysisWindowSize(sampleRate, lowestHz);
+    const buffer = synth(freq, sampleRate, size, amp);
+    const { detector, normalize } = selectDetector(sampleRate, lowestHz);
+    if (normalize) normalizeSignal(buffer);
+    const pitch = detector(buffer);
+    if (pitch === null || pitch < 25 || pitch > 8000) return null;
+    if (pitch < lowestHz * PITCH_BELOW_FLOOR_REJECT_FACTOR) return null;
+    return pitch;
+}
+
+function expectCloseTo(actual: number | null, expected: number) {
+    expect(actual).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(Math.abs(actual! - expected) / expected).toBeLessThan(0.03);
+}
+
+describe('chooseAnalysisWindowSize', () => {
+    it('adapts to the instrument floor', () => {
+        // Guitar low E2 (~78 Hz w/ margin) -> half window at 48k
+        expect(chooseAnalysisWindowSize(48000, 77.8)).toBe(2048);
+        // Bass low E1 (~39 Hz w/ margin) -> full window
+        expect(chooseAnalysisWindowSize(48000, 38.9)).toBe(PITCH_BUFFER_SIZE);
+        // Whistle register -> minimum window
+        expect(chooseAnalysisWindowSize(48000, 622)).toBe(PITCH_MIN_WINDOW);
+    });
+});
+
+describe('pitch detection across instruments (sample rate 48000)', () => {
+    const SR = 48000;
+
+    it('guitar (low E2)', () => {
+        const floor = 77.8; // E2 minus one semitone
+        expectCloseTo(detect(82.4, SR, floor), 82.4);   // E2 — the regression case
+        expectCloseTo(detect(110.0, SR, floor), 110);   // A2
+        expectCloseTo(detect(329.6, SR, floor), 329.6); // E4
+    });
+
+    it('guitar at low input level (quiet pluck tail)', () => {
+        expectCloseTo(detect(82.4, SR, 77.8, 0.05), 82.4);
+        expectCloseTo(detect(440, SR, 77.8, 0.05), 440);
+    });
+
+    it('bass (low E1)', () => {
+        const floor = 38.9;
+        expectCloseTo(detect(41.2, SR, floor), 41.2);  // E1 — broken even before the rewrite
+        expectCloseTo(detect(55.0, SR, floor), 55);    // A1
+    });
+
+    it('piano', () => {
+        const floor = 61.7; // C2 minus one semitone
+        expectCloseTo(detect(65.4, SR, floor), 65.4);   // C2
+        expectCloseTo(detect(261.6, SR, floor), 261.6); // C4
+        expectCloseTo(detect(1046.5, SR, floor), 1046.5); // C6
+    });
+
+    it('whistle register (uses YIN, small window)', () => {
+        const floor = 622; // E5 minus one semitone
+        expectCloseTo(detect(659.3, SR, floor), 659.3);   // E5
+        expectCloseTo(detect(2093.0, SR, floor), 2093);   // C7
+        expectCloseTo(detect(4186.0, SR, floor), 4186);   // C8
+    });
+});
+
+describe('pitch detection (sample rate 44100)', () => {
+    it('still works', () => {
+        expectCloseTo(detect(82.4, 44100, 77.8), 82.4);
+        expectCloseTo(detect(41.2, 44100, 38.9), 41.2);
+        expectCloseTo(detect(440, 44100, 77.8), 440);
+    });
+});
+
+describe('normalizeSignal', () => {
+    it('scales to the target RMS', () => {
+        const buf = synth(440, 48000, 2048, 0.02);
+        normalizeSignal(buf, 0.3);
+        let rms = 0;
+        for (const v of buf) rms += v * v;
+        rms = Math.sqrt(rms / buf.length);
+        expect(rms).toBeGreaterThan(0.2); // ~0.3 modulo decay envelope shape
+    });
+
+    it('leaves silence untouched', () => {
+        const buf = new Float32Array(1024);
+        normalizeSignal(buf);
+        expect(buf.every(v => v === 0)).toBe(true);
+    });
+});
+
+describe('noise-floor rejection (tuner freeze regression)', () => {
+    const SR = 48000;
+
+    it('rejects 50 Hz mains hum for guitar (floor ~78 Hz)', () => {
+        expect(detect(50, SR, 77.8)).toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('rejects 60 Hz mains hum for guitar', () => {
+        expect(detect(60, SR, 77.8)).toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('rejects hum for the whistle register too', () => {
+        expect(detect(50, SR, 622)).toBeNull();
+        expect(detect(120, SR, 622)).toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('returns null for very quiet decayed signal instead of a confident wrong pitch', () => {
+        // Raw RMS ~0.003: below ACF2PLUS's internal unpitched gate.
+        // (Normalization must NOT rescue this into a bogus reading.)
+        expect(detect(82.4, SR, 77.8, 0.005)).toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('still detects the string when it rings at moderate level', () => {
+        expectCloseTo(detect(82.4, SR, 77.8, 0.05), 82.4);
+    });
+});
--- a/src/components/Controls.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Controls.tsx
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { INSTRUMENT_DEFINITIONS } from '../music/InstrumentConfigs';
 import { getTempoMarking } from '../music/TempoMarkings';
 import { TuningMeter } from './TuningMeter';

-import { useSettings } from '../context/SettingsContext';
+import { useSettings } from '../context/useSettings';
 import { type Difficulty, type RhythmSettings } from '../types/SettingsTypes';


@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ export const Controls: React.FC<ControlsProps> = ({ currentPitch }) => {
                                    value={settings.customMinFret ?? 0}
                                    onChange={(e) => onUpdateSettings({ ...settings, customMinFret: parseInt(e.target.value) || 0 })}
                                    className="control-input"
-                                    style={{ width: '100%', padding: '4px', borderRadius: '4px', border: '1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.2)', background: 'rgba(0,0,0,0.2)', color: 'white' }}
+                                    style={{ width: '100%', padding: '4px' }}
                                />
                            </div>
                            <div style={{ flex: 1, display: 'flex', alignItems: 'center', gap: '4px' }}>
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ export const Controls: React.FC<ControlsProps> = ({ currentPitch }) => {
                                    value={settings.customMaxFret ?? 12}
                                    onChange={(e) => onUpdateSettings({ ...settings, customMaxFret: parseInt(e.target.value) || 0 })}
                                    className="control-input"
-                                    style={{ width: '100%', padding: '4px', borderRadius: '4px', border: '1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.2)', background: 'rgba(0,0,0,0.2)', color: 'white' }}
+                                    style={{ width: '100%', padding: '4px' }}
                                />
                            </div>
                        </div>
@@ -204,14 +204,12 @@ export const Controls: React.FC<ControlsProps> = ({ currentPitch }) => {
                            <div className="switch-thumb" />
                        </button>
                    </div>
-                    {settings.showTuningMeter && currentPitch && (
-                        <div style={{ paddingTop: '8px', borderTop: '1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.1)' }}>
-                            <TuningMeter cents={currentPitch.cents} noteName={currentPitch.note} />
-                        </div>
-                    )}
-                    {settings.showTuningMeter && !currentPitch && (
-                        <div style={{ paddingTop: '8px', borderTop: '1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.1)', fontSize: '11px', opacity: 0.5, textAlign: 'center' }}>
-                            Listening...
+                    {settings.showTuningMeter && (
+                        <div style={{ paddingTop: '8px', borderTop: '1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-text-main) 10%, transparent)' }}>
+                            <TuningMeter
+                                cents={currentPitch ? currentPitch.cents : null}
+                                noteName={currentPitch ? currentPitch.note : null}
+                            />
                        </div>
                    )}
                </div>
@@ -266,11 +264,7 @@ export const Controls: React.FC<ControlsProps> = ({ currentPitch }) => {
                                            style={{
                                                width: '48px',
                                                textAlign: 'center',
-                                                padding: '2px',
-                                                borderRadius: '4px',
-                                                border: '1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.2)',
-                                                background: 'rgba(0,0,0,0.2)',
-                                                color: 'white'
+                                                padding: '2px'
                                            }}
                                        />
                                        <button
--- a/src/components/PianoKeys.tsx
+++ b/src/components/PianoKeys.tsx
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ export function PianoKeys({
        // Sort specifically so black keys are last (on top in SVG z-order)
        return rects.sort((a, b) => (a.isBlack === b.isBlack) ? 0 : a.isBlack ? 1 : -1);

-    }, [keys, whiteKeyWidth, viewMode]);
+    }, [keys, whiteKeyWidth]);


    return (
--- a/src/components/SettingsModal.tsx
+++ b/src/components/SettingsModal.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import React, { useState } from 'react';
-import { X, Volume2, VolumeX, ChevronDown, ChevronUp, Mic, MicOff, Sun, Moon, Monitor } from 'lucide-react';
+import { X, Volume2, VolumeX, ChevronDown, ChevronUp, Mic, MicOff, Sun, Moon, Monitor, Clock } from 'lucide-react';
 import type { AppSettings } from '../types/SettingsTypes';
 import { MIC_SENSITIVITY_DB_RANGE, MIC_DEFAULT_SENSITIVITY } from '../AppConfig';
 import type { MicrophoneDebugInfo } from '../hooks/usePitchDetector';
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ interface SettingsModalProps {
 const LevelMeter: React.FC<{ level: number; isActive: boolean }> = ({ level, isActive }) => {
    // Convert RMS to dB for display, then normalize to 0-100%
    // RMS of 0.001 = -60dB, RMS of 1.0 = 0dB
+    // `level` is already EMA-smoothed in the detection loop — no CSS transition
+    // here (a transition on a value that changes every frame gets interrupted
+    // 60x/sec, which Safari/WebKit handles by leaving the bar stuck).
    const db = level > 0 ? 20 * Math.log10(level) : -120;

    // Map full range from -100dB to 0dB => 0% to 100%
@@ -47,8 +50,7 @@ const LevelMeter: React.FC<{ level: number; isActive: boolean }> = ({ level, isA
                    height: '100%',
                    width: `${percentage}%`,
                    background: percentage > 80 ? '#ef4444' : percentage > 50 ? '#f59e0b' : '#22c55e',
-                    borderRadius: '6px',
-                    transition: 'width 0.05s ease-out'
+                    borderRadius: '6px'
                }} />
            </div>
            <span style={{ fontSize: '11px', opacity: 0.7, minWidth: '45px', textAlign: 'right' }}>
@@ -91,7 +93,7 @@ export const SettingsModal: React.FC<SettingsModalProps> = ({
                        ].map(mode => (
                            <button
                                key={mode.id}
-                                onClick={() => onUpdateSettings({ ...settings, theme: mode.id as any })}
+                                onClick={() => onUpdateSettings({ ...settings, theme: mode.id as AppSettings['theme'] })}
                                style={{
                                    flex: 1,
                                    display: 'flex',
@@ -213,6 +215,52 @@ export const SettingsModal: React.FC<SettingsModalProps> = ({
                        : "Automatically plays the note audio when a new note appears."}
                </p>

+                {/* Reference note duration */}
+                <div className="control-group" style={{ marginTop: '16px' }}>
+                    <div style={{ display: 'flex', alignItems: 'center', justifyContent: 'space-between', marginBottom: '8px' }}>
+                        <label className="control-label" style={{ marginBottom: 0, fontSize: '16px' }}>
+                            <span>Reference Note Duration</span>
+                        </label>
+                        <span style={{ fontSize: '14px', fontWeight: 600, minWidth: '40px', textAlign: 'right' }}>
+                            {settings.referenceNoteDuration ?? 1.5}s
+                        </span>
+                    </div>
+                    <div style={{ display: 'flex', alignItems: 'center', gap: '12px' }}>
+                        <Clock size={20} style={{ opacity: 0.7 }} />
+                        <input
+                            type="range"
+                            min="0.5"
+                            max="4"
+                            step="0.25"
+                            value={settings.referenceNoteDuration ?? 1.5}
+                            onChange={(e) => onUpdateSettings({ ...settings, referenceNoteDuration: parseFloat(e.target.value) })}
+                            style={{ flex: 1 }}
+                            aria-label="Reference note duration"
+                        />
+                    </div>
+                </div>
+
+                {/* Wait for silence before the next reference note */}
+                <div className="control-group" style={{ marginTop: '16px' }}>
+                    <div style={{ display: 'flex', alignItems: 'center', justifyContent: 'space-between', marginBottom: '8px' }}>
+                        <label className="control-label" style={{ marginBottom: 0, fontSize: '16px' }}>
+                            <span>Wait for Silence</span>
+                        </label>
+                        <button
+                            className={`switch-button ${settings.waitForQuiet ? 'active' : ''}`}
+                            onClick={() => onUpdateSettings({ ...settings, waitForQuiet: !settings.waitForQuiet })}
+                            title={settings.waitForQuiet ? "Play the next reference note immediately" : "Hold the next reference note until you stop playing"}
+                            aria-label="Wait for silence"
+                        >
+                            <div className="switch-thumb" />
+                        </button>
+                    </div>
+                    <p style={{ fontSize: '12px', opacity: 0.7, margin: 0 }}>
+                        Holds the next reference note until your instrument has gone quiet,
+                        so a still-ringing string can't mask it. (Requires the microphone.)
+                    </p>
+                </div>
+
                <hr style={{ borderColor: 'rgba(255,255,255,0.1)', margin: '24px 0' }} />

                {/* Microphone Toggle */}
--- a/src/components/SheetMusic.tsx
+++ b/src/components/SheetMusic.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import React, { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
+import React, { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
 import { Renderer, Stave, StaveNote, Accidental, Voice, Formatter, StaveConnector, GhostNote, Annotation } from 'vexflow';
 import { getNoteInKey } from '../music/NoteUtils';

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ interface SheetMusicProps {
    keySignature?: string;
    hideTargetNote?: boolean;
    hoverMidi?: number | null;
+    theme?: 'light' | 'dark' | 'auto';
 }

 export const SheetMusic: React.FC<SheetMusicProps> = ({
@@ -24,10 +25,23 @@ export const SheetMusic: React.FC<SheetMusicProps> = ({
    transpose = 12, // Default to +1 octave (Guitar Notation)
    keySignature = 'C',
    hideTargetNote = false,
-    hoverMidi = null
+    hoverMidi = null,
+    theme = 'auto'
 }) => {
    const containerRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);

+    // SVG presentation attributes cannot resolve CSS var() (VexFlow writes
+    // colors as `fill="..."` attributes), so the actual color is read from
+    // getComputedStyle at draw time. Re-render when the theme changes —
+    // including system scheme flips while theme === 'auto'.
+    const [schemeVersion, setSchemeVersion] = useState(0);
+    useEffect(() => {
+        const mq = window.matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)');
+        const onChange = () => setSchemeVersion(v => v + 1);
+        mq.addEventListener('change', onChange);
+        return () => mq.removeEventListener('change', onChange);
+    }, []);
+
    useEffect(() => {
        if (!containerRef.current) return;

@@ -38,9 +52,24 @@ export const SheetMusic: React.FC<SheetMusicProps> = ({
        renderer.resize(width, height);
        const context = renderer.getContext();

-        // IMPORTANT: Set global styles for the context to ensure everything draws with correct color
-        context.setFillStyle("var(--color-text-main)");
-        context.setStrokeStyle("var(--color-text-main)");
+        // IMPORTANT: resolve the theme color to a concrete value — SVG
+        // attributes don't support var(). Without this the notation falls
+        // back to black, which is unreadable in dark mode.
+        const resolvedColor =
+            getComputedStyle(document.documentElement)
+                .getPropertyValue('--color-text-main')
+                .trim() || '#333333';
+
+        // Set global styles for the context to ensure everything draws with correct color
+        context.setFillStyle(resolvedColor);
+        context.setStrokeStyle(resolvedColor);
+
+        // VexFlow hardcodes ledger lines ("the extra lines" above/below the
+        // staff) to a dark gray default that is unreadable in dark mode.
+        // getDefaultLedgerLineStyle() merges this default OVER the stave style,
+        // so it must be overridden explicitly on every stave we create.
+        const ledgerStyle = { strokeStyle: resolvedColor, lineWidth: 2 };
+        const applyLedgerStyle = (stave: Stave) => stave.setDefaultLedgerLineStyle(ledgerStyle);

        // --- Helper: Decide which clef a note belongs to in Grand Staff ---
        const getGrandStaffClef = (midi: number): 'treble' | 'bass' => {
@@ -72,11 +101,13 @@ export const SheetMusic: React.FC<SheetMusicProps> = ({
        if (clef === 'grand') {
            // Measure 1: Treble
            const m1Treble = new Stave(startX, trebleY, measureWidth);
+            applyLedgerStyle(m1Treble);
            m1Treble.addClef('treble').addKeySignature(keySignature);
            m1Treble.setContext(context).draw();

            // Measure 1: Bass
            const m1Bass = new Stave(startX, bassY, measureWidth);
+            applyLedgerStyle(m1Bass);
            m1Bass.addClef('bass').addKeySignature(keySignature);
            m1Bass.setContext(context).draw();

@@ -99,6 +130,7 @@ export const SheetMusic: React.FC<SheetMusicProps> = ({
            if (numMeasures === 2) {
                // Measure 2: Treble
                const m2Treble = new Stave(startX + measureWidth, trebleY, measureWidth);
+                applyLedgerStyle(m2Treble);
                // No clef/key sig repeated typically for just next measure in same system, 
                // UNLESS it's a new system. Here it's same system.
                // But VexFlow might require setting context context.
@@ -106,6 +138,7 @@ export const SheetMusic: React.FC<SheetMusicProps> = ({

                // Measure 2: Bass
                const m2Bass = new Stave(startX + measureWidth, bassY, measureWidth);
+                applyLedgerStyle(m2Bass);
                m2Bass.setContext(context).draw();

                stavesMeasure2 = { treble: m2Treble, bass: m2Bass };
@@ -126,6 +159,7 @@ export const SheetMusic: React.FC<SheetMusicProps> = ({
            // Single Stave
            const staveY = isCompact ? 10 : 30;
            const m1Stave = new Stave(startX, staveY, measureWidth);
+            applyLedgerStyle(m1Stave);
            m1Stave.addClef(clef).addKeySignature(keySignature);
            m1Stave.setContext(context).draw();

@@ -133,6 +167,7 @@ export const SheetMusic: React.FC<SheetMusicProps> = ({

            if (numMeasures === 2) {
                const m2Stave = new Stave(startX + measureWidth, staveY, measureWidth);
+                applyLedgerStyle(m2Stave);
                m2Stave.setContext(context).draw();
                stavesMeasure2 = { [clef]: m2Stave };
            }
@@ -157,7 +192,7 @@ export const SheetMusic: React.FC<SheetMusicProps> = ({
            });

            // Set styles
-            staveNote.setStyle({ fillStyle: "var(--color-text-main)", strokeStyle: "var(--color-text-main)" });
+            staveNote.setStyle({ fillStyle: resolvedColor, strokeStyle: resolvedColor });

            if (data.accidental) {
                const accidental = new Accidental(data.accidental);
@@ -166,7 +201,7 @@ export const SheetMusic: React.FC<SheetMusicProps> = ({

            if (type === 'played') {
                // Always use default style (text color), no green/red distinction
-                staveNote.setStyle({ fillStyle: "var(--color-text-main)", strokeStyle: "var(--color-text-main)" });
+                staveNote.setStyle({ fillStyle: resolvedColor, strokeStyle: resolvedColor });
            }

            return { note: staveNote, clef: noteClef };
@@ -235,7 +270,7 @@ export const SheetMusic: React.FC<SheetMusicProps> = ({
        });


-    }, [targetMidi, playedMidi, hoverMidi, clef, width, height, transpose, keySignature, hideTargetNote]);
+    }, [targetMidi, playedMidi, hoverMidi, clef, width, height, transpose, keySignature, hideTargetNote, theme, schemeVersion]);

    return <div ref={containerRef} className="sheet-music-container" />;
 };
--- a/src/components/TuningMeter.css
+++ b/src/components/TuningMeter.css
@@ -1,21 +1,31 @@
+/* Theme-aware colors: the tuner renders on a translucent surface in both
+   themes, so all tints derive from --color-text-main instead of hardcoding
+   white (unreadable in light mode) or black (unreadable in dark mode). */
+
 .tuning-meter-container {
    display: flex;
    flex-direction: column;
    align-items: center;
    width: 260px;
-    background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);
+    background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-text-main) 6%, transparent);
    padding: 12px;
    border-radius: 12px;
    backdrop-filter: blur(4px);
-    border: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1);
+    border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-text-main) 10%, transparent);
    margin-top: 10px;
+    transition: opacity 0.2s ease;
+}
+
+/* No-signal state: widget stays visible but clearly idle */
+.tuning-meter-container.inactive {
+    opacity: 0.45;
 }

 .meter-scale {
    position: relative;
    width: 100%;
    height: 24px;
-    background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1);
+    background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-text-main) 10%, transparent);
    border-radius: 12px;
    margin-bottom: 8px;
    overflow: hidden;
@@ -25,7 +35,7 @@
    position: absolute;
    top: 4px;
    font-size: 10px;
-    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.5);
+    color: var(--color-text-muted);
    transform: translateX(-50%);
 }

@@ -47,7 +57,8 @@
    top: 0;
    bottom: 0;
    width: 2px;
-    background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.3);
+    background: var(--color-text-muted);
+    opacity: 0.35;
    transform: translateX(-50%);
    z-index: 1;
 }
@@ -57,35 +68,55 @@
    top: 0;
    bottom: 0;
    width: 4px;
-    background: white;
+    background: var(--color-text-main);
    transform: translateX(-50%);
-    transition: left 0.1s ease-out;
+    /* No CSS transition: `left` is updated directly on every detection
+       frame (~60 fps). Interrupting/restarting a transition 60x per second
+       is handled poorly by some engines (Safari leaves the needle stuck). */
    z-index: 2;
    border-radius: 2px;
-    box-shadow: 0 0 8px rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.5);
+    box-shadow: 0 0 8px color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-text-main) 50%, transparent);
 }

+/* Status colors — the theme's mid-luminance success/warning/error vars are
+   readable on light AND dark backgrounds */
 .meter-needle.perfect {
-    background-color: #4ade80;
-    box-shadow: 0 0 10px #4ade80;
+    background-color: var(--color-success);
+    box-shadow: 0 0 10px var(--color-success);
 }

-/* Tailwind Green-400 */
 .meter-needle.good {
-    background-color: #86efac;
+    background-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-success) 60%, var(--color-text-main));
 }

-/* Tailwind Green-300 */
 .meter-needle.okay {
-    background-color: #facc15;
+    background-color: var(--color-warning);
 }

-/* Tailwind Yellow-400 */
 .meter-needle.poor {
-    background-color: #f87171;
+    background-color: var(--color-error);
 }

-/* Tailwind Red-400 */
+.tuning-readout .cents-value.perfect {
+    color: var(--color-success);
+}
+
+.tuning-readout .cents-value.good {
+    color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-success) 60%, var(--color-text-main));
+}
+
+.tuning-readout .cents-value.okay {
+    color: var(--color-warning);
+}
+
+.tuning-readout .cents-value.poor {
+    color: var(--color-error);
+}
+
+.tuning-meter-container.inactive .meter-needle {
+    background: var(--color-text-muted);
+    box-shadow: none;
+}

 .tuning-readout {
    display: flex;
@@ -97,22 +128,10 @@
 .tuning-readout .note-name {
    font-size: 1.25rem;
    font-weight: bold;
-    color: white;
+    color: var(--color-text-main);
 }

 .tuning-readout .cents-value {
    font-size: 0.9rem;
-    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);
-}
-
-.tuning-readout .cents-value.perfect {
-    color: #4ade80;
-}
-
-.tuning-readout .cents-value.okay {
-    color: #facc15;
-}
-
-.tuning-readout .cents-value.poor {
-    color: #f87171;
+    color: var(--color-text-muted);
 }
--- a/src/components/TuningMeter.tsx
+++ b/src/components/TuningMeter.tsx
@@ -1,36 +1,40 @@
-
 import React from 'react';
 import './TuningMeter.css';

 interface TuningMeterProps {
-    cents: number; // Deviation in cents from nearest note (-50 to +50 usually)
-    noteName: string; // The detected note name (e.g. "A4")
+    /** Deviation in cents from nearest note (-50 to +50 usually), already
+     *  smoothed by the detection loop (display-only value). Null = no signal. */
+    cents: number | null;
+    /** The detected note name (e.g. "A4"). Null = no signal. */
+    noteName: string | null;
 }

 export const TuningMeter: React.FC<TuningMeterProps> = ({ cents, noteName }) => {
-    // Clamp cents for display (-50 to 50)
-    const clampedCents = Math.max(-50, Math.min(50, cents));
+    const hasSignal = cents !== null && noteName !== null;

-    // Map -50..50 to 0..100% for position
-    // -50 cents -> 0%
-    // 0 cents -> 50%
-    // 50 cents -> 100%
+    // Clamp for display (-50 to 50), then map to 0..100%.
+    // No CSS transition: cents updates every detection frame (~60 fps) and is
+    // EMA-smoothed upstream — see usePitchDetector / AppConfig. When there is
+    // no signal the needle parks in the middle and the widget dims.
+    const clampedCents = Math.max(-50, Math.min(50, cents ?? 0));
    const positionPercent = ((clampedCents + 50) / 100) * 100;

-    // Color determination
+    // Status color reacts instantly to the raw (unsmoothed) value
    let statusClass = 'neutral';
-    if (Math.abs(cents) < 5) {
+    if (hasSignal) {
+        if (Math.abs(cents!) < 5) {
            statusClass = 'perfect'; // Green
-    } else if (Math.abs(cents) < 15) {
+        } else if (Math.abs(cents!) < 15) {
            statusClass = 'good'; // Green-ish
-    } else if (Math.abs(cents) < 30) {
+        } else if (Math.abs(cents!) < 30) {
            statusClass = 'okay'; // Yellow
        } else {
            statusClass = 'poor'; // Red
        }
+    }

    return (
-        <div className="tuning-meter-container">
+        <div className={`tuning-meter-container ${hasSignal ? '' : 'inactive'}`}>
            <div className="meter-scale">
                <div className="tick tick-left">-50</div>
                <div className="tick tick-center">0</div>
@@ -39,7 +43,7 @@ export const TuningMeter: React.FC<TuningMeterProps> = ({ cents, noteName }) =>
                {/* Center Marker Line */}
                <div className="center-line"></div>

-                {/* The Needle/Indicator */}
+                {/* The Needle/Indicator — position updated directly per frame */}
                <div
                    className={`meter-needle ${statusClass}`}
                    style={{ left: `${positionPercent}%` }}
@@ -48,9 +52,9 @@ export const TuningMeter: React.FC<TuningMeterProps> = ({ cents, noteName }) =>
                </div>
            </div>
            <div className="tuning-readout">
-                <span className="note-name">{noteName}</span>
+                <span className="note-name">{hasSignal ? noteName : '—'}</span>
                <span className={`cents-value ${statusClass}`}>
-                    {cents > 0 ? '+' : ''}{Math.round(cents)} ct
+                    {hasSignal ? `${cents! > 0 ? '+' : ''}${Math.round(cents!)} ct` : '—'}
                </span>
            </div>
        </div>
--- a/src/context/SettingsContext.tsx
+++ b/src/context/SettingsContext.tsx
@@ -1,36 +0,0 @@
-import React, { createContext, useContext, useState, type ReactNode } from 'react';
-import { type AppSettings, DEFAULT_SETTINGS } from '../types/SettingsTypes';
-
-interface SettingsContextType {
-    settings: AppSettings;
-    updateSettings: (newSettings: AppSettings | ((prev: AppSettings) => AppSettings)) => void;
-    updateSetting: <K extends keyof AppSettings>(key: K, value: AppSettings[K]) => void;
-}
-
-const SettingsContext = createContext<SettingsContextType | undefined>(undefined);
-
-export const SettingsProvider: React.FC<{ children: ReactNode }> = ({ children }) => {
-    const [settings, setSettings] = useState<AppSettings>(DEFAULT_SETTINGS);
-
-    const updateSettings = (newSettings: AppSettings | ((prev: AppSettings) => AppSettings)) => {
-        setSettings(newSettings);
-    };
-
-    const updateSetting = <K extends keyof AppSettings>(key: K, value: AppSettings[K]) => {
-        setSettings(prev => ({ ...prev, [key]: value }));
-    };
-
-    return (
-        <SettingsContext.Provider value={{ settings, updateSettings, updateSetting }}>
-            {children}
-        </SettingsContext.Provider>
-    );
-};
-
-export const useSettings = () => {
-    const context = useContext(SettingsContext);
-    if (context === undefined) {
-        throw new Error('useSettings must be used within a SettingsProvider');
-    }
-    return context;
-};
--- a/src/context/SettingsProvider.tsx
+++ b/src/context/SettingsProvider.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+import React, { useCallback, useMemo, useState, type ReactNode } from 'react';
+import { type AppSettings, DEFAULT_SETTINGS } from '../types/SettingsTypes';
+import { SettingsContext, type SettingsContextType } from './settings-context';
+
+export const SettingsProvider: React.FC<{ children: ReactNode }> = ({ children }) => {
+    const [settings, setSettings] = useState<AppSettings>(DEFAULT_SETTINGS);
+
+    // Stable identities so consumers can safely use these in effect deps
+    const updateSettings = useCallback<SettingsContextType['updateSettings']>((newSettings) => {
+        setSettings(newSettings);
+    }, []);
+
+    const updateSetting = useCallback<SettingsContextType['updateSetting']>((key, value) => {
+        setSettings(prev => ({ ...prev, [key]: value }));
+    }, []);
+
+    const value = useMemo<SettingsContextType>(
+        () => ({ settings, updateSettings, updateSetting }),
+        [settings, updateSettings, updateSetting]
+    );
+
+    return (
+        <SettingsContext.Provider value={value}>
+            {children}
+        </SettingsContext.Provider>
+    );
+};
--- a/src/context/settings-context.ts
+++ b/src/context/settings-context.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+import { createContext } from 'react';
+import { type AppSettings } from '../types/SettingsTypes';
+
+export interface SettingsContextType {
+    settings: AppSettings;
+    updateSettings: (newSettings: AppSettings | ((prev: AppSettings) => AppSettings)) => void;
+    updateSetting: <K extends keyof AppSettings>(key: K, value: AppSettings[K]) => void;
+}
+
+export const SettingsContext = createContext<SettingsContextType | undefined>(undefined);
--- a/src/context/useSettings.ts
+++ b/src/context/useSettings.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+import { useContext } from 'react';
+import { SettingsContext } from './settings-context';
+
+export const useSettings = () => {
+    const context = useContext(SettingsContext);
+    if (context === undefined) {
+        throw new Error('useSettings must be used within a SettingsProvider');
+    }
+    return context;
+};
--- a/src/game/MatchTracker.test.ts
+++ b/src/game/MatchTracker.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { MatchTracker } from './MatchTracker';
+
+const THRESHOLD = 50;
+const GRACE = 150;
+
+describe('MatchTracker', () => {
+    it('does not trigger before the threshold', () => {
+        const t = new MatchTracker(THRESHOLD, GRACE);
+        expect(t.update(true, 0)).toBe(false);
+        expect(t.update(true, 49)).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('triggers once the threshold is reached', () => {
+        const t = new MatchTracker(THRESHOLD, GRACE);
+        expect(t.update(true, 0)).toBe(false);
+        expect(t.update(true, 50)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('triggers exactly once, then starts fresh', () => {
+        const t = new MatchTracker(THRESHOLD, GRACE);
+        t.update(true, 0);
+        expect(t.update(true, 60)).toBe(true);
+        // After triggering, tracker is reset: next frame must not re-trigger
+        expect(t.update(true, 70)).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('survives a brief dropout within the grace period', () => {
+        const t = new MatchTracker(THRESHOLD, GRACE);
+        t.update(true, 0);          // start matching
+        t.update(false, 30);        // one flickered frame
+        expect(t.update(true, 60)).toBe(true); // 60ms elapsed > 50ms threshold
+    });
+
+    it('survives several short dropouts', () => {
+        const t = new MatchTracker(THRESHOLD, GRACE);
+        t.update(true, 0);
+        t.update(false, 16);
+        t.update(true, 32);
+        t.update(false, 48);
+        expect(t.update(true, 64)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('resets when the interruption exceeds the grace period', () => {
+        const t = new MatchTracker(THRESHOLD, GRACE);
+        t.update(true, 0);
+        t.update(false, 10);
+        // 200ms of silence later the user plays the note again:
+        // must NOT inherit the 200ms-old start time (that would fire instantly)
+        expect(t.update(true, 210)).toBe(false);
+        expect(t.update(true, 259)).toBe(false);
+        expect(t.update(true, 260)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('resets when a wrong note persists beyond grace', () => {
+        const t = new MatchTracker(THRESHOLD, GRACE);
+        t.update(true, 0);
+        t.update(false, 20);
+        t.update(false, 200);       // wrong note held: grace exceeded
+        expect(t.update(true, 210)).toBe(false); // restart from ~210
+        expect(t.update(true, 261)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('never triggers on non-matching frames alone', () => {
+        const t = new MatchTracker(THRESHOLD, GRACE);
+        expect(t.update(false, 0)).toBe(false);
+        expect(t.update(false, 1000)).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('handles frames arriving long after the last one (throttled tab)', () => {
+        const t = new MatchTracker(THRESHOLD, GRACE);
+        // No frames for a while, then a single matching frame: fresh start.
+        expect(t.update(true, 5000)).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('reset() clears accumulated progress', () => {
+        const t = new MatchTracker(THRESHOLD, GRACE);
+        t.update(true, 0);
+        t.update(true, 40);
+        t.reset();
+        expect(t.update(true, 50)).toBe(false); // restarted at 50
+        expect(t.update(true, 100)).toBe(true);
+    });
+});
--- a/src/game/MatchTracker.ts
+++ b/src/game/MatchTracker.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+/**
+ * Tracks whether a target note has been held long enough to count as a match.
+ *
+ * Pitch detection flickers: YIN regularly drops a frame or reports a wrong
+ * octave for 1-2 frames during note attacks and decays. A naive "consecutive
+ * frames" timer resets on every flicker, so the note display shows green
+ * while the match timer keeps restarting and success never fires.
+ *
+ * This tracker instead tolerates mismatches/dropouts up to `graceMs`:
+ * progress survives short interruptions, but an interruption longer than
+ * the grace period resets the timer. The timer only *advances* on matching
+ * frames, so success can never fire during silence or a wrong note.
+ */
+export class MatchTracker {
+    private readonly thresholdMs: number;
+    private readonly graceMs: number;
+    private matchStart: number | null = null;
+    private mismatchSince: number | null = null;
+
+    constructor(thresholdMs: number, graceMs: number) {
+        this.thresholdMs = thresholdMs;
+        this.graceMs = graceMs;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Feed one detection frame.
+     *
+     * @param matching whether the detected pitch currently equals the target
+     * @param now      timestamp in ms (e.g. Date.now())
+     * @returns true exactly once when the note has been held for thresholdMs
+     */
+    update(matching: boolean, now: number): boolean {
+        if (matching) {
+            const interruptedTooLong =
+                this.mismatchSince !== null && now - this.mismatchSince > this.graceMs;
+
+            if (this.matchStart === null || interruptedTooLong) {
+                this.matchStart = now;
+            }
+            this.mismatchSince = null;
+
+            if (now - this.matchStart >= this.thresholdMs) {
+                this.reset();
+                return true;
+            }
+        } else if (this.matchStart !== null && this.mismatchSince === null) {
+            // Start of a potential interruption. Whether it is fatal is decided
+            // lazily on the next matching frame, so no timer callback is needed
+            // when no frames arrive at all.
+            this.mismatchSince = now;
+        }
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    /** Forget all accumulated progress (e.g. when the target note changes). */
+    reset(): void {
+        this.matchStart = null;
+        this.mismatchSince = null;
+    }
+}
--- a/src/hooks/useAudioPlayer.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/useAudioPlayer.ts
@@ -1,61 +1,18 @@
-import { useRef, useEffect, useCallback } from 'react';
-import { midiToFrequency } from '../music/NoteUtils';
+import { useCallback } from 'react';
+import { audioEngine } from '../audio/AudioEngine';

 interface AudioPlayerHandle {
    playNote: (midi: number, duration?: number, volume?: number) => void;
 }

+/**
+ * Thin hook wrapper around the shared AudioEngine singleton.
+ * All playback goes through one AudioContext and is tracked there, so pitch
+ * detection can gate itself while the app's own speaker output is audible.
+ */
 export function useAudioPlayer(): AudioPlayerHandle {
-    const audioContext = useRef<AudioContext | null>(null);
-
-    // Initialize AudioContext lazily or on user interaction if possible, 
-    // but here we just ensure it exists when we try to play.
-
    const playNote = useCallback((midi: number, duration: number = 0.5, volume: number = 0.3) => {
-        if (!audioContext.current) {
-            audioContext.current = new (window.AudioContext || (window as any).webkitAudioContext)();
-        }
-
-        const ctx = audioContext.current;
-        if (ctx.state === 'suspended') {
-            ctx.resume();
-        }
-
-        const osc = ctx.createOscillator();
-        const gainNode = ctx.createGain();
-
-        const freq = midiToFrequency(midi);
-
-        osc.frequency.value = freq;
-        // Triangle wave is often nicer than sine for music training
-        osc.type = 'triangle';
-
-        osc.connect(gainNode);
-        gainNode.connect(ctx.destination);
-
-        const now = ctx.currentTime;
-
-        // Attack
-        gainNode.gain.setValueAtTime(0, now);
-        gainNode.gain.linearRampToValueAtTime(volume, now + 0.02);
-
-        // Sustain -> Release
-        // Note: For a "pluck" or single hit, we just ramp down.
-        gainNode.gain.exponentialRampToValueAtTime(0.001, now + duration);
-
-        osc.start(now);
-        osc.stop(now + duration + 0.1); // Stop slightly after fade out
-
-    }, []);
-
-    // Cleanup
-    useEffect(() => {
-        return () => {
-            if (audioContext.current) {
-                audioContext.current.close();
-                audioContext.current = null;
-            }
-        };
+        audioEngine.playNote(midi, duration, volume);
    }, []);

    return { playNote };
--- a/src/hooks/useGameLogic.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/useGameLogic.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 import { useState, useEffect, useCallback, useMemo, useRef } from 'react';
-import { useSettings } from '../context/SettingsContext';
+import { useSettings } from '../context/useSettings';
 import { useAudioPlayer } from './useAudioPlayer';
 import { useMetronome } from './useMetronome';
+import { audioEngine } from '../audio/AudioEngine';
+import { MatchTracker } from '../game/MatchTracker';
 import {
    getRandomNote,
    getNoteDetails
@@ -12,7 +14,11 @@ import {
    getFirstPositionNotes,
 } from '../music/Tunings';
 import { INSTRUMENT_DEFINITIONS } from '../music/InstrumentConfigs';
-import { NOTE_MATCH_THRESHOLD_MS } from '../AppConfig';
+import {
+    NOTE_MATCH_THRESHOLD_MS,
+    NOTE_MATCH_GRACE_MS,
+    REFERENCE_QUIET_MAX_WAIT_MS,
+} from '../AppConfig';

 export const useGameLogic = (
    pitchData: { midi: number; note: string; cents: number; frequency: number } | null
@@ -21,12 +27,14 @@ export const useGameLogic = (
    const { playNote } = useAudioPlayer();

    const [targetMidi, setTargetMidi] = useState<number>(60);
-    const [matchStartTime, setMatchStartTime] = useState<number | null>(null);
    const [feedbackMessage, setFeedbackMessage] = useState<string>("");
    const [revealed, setRevealed] = useState(false);
    const [virtualNote, setVirtualNote] = useState<number | null>(null);
    const feedbackTimeoutRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null);

+    // Flicker-tolerant match timer: brief detection dropouts don't reset progress
+    const [tracker] = useState(() => new MatchTracker(NOTE_MATCH_THRESHOLD_MS, NOTE_MATCH_GRACE_MS));
+
    // --- Valid Notes Calculation ---
    const currentTuning = TUNINGS[settings.tuningId];
    const currentInstrumentDef = INSTRUMENT_DEFINITIONS[settings.instrument];
@@ -94,19 +102,18 @@ export const useGameLogic = (
        const min = validNotes[0];
        const max = validNotes[validNotes.length - 1];

-        const newNote = getRandomNote(min, max, validNotes);
-        if (newNote === targetMidi && validNotes.length > 1) {
-            const retry = getRandomNote(min, max, validNotes);
-            setTargetMidi(retry);
-        } else {
-            setTargetMidi(newNote);
-        }
-        setMatchStartTime(null);
+        // Avoid repeating the previous note (a single retry could still land on it)
+        const candidates = validNotes.length > 1
+            ? validNotes.filter(n => n !== targetMidi)
+            : validNotes;
+        setTargetMidi(getRandomNote(min, max, candidates));
+
+        tracker.reset();
        if (!keepFeedback) {
            setFeedbackMessage("");
        }
        setRevealed(false);
-    }, [validNotes, targetMidi]);
+    }, [validNotes, targetMidi, tracker]);

    // --- Metronome Logic ---
    const effectiveBpm = useMemo(() => {
@@ -129,16 +136,54 @@ export const useGameLogic = (
    });

    // --- Audio Auto-Play ---
-    useEffect(() => {
-        const shouldAutoPlay = settings.gameMode === 'ear_training' || (settings.gameMode === 'sight_reading' && settings.autoPlaySightReading);
+    // Boolean summary of "is the mic currently detecting a sounding note".
+    // The effect below depends on this BOOLEAN rather than on `pitchData`
+    // itself (which is a new object every frame — it would reset the 100ms
+    // play timer 60 times per second and the note would never play).
+    const isMicQuiet = pitchData === null;
+
+    // Remembers which target the reference note was already played for,
+    // so re-running the effect (e.g. the quiet-state flipping) can't play it twice.
+    const autoPlayedForRef = useRef<number | null>(null);
+
+    useEffect(() => {
+        const shouldAutoPlay =
+            settings.gameMode === 'ear_training' ||
+            (settings.gameMode === 'sight_reading' && settings.autoPlaySightReading);
+
+        if (!shouldAutoPlay || revealed) return;
+        if (autoPlayedForRef.current === targetMidi) return; // already played
+
+        const duration = settings.referenceNoteDuration ?? 1.5;
+        const volume = settings.autoPlayVolume ?? 0.5;
+
+        // "Wait for silence": hold the next reference note while the user's
+        // instrument is still ringing, so it can't mask the new note.
+        if (settings.waitForQuiet && !isMicQuiet) {
+            const cap = setTimeout(() => {
+                if (autoPlayedForRef.current === targetMidi) return;
+                autoPlayedForRef.current = targetMidi;
+                playNote(targetMidi, duration, volume);
+            }, REFERENCE_QUIET_MAX_WAIT_MS);
+            return () => clearTimeout(cap);
+        }

-        if (shouldAutoPlay && !revealed) {
        const timer = setTimeout(() => {
-                playNote(targetMidi, 1.0, settings.autoPlayVolume ?? 0.5);
+            autoPlayedForRef.current = targetMidi;
+            playNote(targetMidi, duration, volume);
        }, 100);
        return () => clearTimeout(timer);
-        }
-    }, [targetMidi, settings.gameMode, settings.autoPlaySightReading, revealed, playNote, settings.autoPlayVolume]);
+    }, [
+        targetMidi,
+        revealed,
+        isMicQuiet,
+        settings.gameMode,
+        settings.autoPlaySightReading,
+        settings.referenceNoteDuration,
+        settings.autoPlayVolume,
+        settings.waitForQuiet,
+        playNote,
+    ]);

    // --- Init / Reset ---
    useEffect(() => {
@@ -156,7 +201,6 @@ export const useGameLogic = (
        const noteDetails = getNoteDetails(targetMidi);
        setFeedbackMessage(`Good! ${noteDetails.name}`);
        setRevealed(true);
-        setMatchStartTime(null);

        const isRhythmActive = settings.rhythm.active && settings.rhythm.autoAdvance;
        const isTimerMode = settings.rhythm.mode === 'seconds';
@@ -178,7 +222,6 @@ export const useGameLogic = (
                feedbackTimeoutRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
                    setFeedbackMessage("");
                }, 1500);
-                setMatchStartTime(null);
            }
        }
    }, [targetMidi, settings.rhythm, settings.disableAnimation, restartMetronome, generateNewNote]);
@@ -201,25 +244,22 @@ export const useGameLogic = (


    // --- Match Checking Loop ---
+    // Tolerant of flicker: MatchTracker keeps accumulating hold time across
+    // brief dropouts instead of resetting on every single bad frame.
    useEffect(() => {
-        if (!pitchData) {
-            setMatchStartTime(null);
+        // Ignore the microphone while the app itself is making sound — the
+        // speaker output would otherwise be picked up and scored as correct
+        // (ear-training auto-play, Play Note button, virtual instruments).
+        if (audioEngine.isAudible()) {
+            tracker.reset();
            return;
        }

-        if (pitchData.midi === targetMidi) {
-            if (matchStartTime === null) {
-                setMatchStartTime(Date.now());
-            } else {
-                const duration = Date.now() - matchStartTime;
-                if (duration > NOTE_MATCH_THRESHOLD_MS) {
+        const matching = pitchData !== null && pitchData.midi === targetMidi;
+        if (tracker.update(matching, Date.now())) {
            handleMatchSuccess();
        }
-            }
-        } else {
-            setMatchStartTime(null);
-        }
-    }, [pitchData, targetMidi, matchStartTime, handleMatchSuccess]);
+    }, [pitchData, targetMidi, handleMatchSuccess, tracker]);

    return {
        targetMidi,
--- a/src/hooks/useMetronome.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/useMetronome.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { useRef, useEffect, useCallback } from 'react';
+import { createAudioContext } from '../audio/AudioEngine';

 interface MetronomeOptions {
    bpm: number;
@@ -53,6 +54,10 @@ export function useMetronome({ bpm, volume, playing, onTick }: MetronomeOptions)
        onTickRef.current(currentBeat.current);
    }, [volume]);

+    // Indirection so the scheduler can reschedule itself without referencing
+    // its own variable during initialization
+    const schedulerRef = useRef<() => void>(() => { });
+
    const scheduler = useCallback(() => {
        if (!audioContext.current) return;

@@ -62,9 +67,13 @@ export function useMetronome({ bpm, volume, playing, onTick }: MetronomeOptions)
            playClick(nextNoteTime.current);
            nextNote();
        }
-        timerID.current = window.setTimeout(scheduler, lookahead);
+        timerID.current = window.setTimeout(() => schedulerRef.current(), lookahead);
    }, [nextNote, playClick]);

+    useEffect(() => {
+        schedulerRef.current = scheduler;
+    }, [scheduler]);
+
    const restart = useCallback(() => {
        if (audioContext.current) {
            // Reset to play one beat interval from NOW
@@ -78,7 +87,7 @@ export function useMetronome({ bpm, volume, playing, onTick }: MetronomeOptions)
    useEffect(() => {
        if (playing) {
            if (!audioContext.current) {
-                audioContext.current = new (window.AudioContext || (window as any).webkitAudioContext)();
+                audioContext.current = createAudioContext();
            }

            // Resume if suspended (browser autoplay policy)
--- a/src/hooks/usePitchDetector.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/usePitchDetector.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
-import { useEffect, useRef, useState, useCallback } from 'react';
+import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
 import { PitchAnalyzer, type MicrophoneDebugInfo } from '../audio/PitchAnalyzer';
 import { frequencyToMidi, getNoteDetails, getCentDifference } from '../music/NoteUtils';
+import {
+    MIC_DEFAULT_SENSITIVITY,
+    PITCH_READING_HOLD_MS,
+    DISPLAY_EMA_FACTOR,
+    NOTE_DISPLAY_STABLE_FRAMES,
+} from '../AppConfig';

 interface PitchData {
    frequency: number;
@@ -10,66 +16,159 @@ interface PitchData {
    clarity: number; // Placeholder for now, maybe uses probability if YIN exposes it
 }

-import { MIC_DEFAULT_SENSITIVITY } from '../AppConfig';
-
 export type { MicrophoneDebugInfo };

-export function usePitchDetector(active: boolean, sensitivity: number = MIC_DEFAULT_SENSITIVITY) {
+export function usePitchDetector(
+    active: boolean,
+    sensitivity: number = MIC_DEFAULT_SENSITIVITY,
+    minFrequencyHz?: number
+) {
    const analyzerRef = useRef<PitchAnalyzer | null>(null);
    const [pitchData, setPitchData] = useState<PitchData | null>(null);
    const [isListening, setIsListening] = useState(false);
    const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
    const [audioLevel, setAudioLevel] = useState<number>(0);
    const [debugInfo, setDebugInfo] = useState<MicrophoneDebugInfo | null>(null);
-    const animationRef = useRef<number | null>(null);

-    // Update sensitivity when it changes
+    // Latest values for the capture effect (refs keep its dep list minimal so
+    // changing them does not restart the microphone)
+    const sensitivityRef = useRef(sensitivity);
+    const minFrequencyRef = useRef(minFrequencyHz);
+
+    // Apply sensitivity live without restarting capture
    useEffect(() => {
-        if (analyzerRef.current) {
-            analyzerRef.current.setSensitivity(sensitivity);
-        }
+        sensitivityRef.current = sensitivity;
+        analyzerRef.current?.setSensitivity(sensitivity);
    }, [sensitivity]);

-    const updatePitch = useCallback(() => {
-        if (!analyzerRef.current) return;
+    // Adapt the analysis window to the instrument's lowest note, live
+    useEffect(() => {
+        minFrequencyRef.current = minFrequencyHz;
+        if (minFrequencyHz) {
+            analyzerRef.current?.setLowestFrequency(minFrequencyHz);
+        }
+    }, [minFrequencyHz]);
+
+    useEffect(() => {
+        if (!active) {
+            setIsListening(false);
+            setPitchData(null);
+            setAudioLevel(0);
+            setDebugInfo(null);
+            return;
+        }
+
+        let cancelled = false;
+        let rafId = 0;
+        let frameCount = 0;
+        let lastPitchAt = 0;
+        // Display smoothing: pitch/cents/level arrive on every detection frame
+        // (~60 fps) and jitter slightly. A short exponential moving average keeps
+        // the tuner needle and level meter readable. Done here (in the producer)
+        // so the display components can render directly without CSS transitions —
+        // transitions on values that change every frame get interrupted 60x/sec,
+        // which some engines (Safari/WebKit) punish with a visually stuck needle.
+        let smoothedCents: number | null = null;
+        let smoothedLevel = 0;
+        // Note-name stability: the displayed note only switches after the raw
+        // detection reports a different note for several consecutive frames.
+        // Prevents D#2/E2-style flicker at semitone boundaries. The raw midi
+        // (used for matching) is unaffected.
+        let stableMidi: number | null = null;
+        let candidateMidi: number | null = null;
+        let candidateCount = 0;
+
+        const analyzer = new PitchAnalyzer();
+        analyzer.setSensitivity(sensitivityRef.current);
+        if (minFrequencyRef.current) {
+            analyzer.setLowestFrequency(minFrequencyRef.current);
+        }
+        analyzerRef.current = analyzer;
+
+        function tick() {
+            if (cancelled) return;
+
+            const freq = analyzer.getPitch();
+            const now = performance.now();

-        const freq = analyzerRef.current.getPitch();
            if (freq) {
+                lastPitchAt = now;
                const midi = frequencyToMidi(freq);
-            const { scientific } = getNoteDetails(midi);

-            const cents = getCentDifference(freq, midi);
+                // Note-name hysteresis: only switch the displayed note after
+                // the new one persists for a few consecutive frames.
+                if (midi === stableMidi) {
+                    candidateMidi = null;
+                    candidateCount = 0;
+                } else if (midi === candidateMidi) {
+                    if (++candidateCount >= NOTE_DISPLAY_STABLE_FRAMES) {
+                        stableMidi = midi;
+                        candidateMidi = null;
+                        candidateCount = 0;
+                        // Re-anchor the cents average: a new note means a new
+                        // reference (the needle must not sweep across the scale).
+                        smoothedCents = null;
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    candidateMidi = midi;
+                    candidateCount = 1;
+                }
+
+                // Cents are displayed relative to the STABLE note (like real
+                // tuners): the needle sweeps to ±50 and only then the note flips.
+                const displayMidi = stableMidi ?? midi;
+                const { scientific } = getNoteDetails(displayMidi);
+                const cents = getCentDifference(freq, displayMidi);
+
+                smoothedCents = smoothedCents === null
+                    ? cents
+                    : smoothedCents + (cents - smoothedCents) * DISPLAY_EMA_FACTOR;

                setPitchData({
                    frequency: freq,
-                midi,
+                    midi, // raw — matching uses this and must stay unsmoothed
                    note: scientific,
-                cents,
+                    cents: smoothedCents, // smoothed — display only
                    clarity: 1
                });
+            } else if (lastPitchAt !== 0 && now - lastPitchAt > PITCH_READING_HOLD_MS) {
+                // Clear stale readings so the UI doesn't keep displaying
+                // (and matching against) a note that stopped sounding long ago.
+                lastPitchAt = 0;
+                smoothedCents = null;
+                stableMidi = null;
+                candidateMidi = null;
+                candidateCount = 0;
+                setPitchData(null);
            }

-        // Always update level and debug info
-        setAudioLevel(analyzerRef.current.getCurrentLevel());
-        setDebugInfo(analyzerRef.current.getDebugInfo());
+            // Always update level (smoothed)
+            smoothedLevel += (analyzer.getCurrentLevel() - smoothedLevel) * DISPLAY_EMA_FACTOR;
+            setAudioLevel(smoothedLevel);

-        animationRef.current = requestAnimationFrame(updatePitch);
-    }, []);
-
-    useEffect(() => {
-        if (active) {
-            if (!analyzerRef.current) {
-                analyzerRef.current = new PitchAnalyzer();
-                analyzerRef.current.setSensitivity(sensitivity);
+            // Debug info is only shown in the settings modal; ~4 Hz is plenty
+            // and avoids a third state update (full re-render) every frame.
+            if (++frameCount % 15 === 0) {
+                setDebugInfo(analyzer.getDebugInfo());
            }

-            analyzerRef.current.start()
+            rafId = requestAnimationFrame(tick);
+        }
+
+        analyzer.start()
            .then(() => {
+                if (cancelled) {
+                    // StrictMode double-mount or quick toggle-off while
+                    // getUserMedia was pending: don't leave the mic running.
+                    analyzer.stop();
+                    return;
+                }
                setIsListening(true);
                setError(null);
-                    updatePitch();
+                tick();
            })
-                .catch(err => {
+            .catch((err: Error) => {
+                if (cancelled) return;
                console.error(err);
                // Provide more specific error messages
                if (err.name === 'NotAllowedError') {
@@ -83,25 +182,20 @@ export function usePitchDetector(active: boolean, sensitivity: number = MIC_DEFA
                }
                setIsListening(false);
            });
-        } else {
-            if (analyzerRef.current) {
-                analyzerRef.current.stop();
+
+        return () => {
+            cancelled = true;
+            cancelAnimationFrame(rafId);
+            analyzer.stop();
+            if (analyzerRef.current === analyzer) {
                analyzerRef.current = null;
            }
            setIsListening(false);
            setPitchData(null);
            setAudioLevel(0);
            setDebugInfo(null);
-            if (animationRef.current) cancelAnimationFrame(animationRef.current);
-        }
-
-        return () => {
-            if (animationRef.current) cancelAnimationFrame(animationRef.current);
-            if (analyzerRef.current) {
-                analyzerRef.current.stop();
-            }
        };
-    }, [active, updatePitch]);
+    }, [active]);

    return { pitchData, isListening, error, audioLevel, debugInfo };
 }
--- a/src/main.tsx
+++ b/src/main.tsx
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { StrictMode } from 'react'
 import { createRoot } from 'react-dom/client'
 import './styles/variables.css'
 import App from './App.tsx'
-import { SettingsProvider } from './context/SettingsContext.tsx'
+import { SettingsProvider } from './context/SettingsProvider.tsx'

 createRoot(document.getElementById('root')!).render(
  <StrictMode>
--- a/src/music/NoteUtils.ts
+++ b/src/music/NoteUtils.ts
@@ -111,8 +111,8 @@ export function getNoteInKey(midi: number, keySignature: string): VexFlowNoteSpe
    // In start keys (C, Am), no accidentals in key.

    // Parse the rawName: "F#" -> step "F", mod "#"
-    let step = rawName.charAt(0);
-    let mod = rawName.length > 1 ? rawName.charAt(1) : "";
+    const step = rawName.charAt(0);
+    const mod = rawName.length > 1 ? rawName.charAt(1) : "";

    // VexFlow Key Format: "c/4", "f/4", "fb/4"
    // We need to return the accidental to *display*.
--- a/src/styles/variables.css
+++ b/src/styles/variables.css
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Playfair+Display:wght@400;700&display=swap');

 :root {
+  /* Native form controls (select dropdowns, checkboxes, number spinners,
+     range sliders) follow this instead of keeping black-on-black in dark mode */
+  color-scheme: light;
+
  /* HSL Colors for easy manipulation */
  /* Dark Red / Brownish Tone */
  --hue-primary: 0;
@@ -54,6 +58,7 @@
 /* Auto Dark Mode (System Preference) */
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
+    color-scheme: dark;
    --color-bg: hsl(30, 20%, 10%);
    --color-surface: hsl(30, 20%, 15%);
    --color-text-main: hsl(30, 10%, 90%);
@@ -65,6 +70,7 @@

 /* Manual Dark Mode Override */
 html[data-theme="dark"] {
+  color-scheme: dark;
  --color-bg: hsl(30, 20%, 10%);
  --color-surface: hsl(30, 20%, 15%);
  --color-text-main: hsl(30, 10%, 90%);
--- a/src/types/SettingsTypes.ts
+++ b/src/types/SettingsTypes.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,11 @@ export interface AppSettings {
    customMaxFret?: number;
    autoPlaySightReading?: boolean;
    autoPlayVolume?: number;
+    /** Length of the played reference note in seconds */
+    referenceNoteDuration?: number;
+    /** Hold the next reference note until the microphone detects silence,
+     *  so a still-ringing instrument doesn't mask it */
+    waitForQuiet?: boolean;
    virtualGuitarVolume?: number;
    virtualGuitarMute?: boolean;
    micSensitivity?: number;
@@ -55,6 +60,8 @@ export const DEFAULT_SETTINGS: AppSettings = {
    customMaxFret: 12,
    autoPlaySightReading: false,
    autoPlayVolume: 0.5,
+    referenceNoteDuration: 1.5,
+    waitForQuiet: false,
    virtualGuitarVolume: 0.5,
    virtualGuitarMute: false,
    micSensitivity: 0.5,
--- a/src/types/pitchfinder.d.ts
+++ b/src/types/pitchfinder.d.ts
@@ -4,11 +4,14 @@ declare module 'pitchfinder' {
        frequency?: number;
        minFrequency?: number;
        maxFrequency?: number;
+        threshold?: number;
+        probabilityThreshold?: number;
    }

    type Detector = (float32Array: Float32Array) => number | null;

    export function YIN(config?: PitchFinderConfig): Detector;
    export function AMDF(config?: PitchFinderConfig): Detector;
-    export function MACLEOD(config?: PitchFinderConfig): Detector;
+    export function ACF2PLUS(config?: PitchFinderConfig): Detector;
+    export function Macleod(config?: PitchFinderConfig): (buffer: Float32Array) => { frequency: number; probability: number } | null;
 }
Author	SHA1	Message	Date
Jens Mohrmann	141487e3df	Update docs: detection/matching pipeline, new settings, testing	2026-09-13 19:16:54 +02:00
Jens Mohrmann	3cc9a0c43d	Add reference note duration and wait-for-silence options - Settings: reference note duration slider (0.5-4s, default 1.5s) applies to ear-training auto-play, sight-reading auto-play and the manual Play Note button/keys alike. - Settings: 'Wait for Silence' toggle holds the next reference note until the mic detects the instrument has gone quiet (a still-ringing string masking the next note was easy to miss). Safety cap of 8s so continuously detectable room noise can't stall the app; without a mic it plays immediately. The quiet state is a boolean dep (not the per-frame pitch object) so the play timer isn't reset 60x/sec. - Gate all live feedback (staff preview, readout, tuner) during speaker playback: the mic inevitably hears the reference note and would briefly leak the target in ear training. Virtual fretboard taps (explicit user input) still display instantly.	2026-09-13 18:52:33 +02:00
Jens Mohrmann	6e60ced477	Dark mode contrast, tuner display and misc UI fixes - color-scheme per theme so native controls (selects, checkboxes, number inputs, sliders) render dark-native instead of black-on-black. - Themed .control-select text color; new .control-input class replaces hardcoded white-on-black inline input styles. - Tuner widget stays mounted when enabled: idle state (dimmed, needle parked, '—') instead of appearing/disappearing. Fully theme-var based (was hardcoded white — invisible in light mode). - Remove CSS transitions on per-frame values (tuner needle, level meter): transitions interrupted 60x/sec are left stuck by WebKit/Safari; the display EMA from the detection loop replaces them. - VexFlow notation: resolve CSS var() to concrete colors (SVG attributes can't resolve var(), silently fell back to black) and override VexFlow's hardcoded #444 ledger-line default; re-render on theme changes (useLayoutEffect so children read the updated attribute in time). - Themed switch toggles (were hardcoded #ddd / white — glowed in dark mode). - Fixed-height pitch readout so the layout stops jumping when a note starts or stops sounding. - Split SettingsContext into context/Provider/hook files (fast-refresh); memoized provider functions; typed webkitAudioContext; prefer-const; removed 'as any' casts. ESLint now passes clean.	2026-09-13 18:52:27 +02:00
Jens Mohrmann	079d574b66	Overhaul pitch detection and note matching - Pick detector per instrument range: ACF2PLUS (robust down to ~40 Hz) for normal instruments, YIN only for the whistle register. pitchfinder's YIN latches onto tau=2 (~20 kHz garbage) below ~100 Hz and for quiet input; the old fixed 4096 window masked this, the smaller window exposed it. - RMS-normalize analysis input for the YIN path only; ACF2PLUS keeps the raw signal so its internal unpitched gate rejects quiet decayed audio instead of amplifying noise into confident wrong pitches (tuner stuck on 'a note'). - Adaptive analysis window sized to the instrument's lowest note (~2 periods): half the latency, a quarter of the CPU for guitar/piano/voice; bass keeps the full window for E1. - Reject detections implausibly below the instrument floor (mains hum). - Clear stale pitch readings after 200 ms instead of keeping them forever. - Shared AudioEngine singleton for all playback (was: two AudioContexts); tracks audibility so the app stops hearing its own speaker (ear-training self-scoring) and gates matching plus display during playback. - MatchTracker: grace-period based note hold instead of reset-on-every-flicker (YIN flickers during attacks/decays; the old hard reset made the 50 ms threshold fire unreliably). - Display damping in the producer (EMA for cents/level, 3-frame note-name hysteresis); display components render directly without CSS transitions. - Regression tests: synthetic signals through the exact pipeline helpers (MatchTracker + pitchDetection test suites).	2026-09-13 18:52:21 +02:00