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With a suitable microphone you can enter notes by singing or by playing an acoustic instrument such as a guitar or violin.
Input methods
You can input in various ways, and all of these methods are available simultaneously - you don't need to pick one or the other.
The basic rule is that whatever input method you use, a symbol will be entered in the active staff at the current insertion point only if you have chosen a note or other symbol. If the cursor is the arrow tool the appropriate key will highlight on the screen piano but no symbol will be entered in the staff. So if you want to just play but not enter notes, choose the arrow tool.
You can enter notes directly on the staff, or indirectly by playing notes on the screen piano, letter keys, external MIDI keyboard, or even the microphone.
Input directly on the staff using the mouse
Choose a note or rest tool by clicking on the appropriate tool box and then click in the staff where you want it to go. Note that there are some very useful keyboard shortcuts to change the value of the note or rest, or to add or remove an accidental or dot, without having to click again on a tool. Clicking a symbol tool into a staff (or clicking any symbol in that staff with the arrow tool) causes that staff to become the active staff that would receive input from letter keys or MIDI or the microphone.
Input via the screen piano or fretboard
You can play notes by clicking the mouse on the keys of the onscreen piano (or the onscreen fretboard).
The menu in Options/Keyboard has a number of choices that include a plain piano, a fretboard like that of a guitar, a piano with labeled keys, and the "enharmonic" keyboard whose keys are divided into specific sharps or flats.
The piano keyboards have a range of four octaves, but you can move the range up or down an octave by pressing the period and comma keys on your computer's letter keyboard. A small yellow triangle above the piano keys will mark the current position of "middle c," the c that is between the treble and bass clefs.
Input via the letter keys
Your computer's letter keys act like a simple piano in Practica Musica. The middle row represents the white keys beginning on c, and the upper row provides the black keys. The letters "f" and "g" just happen to come out playing the notes f and g (pure coincidence). The "w" key would play c#, and so on. The letter keys piano of course has a limited range, but you can move it up or down an octave with the period and comma keys.
When using the letter keys for a rhythm exercise it's best to use two fingers of one hand on any pair of keys in the middle row (the row that represents the white keys: ASDFGHJKL...). By using two alternating fingers you can play complex quick rhythms easily. "Pecking" at the keys with one finger is difficult because it is hard to get a single finger up and then down again quickly enough. Remember also that duration matters: don't just tap the key; hold it an appropriate length for the desired note value. This does not have to be mathematically precise: Practica Musica will assume that there may be a little "air" between two notes when performed even though they don't have a notated rest between them. But if you play a note at half or less its notated length the program will conclude that you're misreading its value. Most exercises will count off only a few points for duration errors, though; what matters most is getting the notes started at the right time in relation to the beat.
If your computer has a delay in response: Many current Windows computers use software synthesizers that are too slow to provide an instant note sound when you press a key. This will also affect the speed with which the computer plays the metronome tick; it can be heard somewhat after the program asks for it. We can't speed up your computer's synthesizer but there is a way to compensate that will at least help you get graded fairly for your rhythm tapping. Crtl-M will bring up the Metronome delay setting, so that you can adjust the metronome for the delay in your computer's synthesizer. You'll hear the metronome start ticking, and the key for middle C will begin flashing. If your computer has a noticeable delay you may be able to see that the key is flashing before you hear the tick. Use the right arrow key to increase the delay until the tick comes at the same moment as the flash (left arrow reduces the delay). If you can't easily tell about the flash timing just put the delay up by 2 or 3 clicks and press crtl-M again to stop the process and keep that setting. Try a rhythm tapping exercise and you should see some improvement in your score: if the adjustment is correct you'll be counted correct if you're tapping in good time relative to the metronome sound. Unfortunately the sound of the note will still be delayed, but the only cure for that on such a computer is to offload the task of sound generation by using an external MIDI device. This should be necessary only on certain Windows computers; Macintosh computers use the QuickTime Music Instruments synthesizer, which seems to be fast enough to get a good response.
The microphone icon is at the left side of the screen piano, .
With a suitable microphone you can enter notes by singing or by playing an acoustic instrument such as a guitar or violin.
Any inexpensive computer microphone is adequate for this purpose. We often recommend the Labtec, which connects to your computer's USB port and works with both Macintosh and Windows computers, but there are many others.
If the microphone you purchased came with "driver" software you'll need to install that and restart the computer before you can proceed. Plug in the microphone and then go to your computer's sound settings control panel and specify the external microphone as your input source. Once you've done that this choice should "stick" for future use unless someone changes it.
With your microphone plugged in, click the microphone button to turn it on, 
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and try singing a few notes. If your sung note is clear enough to be understood you should see the corresponding
piano key highlight on the screen piano (or the appropriate fret highlight on the screen fretboard).
Microphone input is not fast enough for "real-time" exercises involving rhythm, however. For those you should input via the letter keys or a MIDI device.
Input via MIDI
MIDI (Music Instrument Digital Interface) provides the most convenient method of playing notes into a computer. This doesn't require expensive equipment - for well under $100 you can obtain a small MIDI "controller" keyboard that connects to your computer's USB port. A controller doesn't make sounds of its own but can be used to trigger the sounds of the computer itself. And of course if you happen to have a MIDI device that does make sounds you can use that, too.
MIDI devices will often come with driver software that needs to be installed before they can be used. Remember also that you need to plug in the device and turn it on before starting the program, so that Practica Musica will notice that the input is available when it's starting up.
If using a MIDI device that is just a controller, be sure to open Practica Musica's Sound/MIDI Settings window (Options menu) and click the box titled "MIDI device is a controller." That tells Practica Musica to play a sound on the output instrument whenever it hears one coming in from the controller.
If you have a MIDI device plugged in when the program starts, and you haven't changed any of your settings, you should find that you automatically have MIDI input in the program. If you don't, check here for more information.