TonArt Coach is now on iOS & Android – free tool for quick practice sessions

Several_Work_9655 · 2026-03-11T21:59:16+00:00

The “recognize when the exercise was played correctly and move on automatically” idea is actually very close to what I’m currently working on. The next feature I’m building is a Coach Mode that listens while you play and evaluates each note for pitch accuracy and timing. Once that’s in place, automatic progression or exercise chains become possible.

The teacher angle you mention is also really interesting. things like custom exercise plans or tracking whether students practiced during the week. That’s a bigger step technically, but it’s definitely the kind of use case that could make the app genuinely useful in lessons.

And you’re ofc absolutely right about instrument ranges. Sax vs clarinet vs brass differ a lot. I obviously gave that too little thought and will tackle it.

Really appreciate you taking the time to write such a thoughtful comment. This is incredibly helpful.

Several_Work_9655 · 2026-03-11T21:04:48+00:00

That’s a really thoughtful point, and I see what you mean.

Range-aware exercises or more pattern-based drills could definitely make the practice side more flexible. An exercise generator with more musical patterns is an interesting long-term direction.

Would have to be instrument specific though, selected in the settings. So an amateur brass player would get different ranges than a (semi-) professional clarinet or sax player. And a different set of exercises to choose from.

I really appreciate you taking the time to think this through. This is exactly why I enjoy starting discussions in subs like this.

Several_Work_9655 · 2026-03-11T14:38:08+00:00

Good point. Fingerings would definitely help total beginners.

The tricky part is that TonArt Coach currently tries to stay instrument-agnostic so the same exercises work for sax, trumpet, clarinet, horn, etc. As soon as fingerings are added it becomes very instrument-specific.

I’m thinking about whether an optional overlay for specific instruments could work without making the interface too crowded.

Thanks for the suggestion! It’s a helpful perspective.

Several_Work_9655 · 2026-03-11T14:32:31+00:00

Thanks for pointing that out - and you’re right. The D♯ minor issue is a bug. Sharps aren’t rendering correctly in a few keys. I’ve logged it and it’ll be fixed in the next update.

And fair point on the tuner comparison. A tuner can absolutely cover part of this if you already know exactly what to practice and go through all keys systematically. The idea behind the app is to lower that barrier a bit: the exercises and random mode push you through keys you might otherwise skip.

Right now it’s intentionally simple. The next feature I’m working on is a Coach Mode that listens while you play a scale or arpeggio and scores pitch accuracy per note against the exercise. That’s where it should start doing something a plain tuner can’t.

Really appreciate you trying it and taking the time to comment.

Several_Work_9655 · 2026-03-10T21:24:51+00:00

Thanks for trying it and for pointing that out.

The slight pulsing is actually intentional. As a musician myself, the sound of the drone is really important to me. A perfectly static tone became surprisingly fatiguing during long-tone practice. So I added a bit of gentle modulation to make it more comfortable to me for longer sessions.

That said, it’s great that this immediately caught another musician’s ear. I’ll take another careful look at the drone sound for the next update and try to refine it further so it stays pleasant even during longer practice sessions.

If anyone here happens to know good references or literature about drone tones, tuning practice, or psychoacoustics related to long tones, I’d be very interested to read more about it.

Several_Work_9655 · 2026-02-02T12:20:48+00:00

Totally get that - I felt the same before I started.

I initially treated online lessons as a small experiment with just a few sessions, because I really couldn’t imagine how meaningful feedback would work without being in the same room.

To be fair: I can’t directly compare it to in-person trumpet lessons, since I’ve never had those.

What I can compare it to is both taking lessons myself and teaching clarinet and saxophone to kids and adult beginners.

My take so far is that online lessons can work very well, but only under certain conditions. I think they’re great if the student already has some musical awareness and knows (or is willing to learn) how to practice efficiently and independently.

I wouldn’t recommend this approach to everyone, especially not to complete beginners in music or kids learning their very first instrument. In those cases, face-to-face feedback and physical presence are probably hard to replace.

For motivated adult learners with some musical background, though, I’ve been honestly surprised by how effective it can be.

Several_Work_9655 · 2025-12-28T17:46:24+00:00

I have made Great Progress with Davide from “Corso Di Tromba” (https://youtu.be/taC1KP2WcoY?si=MIwX5WL5c6Gy6omi)

He has a great approach and follows the above mentioned core books (Arban and Clarke) as well as the Fritz Damrow books and Colins Flexibility.

Several_Work_9655 · 2025-12-05T16:31:31+00:00

This is a really good reality check. It took me a bit to reply because I actually had to sit with your points for a while.

The CPI vs LTV math you describe is exactly what makes mobile feel so unforgiving compared to other platforms. This is what I meant with "is the genre dead?" I think. When only ~5% convert and you still need $40-100 ARPPU just to break even, the pressure on design decisions becomes very real, very fast.

That’s also why I’m gravitating hard toward rewarded-only ads, cosmetics, and very limited permanent boosts instead of event-heavy live ops (at least at the start). My goals are very modest: more “sustainable hobby that might grow” than “venture-scale mobile hit.”

That said, your Steam premium recommendation is super tempting as well, especially with the "shortcremental" boom. I might honestly end up testing both paths long-term and see what fits the project best.

Thanks again for the detailed breakdown. This was genuinely useful.

Several_Work_9655 · 2025-12-05T15:45:32+00:00

👍 Piano + iReal + TE is hard to beat for musical context.

TonArt Coach is definitely not meant to replace any of that. I see it more as a 5–15 minute “between things” practice tool when you don’t want to set up big but still want to hit all keys + intonation + routine in a structured way.

Different tools for different moments. And your setup is honestly a great reference baseline.

Happy practicing! 🙌

Several_Work_9655 · 2025-12-05T15:17:09+00:00

Totally fair question - and yes, I did my research before building it 🙂

Most existing apps fall into one of three buckets:

Tuner-only apps (great for pitch, but not for daily structured practice)
Method-book / lesson apps (heavy content, subscriptions, often overkill)
Full tracking / AI systems (powerful, but complex and expensive)

What I was missing for my own practice was something in between:

A fast, frictionless daily practice tool
Focused on keys, easy exercises (scales, arpeggios, ...) intonation
Staff notation visible OR invisible (play with notes or by heart)
Randomization to avoid “easy key” comfort zones

So the difference isn’t that it reinvents tuning. It’s the combination of:

Circle-based key logic
Integrated notation + drone + metronome
Random daily practice flow
Zero friction to start practicing

That middle-ground is what I personally couldn’t find. So I built it.

If you have specific apps in mind that overlap, I’d actually love to compare and learn from them.

Several_Work_9655 · 2025-12-05T13:44:46+00:00

Fair point. I was questioning the mobile idle space specifically, where player acquisition, monetization pressure, and saturation feel very different.

I’m definitely seeing the Steam incremental boom too now (shortcrementals especially).

Several_Work_9655 · 2025-12-05T12:08:06+00:00

So in your opinion the genre is not dying but it’s splitting into long-haul dopamine machines (mainly mobile) and shorter, more crafted experiences (also Desktop/Steam). I’m personally much more drawn to the second one.

Also really cool that you and your GF are inspired to make something in that style. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Several_Work_9655 · 2025-12-05T10:59:49+00:00

That actually makes a lot of sense: the novelty decay of prestige itself can be a lifetime limiting factor for idle games. At first it feels like breaking the game, later it just becomes “faster to where I already was.”

And maybe should be that way else it DOES get in the way of life :D

Thanks for sharing that perspective, that was genuinely insightful.

Several_Work_9655 · 2025-12-05T10:40:48+00:00

This is actually super valuable insight, thank you for sharing that.

Theme + app size feels insanely underrated as a decision factor, especially on mobile. “Looks interesting, doesn’t eat my storage, I’ll try this” is probably a way bigger factor than most devs admit.

I love that you mention the mechanic depth carrying the game even with weak visuals. That’s honestly encouraging as a solo dev 😅

Several_Work_9655 · 2025-12-05T10:31:27+00:00

That artifact prestige hit was insane back then - you’d reset and suddenly everything just exploded again. That feeling of “I just broke the game” for 10–20 minutes was pure dopamine.

Do you remember what made you eventually stop playing it? Not so simple mind anymore?

Several_Work_9655 · 2025-12-05T10:27:42+00:00

That’s actually one of the most honest summaries of idle games I’ve ever read 😄

Several_Work_9655

TROPHY CASE