Etude

Creative

sheet music app

SHOW HN2010

Legend

Etude

I finally released that sheet music app I keep yammering about

etudeapp.com

#sheet music#piano#iphone app#music learning

318points
112comments
#2of 370 in 2010
Top 1%of 2010 by points

How HN took it

LovedMost comments that take a side are positive

40 positive, 31 neutral or asking, 7 mixed, 8 critical, out of 86 comments about the project. Thread score +0.43.

Design: 12 for, 3 againstIdea: 13 for, 1 againstPricing: 5 for, 2 againstExecution: 1 for, 1 againstPerformance: 0 for, 1 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Polished design and attention to detail

    From 4 comments
    • This looks extremely impressive and elegant. I'm excited to buy the iPad version -- it's a perfect fit. What format is the purchased music? The engraving is impressive, so my…
      davepeck on HN
    • Fan-friggin'-tastic, I especially like the attention to detail. Good job! I really suggest you kick this up to 5-10$ soon enough :) [if we can wish for ponies, I'd love for a…
      threepointone on HN
    • Holy cow, that's a well-made app. You dangrover are either a passionate music lover, an excellent developer, or both. Kudos - I don't even play the piano but I'm going to buy it…
      pchristensen on HN
    • All I can say is wow. Not only is the app super intuitive, but genuinely useful and usable. On top of that, you have a real eye for design. Great job, I wish you the best.
      gxs on HN
  • Great demo video and marketing site

    From 2 comments
    • You sir, are a genius. The app looks amazing, but your demo is simply perfect. How many takes?
      armandososa on HN
    • I don't have an iPhone or iPod Touch, so I can only comment based on the video on your site - but this is ridiculously awesome. The app as well as the store and website look very…
      WesleyJohnson on HN
  • Useful for learning piano

    From 2 comments
    • That made me want to play piano again. I sucked but it looks like using it I could get better a lot faster. An ipad version would definitely be a plus. Hope you got that planned…
      levesque on HN
    • You are a life saver! I was looking for something exactly like this and was surprised there was really nothing good out there. This is great. Thanks!
      devin on HN

Objections

  • iPhone screen too small to read comfortably; iPad version needed

    From 3 comments
    • Using timing to scroll eliminates the ability for the player to add any speed variations in a piece, which most experienced players would. It's a fun app for the common folk, but…
      cj on HN
    • I don't think that's the deal breaker for experienced players. That'd be pretty to solve with a bluetooth foot-pedal. Here are a few of the things that come to mind that…
      wheels on HN
    • You've made a pretty impressive looking app. What is your feedback like? What do your prospective users think of it? Without having used it, my first reaction is that I think it…
      latortuga on HN
  • Price too low

    From 4 comments
    • Wow, nice work. I think $3 is way too cheap, especially compared to piano lessons. I'd easily pay $50 (I'm an Android user though).
      nathanh on HN
    • Looks very pretty. Nice job. I agree with the other poster about the low price of $2.99 - that's way too low.
      edtromba on HN
    • I have to agree with everyone else and say this is fantastically well done, and I think you underpriced it. I think $50 is too high, but $10 is good.
      scott_s on HN
    • I disagree wholeheartedly. Make money now. Don't leave it on the table. Sell 50,000 (or 100k! or 200k!) copies at $3 or $5, and then approach sheet music copyright holders. Copy…
      aaronbrethorst on HN
  • Scrolling by timing ignores player speed variations

    From 1 comment
    • Using timing to scroll eliminates the ability for the player to add any speed variations in a piece, which most experienced players would. It's a fun app for the common folk, but…
      cj on HN
  • Slow page rendering and clumsy library navigation

    From 1 comment
    • I like the app, and if there is indeed an iPad version, that would be fantastic. I played with it a bit this morning and posted a review. Here's the gist of what I said: Pros: -…
      squidbot on HN

Requests

  • iPad version

    From 3 comments
    • I'm really excited about the iPad app. Imagine sitting down at a piano, putting a iPad where you would normally put sheet music, and playing away with your app auto-scrolling so…
      vaporstun on HN
    • This looks extremely impressive and elegant. I'm excited to buy the iPad version -- it's a perfect fit. What format is the purchased music? The engraving is impressive, so my…
      davepeck on HN
    • I love it. This is exactly what I've been looking for. But I don't own anything Apple. Is there an alternative coming, such as a web-based version? I'll pay.
      david927 on HN
  • Auto-scroll following the player via audio recognition

    From 3 comments
    • That's one of the first thing I though of when I heard about the ipad. I had figured an app for the iphone that used its mic to follow a piano piece along and "turn" the pages…
      noonespecial on HN
    • Some really basic audio recognition should enable the software to figure out the current position on the sheet, hence making it useful for experienced players as well.
      DrJokepu on HN
    • does this auto scroll as you play? that would be the real killer feature! it looks great.
      bho on HN
  • Metronome

    From 2 comments
    • One thing I didnt see in your FAQ was whether you make time shifts based on time signature: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 or tempo marking: allegro, adagio, etc. Also - while I think the…
      darrell on HN
    • Integrate a metronome and I'm sold on it.
      astine on HN
  • Web-based or non-Apple version

    From 2 comments
    • I love it. This is exactly what I've been looking for. But I don't own anything Apple. Is there an alternative coming, such as a web-based version? I'll pay.
      david927 on HN
    • Can you make a web-based subscription version? I know people who'd never get an iPhone/iPad (no real need), but who'd love this.
      petewailes on HN

Questions

  • Can users upload or create their own songs?

    From 1 comment
    • Is there any way to create or upload your own songs? It looks like a very polished app, but I'd like to be able to create my own songs, or even cooler, edit songs to see what…
      dkokelley on HN
  • Does the iPad have a microphone?

    From 1 comment
    • Does the ipad have a microphone? It seems like that would open up a lot of doors for this kind of app (and obviously the iphone has one).
      swlevy on HN
  • How long did development take?

    From 2 comments
    • Super cool. How long did it take you to develop the app?
      Mc_Big_G on HN
    • Strike one idea off my "opportunities" list. :). Well done. How long did development take?
      Poiesis on HN

Alternatives named

  • Noteheads

    From 1 comment
    • That was the model tried by Noteheads back in the day. It failed miserably: http://noteheads.com/
      wheels on HN
  • Noteflight

    From 1 comment
    • There might be an opportunity to collaborate with the startup http://www.noteflight.com
      techiferous on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

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