SmartScales - Backing Tracks

Nice app. I'm an adult returning to my cello after taking a couple-decades break and checked to see if this is something I could use. And I might. But only if some quality background music choices are added. Someone earlier said that the current offerings are hokey. So true, there's just a bunch of olde timey ring tone-type stuff to choose from. I don't want to listen to that! How about letting me accompany some great classical music? I'd also love some rock and top-40 choices. The students who use this app aren't making computerized music, we're playing real music using real stringed instruments! Offering real music is what would make this app work for me. The metronome's nice, but I don't need it, so I'd just as soon open up one of my methods books to practice. Maybe the developers were only targeting the very youngest of students. Too bad! They're selling this app too short.

Read about this app in The Strad, tried the free version and bought an advanced package. The app is beautifully laid out and realized: easy, intuitive, attractive and comprehensive. It does all the basics and then, with add-ons, quite a bit more: scales in all their variations, covering two and three octaves, with appropriate fingering options. I had a question, wrote support, and within an hour received a helpful response! I plan to use this every time I practice--daily!

I've tested this with a few students. However they intuitively were trying to be in sync with the timeline bar rather than the audio (perhaps as the iPad speaker was not loud enough in studio)-but I've discovered if they follow when the bar passes the note they will be behind the beat. It would also help scanning purposes if the note heads could highlight or change color when they should be played. It would be cool to have option to add fingerlings or display pitches, or make new rhythm patterns that wouldn't require changing the accompaniment, or more than the 2 note slur option (3,4,6,8). All the other features are great.

As a professional designer and a professional string player / teacher, I appreciate the simplicity both In aesthetics function. The music that can play along is a little absurd, it might be fun for kids tho. I will test it out on my students. What I would love would be a drone, either chord or just one tone. And I probably won't use it until it includes all three and four scale octaves. Please keep up the good work!!!

I'm an adult beginner, returning to violin after 36 years away. Wow! This app's design is gorgeous. It's easy to use and to understand. The violin doesn't sound like cheesy midi music so often provided in music learning apps, and the background accompaniments are thoughtfully selected so as to help develop one's ear and stave off boredom from practicing scales. This is my favorite music learning app so far. Well done. Thank you.