June 2014

Anyone know of good online practice logging programs?

I'm preparing to start a Kickstarter project to develop an online music platform to help musicians become more efficient in practicing, keeping track of activities, communicating with others, and learning through technology. I'm trying to see what else is out there that musicians currently use.

Do any of you use an online program to do what I've listed in the previous paragraph? If so, can you point me to those URLs so I can take a look? I appreciate your help on this, as my goal is to tailor my site to fit as many musicians of all levels and backgrounds as possible, so seeing what already exists out there would really help! I've done my own research and so far I've come up with nothing that exists!

Thank you!
Ben

6 replies

Developing an online practice system for all students and teachers

Hey, fellow musicians (both in practice and at heart)!

I'm teaching several violin students right now, and one of the hardest things for me to tell is if my students are actually practicing and what it is that they're doing during each practice session. After lots of brainstorming, I've come up with an online practice system idea and was wondering if I could get some feedback from you regarding my idea.

The basic idea is to provide an online practice system designed for computers and tablets/phones where a student can log in, click a timer button, and then stay on a single webpage for the length of their practice time. The webpage would be set up like a dashboard and include things like:

- Timer, metronome, tuner
- Goals, repertoire, notes (potentially from teacher as well as student)
- Area to search for and watch videos/read sheet music
- Skill and knowledge based games to teach/reinforce sight-reading, dictation, theory, etc.

As a kid I would've loved to play games that taught me how to read music and recognize it by ear, especially if the games were fun and engaging. As a teacher I'd love to have access to my students' practice sessions so I can get a better idea of what they've actually been doing during the week and to take a few minutes here and there to provide written guidance outside of lessons when appropriate.

I'm interested in whatever thoughts you have regarding this idea, especially if it already exists somewhere online (though I was unable to find anything like it). In particular, would you and your students be interested in trying this system yourselves?

Ben

9 replies