Apps for music learning

If the global COVID-19 situation is making you stressed, anxious and overwhelmed, music can offer some much-needed encouragement and comfort. Getting immersed in a new hobby can also help with lifting the spirits and reducing stress.

This Finnish quintet of music-learning apps seek to strike the right chord with their users.

MUSIC THEORY IN A SIMPLE WAY: MUSICLOCK

No need to despair if you weren’t born a child prodigy, as this jamming and scale discovery tool has come to the rescue. Diluting music theory into an easy-to-grasp form via a unique on-screen wheel, the tool enables users to start playing along with their favourite music style in seconds.

“We wanted to make a new way to teach and learn music,” said creator Perttu Pölönen. “It’s a completely fresh approach to how scales and chords work.”

On top of the multi-award-winning app, MusiClock’s offering includes a wooden version of the wheel and a piano scaler tool.

LEARNING TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENT WITH FUN: YOUSICIAN

You can’t rack up international awards without having your finger on the pulse of innovative ideas. In the case of this Finnish startup, more surprising perhaps is the candid attitude toward those that come up with them.

“You need a good number of dumb ideas in order to generate one great idea,” declared CEO Chris Thür, “and we welcome all kinds of ideas.”

All joking aside, Yousician is today one of the world’s largest and fastest growing music education companies offering thousands of songs, exercises and teacher-crafted lessons – all in one app. Suitable for piano, guitar, bass and ukulele, as well as singing, Yousician invites everyone to unleash their inner musician – now with a little extra oomph, as it recently announced a 28 million-US dollar funding round.

EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE OF MUSIC: MUSOPIA

Wondering what the guitar, ukulele, phone camera and karaoke have in common? Well, ponder no more, as this Finnish startup is a meeting place for all four.

“As much as 85 per cent of people who start to play the guitar give it up because they can’t get past the first stage [of learning the chords],” informed CMO and co-founder Paula Lehto. “Our number one goal is to help people to start jamming and to play their own favourite songs as soon as possible.”

To achieve this goal, the startup has so far released three mobile apps that assist with playing tunes on guitar and ukulele.

SINGING KARAOKE ONLINE: SINGA

Singa is an easy way to sing karaoke. What else would you expect from the person who organised the annual Karaoke World Championships in Finland for years?

“Not many would consider karaoke to be a very sexy industry. But few people know that it is a 10-billion-euro-a-year business,” CEO Atte Hujanen stated.

Now, with a playlist boasting around 80 000 hit tunes from a wide range of artists, it’s time to exercise your vocal instrument whilst utilising your desktop, mobile device, Apple or Android TV.

IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF GUITAR CHORDS: ONEHOUR GUITAR CHORD METHOD

Doing away with the need for chord lexicons, chord generators and irrational “dots on diagrams”, this musical app offers a simple approach to becoming nimble on the six string.

“Our company is all about providing a guitarist the best possible tool for guitar chords,” stated guitarist and brand manager Jarkko Luhtala.

Suitable for every level, genre and style, the app gives all the theory and practical info needed for forming the right finger configuration and finding the sound you are looking for.

Originally published in October 2016, updated in May 2021