Demo | Songwriting Studio 4+

fun way to start out song ideas.

i make beats & play keys with a basic understanding of music theory. I’m not skilled enough to hear harmonic ideas in my head nor do I have a mastery over any formal chord progressions in any key. so coming up with my own unique chord progressions with no regard to key or learning chord progressions in a particular key can take a lot of time I don’t have on a day to day basis.(i’m a working adult in my mid-twenties.) i’ve only worked on one composition idea so far and the app seems to be a solid tool for learning formal chord progression ideas + experimenting with chord progressions/song structures for my own music while away from my keyboard & DAW. Hopefully the time spent in this app hearing & learning formal ideas alongside my own will lead to more time to playing/experimenting with my instrument for the composition ideas i start in app + help me be more flexible when making music with friends!!

The one critique i have so far is with the rhythmic options. i like that there’s more options than just traditional ones but i think including options like tuplets & swings would b helpful for ppl to have/learn what they are & so that they can identify them in the non-traditional options presented too!!!

Developer Response ,

Just want to say thank you so much for the kind words! What you're describing are the exact same challenges we were running into, when we started building this app. Very happy to hear it's helpful. Also, we hear you on more rhythms. Working on it!

Major flaws

There is a major flaw in this app when it comes to choosing the length of your notes. They are missing one of the most basic tools when it comes to composing & music theory. If you want to change the length of the note you can only do so by changing every note in the entirety of the measure. In the app, the only way to change the length of notes is to do it in the rhythm section. they give you a choice between whole/half/quarter length notes and a variety of premade rhythms. So say in a 4 count measure, I wanted 2 quarter notes of the same note like C and a half note of Dm [C C Dm _] if I choose the quarter note setting it plays every note as a quarter note [C C Dm Dm] and if I choose the half note setting it plays [C _ Dm _]. You should be able to decide the length of each note individually. You also can’t choose singular notes only chords. First and foremost, Music is an art, and the quality of art is based on the tools that you have. this app is is good in theory only and very focused on popular patterns of music. it does not gear towards a true creative artist that wants to make some thing completely unique and innovative from scratch. If they made their features more customizable this could be a very useful tool and a true all in one app. But in its current state with flaws like these I can’t see myself using the app. It severely limits your creativity. You’re better off sticking to your staff paper, notes app, voice memos and a real instrument.

Cool, but needs more for advanced song writing

The concept of this app is really cool, as it basically allows you to chunk out and write a piece without the need to pick up your instrument. I treat it as an upgraded notes app for my songwriting, where I can record my basic chord progressions and lyrics quick to then have for later when I record. That being said, the app is very limited, and things like key changes are hard because rather than being able to modulate, you have to enter in the individual chords in that key and do it all manually, which really gets in the way and just slows me down. Another thing is that there are only 2 available time signatures, 3/4 and 4/4. As someone who writes a lot in 6/8, this makes it somewhat tricky as I essentially have to write something in 6/8 around a 3/4 grid in this app. Not the biggest deal in the world, but to not include at least the most basic fundamentals when it comes to theory is disappointing. While these may not be an issue for basic songwriters, this is a real pain for us trying to write more complex music, and I think because of that the app will suffer as it isn’t as well rounded if a tool for people into more advanced song writing. Overall, I hope the devs keep adding more features and are able to make this the ultimate companion app for musicians. Keep it up guys!

Developer Response ,

If I'm understanding you correctly, enabling key changes is a setting in the 'Chords' section (gear icon, top right). It gives you the option to set a key or tempo for each progression, so you aren't having to manually add chords. We are looking to add more time signatures. But for 6/8, in the meantime, we recommend 3/4 and tapping the zoom icon in custom to get 8 slots rather than 3 per measure. Hope this helps! If you need anything else, please reach out at hello@acolorstory.com. Thanks for trying the app!