Pocket Bard

Name: Pocket Bard
Rating: 4.8 (1672 reviews)
Author: Pocket Bard Inc.

Tabletop RPG Music & Sound

Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPad

1.7K Ratings
Age Rating

9+
Years
Category

Music
Developer

Pocket Bard Inc.
Language

EN
+ 4 More
Size

114.4
MB

Pocket Bard is a fully immersive audio experience for your D&D or tabletop RPG session. With just a tap, change your entire soundscape to match the tone of your session. From moment to moment, alter the intensity of the music, ambience, and sound effects to pair perfectly with your gameplay. Free to download, no ads. The free library gives you 20+ complete scenes, including the full Fantasy Essentials collection (tavern, town, forest, cave, swamp, graveyard, dungeons, and more), enough to run an entire fantasy campaign without paying a thing. HOW IT WORKS More than a soundboard or a background playlist, every scene is a complete, layered soundscape you control live at the table. • Intensity slider (patented): one control reshapes the arrangement of the music in real time, from minor encounter to intense battle. • Music state controls: jump from exploration to combat with a single tap, and trigger a victory stinger when the fight ends. • Layered ambience: rain, wind, crowds, and creatures, each with its own intensity control. • Ambience variations: step indoors or out, into open fields or forest paths. • One-shot sound effects: a door slam, sword clash, thunderclap, or howl right on cue. • A mix that's already balanced: music, ambience, and effects are mastered to sit together at any volume. No mixing required. PREP LESS, PLAY MORE Built for game masters and dungeon masters, Pocket Bard runs on the phone, tablet, or desktop computer you already bring to the table. The controls stay out of your way, so you can shift the mood without breaking the flow of the story. When the party moves on, switch scenes with one tap, and the music and ambience automatically adapt. No more interrupting ads, juggling browser tabs, or clunky UI. No files to manage, no audio know-how needed. WORKS WITH ANY GAME Your weekly DnD group, a Pathfinder campaign, a Sci-fi one-shot, Blades in the Dark, Mothership, or your own homebrew. Scenes are built around places and moods, not rulebooks, so they fit any TTRPG and any setting. WORLDS TO EXPLORE Free with Fantasy Essentials: Tavern, Town, City, Village, Dark Streets, Mountains, Plains, Forest, Cave, Ancient Grove, Swamp, Graveyard, Dungeon Entrance, Dungeon Corridors, Dungeon Lair, Dwarven Kingdom, and more. Your free library also includes select scenes from other collections, like Deep Space and Shipwreck Cove. Open Worlds unlocks many more collections: Sci-Fi, Horror, Seafaring, Desert, Feywild, Northern, Cyberpunk, and Modern Urban. Think starships and derelict stations, haunted libraries and cursed lands, frozen harbors, buried tombs, enchanted glades, and high-speed chases. New scenes are added throughout the year. MADE BY HUMANS Every note, sound, and piece of art in Pocket Bard is thoughtfully crafted by real humans. Scenes are composed by professional musicians and mastered by our audio team. No AI-generated music or art. STREAM IT Pocket Bard owns the rights to its music, and you're welcome to use it in your streams and videos. A credit is always appreciated. OPEN WORLDS Open Worlds is our subscription: every collection, plus every new scene as it's released, billed monthly or yearly. One subscription, everything included. Immersive audio, made simple. With Pocket Bard, you can focus on what matters most: your story. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Service: https://www.pocketbard.app/terms-of-service.html Privacy Policy: https://www.pocketbard.app/privacy-policy.html Pocket Bard is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, Chaosium, or any other game publisher. Dungeons & Dragons and D&D are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Ratings & Reviews

4.8

out of 5

1.7K Ratings

Best background music app for just about anything
04/07/2024
Kraaahfgthh
Excellent music composition, multiple different themes and excellent sound effects that you can control to emphasis a crit or creep out your players. Adds a new dimension to tabletop RPG’s (not just DnD). Also makes great background sound to help get into a more creative mindset when writing adventures, short stories or novels. Probably would work great with other forms of art also, but i can’t speak to that. Easy interface and seamless transitions between musical scores. Crazy impressed, especially after meeting the team of musicians and developers at a con and seeing how much effort and sweat went into building this app.Edit: make sure to download the fantasy starter pack after you download the app. They are both free and well worth the minimal effort required. As a side note, I hope the one guy who left a 1 star review gets a job soon and stops taking his financial woes out on a team that is offering an excellent FREE product.

Developer Response
Hi Kraaahfgth! Thank you so much for leaving this review. I wasn't at the most recent con, but it's so awesome that our team left you with such a positive impression! We love that you're finding Pocket Bard to be an intuitive and powerful audio tool to weave through out your day. We didn't initially create Pocket Bard to be used outside of gaming, but our community has taught us so much in such a short amount of time, and we couldn't be more excited to see how users like you embrace what we've made. As always, please let us know if you have any suggestions or feedback at support@pocketbard.app Happy gaming and we hope you enjoy what we have planned next!
Best background music app for just about anything
04/07/2024
Kraaahfgthh

Excellent music composition, multiple different themes and excellent sound effects that you can control to emphasis a crit or creep out your players. Adds a new dimension to tabletop RPG’s (not just DnD). Also makes great background sound to help get into a more creative mindset when writing adventures, short stories or novels. Probably would work great with other forms of art also, but i can’t speak to that. Easy interface and seamless transitions between musical scores. Crazy impressed, especially after meeting the team of musicians and developers at a con and seeing how much effort and sweat went into building this app.Edit: make sure to download the fantasy starter pack after you download the app. They are both free and well worth the minimal effort required. As a side note, I hope the one guy who left a 1 star review gets a job soon and stops taking his financial woes out on a team that is offering an excellent FREE product.
Developer Response 04/10/2024
Hi Kraaahfgth! Thank you so much for leaving this review. I wasn't at the most recent con, but it's so awesome that our team left you with such a positive impression! We love that you're finding Pocket Bard to be an intuitive and powerful audio tool to weave through out your day. We didn't initially create Pocket Bard to be used outside of gaming, but our community has taught us so much in such a short amount of time, and we couldn't be more excited to see how users like you embrace what we've made. As always, please let us know if you have any suggestions or feedback at support@pocketbard.app Happy gaming and we hope you enjoy what we have planned next!
Great to use, BUT
12/03/2023
Magnum52633
First the good - the app is well built, fun and intuitive to use, and the sounds are great! I look forward to more soundscapes being made, and more sound packs being released. I even cannot wait to see how the devs increase functionality within individual packs, like scene specific sound categories and what not. Having the same basic categories, like ambiance and weather, across all scenes make a ton of sense and works fantastic.$7 a month is a steep price, however. I would certainly pay money for a pro version were it a one time charge. I would even enthusiastically buy sound packs piecemeal to gain permanently full access to them. $7 for one sound pack would be an easy impulse buy that I would only slightly regret, but a monthly subscription model just does not feel like the fit for a service like this. I will continue to use the app, but implore the devs to look at other monetization methods, as I feel like a subscription basis will be a consistent turn off for many potential customers.Also, devs just HAVE to get working on a tavern soundscape, how else am I supposed to start my adventures?!

Developer Response
Thanks so much for your feedback! We're happy to hear that you're having fun using the app, and we're always stoked to hear that it's easy to pick up and use.Regarding the subscription - we're actively working to increase the value by adding more songs, sounds, and overall bang for your buck! We've thought a lot about our pricing model, and currently see the subscription as the only viable way to get the app to be where we want it long term while offering an expanding library of free content. If you're interested in our reasoning, we have a detailed explanation on our Discord!And your ears must be ringing - our team is hard at work scoring and recording our Tavern Expansion :) that's our top content priority right now. -Nick
Great to use, BUT
12/03/2023
Magnum52633

First the good - the app is well built, fun and intuitive to use, and the sounds are great! I look forward to more soundscapes being made, and more sound packs being released. I even cannot wait to see how the devs increase functionality within individual packs, like scene specific sound categories and what not. Having the same basic categories, like ambiance and weather, across all scenes make a ton of sense and works fantastic.$7 a month is a steep price, however. I would certainly pay money for a pro version were it a one time charge. I would even enthusiastically buy sound packs piecemeal to gain permanently full access to them. $7 for one sound pack would be an easy impulse buy that I would only slightly regret, but a monthly subscription model just does not feel like the fit for a service like this. I will continue to use the app, but implore the devs to look at other monetization methods, as I feel like a subscription basis will be a consistent turn off for many potential customers.Also, devs just HAVE to get working on a tavern soundscape, how else am I supposed to start my adventures?!
Developer Response 12/11/2023
Thanks so much for your feedback! We're happy to hear that you're having fun using the app, and we're always stoked to hear that it's easy to pick up and use.Regarding the subscription - we're actively working to increase the value by adding more songs, sounds, and overall bang for your buck! We've thought a lot about our pricing model, and currently see the subscription as the only viable way to get the app to be where we want it long term while offering an expanding library of free content. If you're interested in our reasoning, we have a detailed explanation on our Discord!And your ears must be ringing - our team is hard at work scoring and recording our Tavern Expansion :) that's our top content priority right now. -Nick
Great apps but has some bugs
10/16/2024
Tyco0621
I love this app so let me get that out of the way. I think the idea behind it is amazing. However it has some bugs. For one the explosion one shot doesn’t work on any of the scenes for me except the original scene it comes with. I purchased the subscription so I have all the other ones. The other problem is I noticed a lot of scenes like the city and town have whisper for ambiance. Bit whisper sounds like demonic whispering. It doesn’t fit. However the tavern has the crowd sound. Which fits way better. I think the devs need to go through and replace the whispers with the crowd effect cause it makes way more sense. Unfortunately you can use the crowd effect in other scenes cause then it changes everything when you switch. Also maybe devs should come up with a way for us to create our own scenes with the sounds already available. That would be amazing and add a whole new option for customization. Cause I notice there’s lots of scenes with one shot assets I like but the explore or location sounds don’t fit.

Developer Response
Hey Tyco0621, thanks so much for this review! We'd like to apologize for your experience and our lack of clarity around what users are able to do within Pocket Bard. Specifically around your feedback concerning the Ambiences and OneShots. By going to the Play tab, tapping a location, and tapping the Edit button in the upper right corner, you are actually able to customize which Ambient and OneShot effects are available within the scene. You can take effects you don't need away, add additional effects, or even tap the "pin" icon so that these effects will be available across all locations. No ambience is locked behind any specific location other than the "location" ambience.Concerning the explosion OneShot not working across locations, we believe that we have implemented an in-app fix for this issue. Once you confirm that you are running the latest version of Pocket Bard (2.2.3) please navigate to the Content Page. If you don't see the "update" button in the upper right corner of the screen, please pull down on that page to refresh the contents. You may see the update button appear or you will see a message that says "all content is up to date." We believe that this is the root of the problem.Once you have ensured that all content is up to date and you are still experiencing this bug, please navigate to the play page, tap the edit button in the upper right corner, go to One-Shots, remove explosion, and then press and hold on the explosion button to delete the effect. Once the effect has been fully deleted, attempt to download it again and see if the issue persists. I hope you find this information helpful! Thank you so much for your support and for taking the time to let us know what we can do to improve Pocket Bard! We are in it for the long haul and will do everything possible to make our app better every day. If you'd like to follow up about this or submit any additional feedback, our door is always open. Please reach out at any time to support@pocketbard.app - Thanks again!
Great apps but has some bugs
10/16/2024
Tyco0621

I love this app so let me get that out of the way. I think the idea behind it is amazing. However it has some bugs. For one the explosion one shot doesn’t work on any of the scenes for me except the original scene it comes with. I purchased the subscription so I have all the other ones. The other problem is I noticed a lot of scenes like the city and town have whisper for ambiance. Bit whisper sounds like demonic whispering. It doesn’t fit. However the tavern has the crowd sound. Which fits way better. I think the devs need to go through and replace the whispers with the crowd effect cause it makes way more sense. Unfortunately you can use the crowd effect in other scenes cause then it changes everything when you switch. Also maybe devs should come up with a way for us to create our own scenes with the sounds already available. That would be amazing and add a whole new option for customization. Cause I notice there’s lots of scenes with one shot assets I like but the explore or location sounds don’t fit.
Developer Response 10/18/2024
Hey Tyco0621, thanks so much for this review! We'd like to apologize for your experience and our lack of clarity around what users are able to do within Pocket Bard. Specifically around your feedback concerning the Ambiences and OneShots. By going to the Play tab, tapping a location, and tapping the Edit button in the upper right corner, you are actually able to customize which Ambient and OneShot effects are available within the scene. You can take effects you don't need away, add additional effects, or even tap the "pin" icon so that these effects will be available across all locations. No ambience is locked behind any specific location other than the "location" ambience.Concerning the explosion OneShot not working across locations, we believe that we have implemented an in-app fix for this issue. Once you confirm that you are running the latest version of Pocket Bard (2.2.3) please navigate to the Content Page. If you don't see the "update" button in the upper right corner of the screen, please pull down on that page to refresh the contents. You may see the update button appear or you will see a message that says "all content is up to date." We believe that this is the root of the problem.Once you have ensured that all content is up to date and you are still experiencing this bug, please navigate to the play page, tap the edit button in the upper right corner, go to One-Shots, remove explosion, and then press and hold on the explosion button to delete the effect. Once the effect has been fully deleted, attempt to download it again and see if the issue persists. I hope you find this information helpful! Thank you so much for your support and for taking the time to let us know what we can do to improve Pocket Bard! We are in it for the long haul and will do everything possible to make our app better every day. If you'd like to follow up about this or submit any additional feedback, our door is always open. Please reach out at any time to support@pocketbard.app - Thanks again!
This app is incredible. Please stick to it!
03/11/2024
JimmyJortz
Update: Thank you dev team for responding to so many people in the reviews. I love the hands on approach and listening to your customers. Maybe people don’t usually ask for this but I would LOVE to see more paid packs. I currently (and I’m sure others as well) don’t have use for a sci-fi pack but plan to get it anyways to support the app. Currently am running a pirate campaign with many beach themes. Would love to see some more tropical themes. Even if not more packs where we can support you would be awesomeI use this app every single session now. I swapped to this from recording my own custom music and my life is so much easier. There is a lot of content in this app but please don’t abandon this thing. I’ve seen that before and I want this app to keep growing.

Developer Response
Hi JimmyJortz! Thank you so much for this kind review. We're so happy that you're enjoying Pocket Bard! Our team is pouring hours of hard work, soul, and creativity into making this app. And we do mean making - we feel like our journey is only getting started. We have so much content planned, both for our free users and our subscribers. We see Pocket Bard as a labor of love. It's our vision that our users experience what you've told us: an ability to add an immersive layer to their games and lives, and make that immersion as easy as possible. We hope you enjoy and stick around to see what we have coming next!
This app is incredible. Please stick to it!
03/11/2024
JimmyJortz

Update: Thank you dev team for responding to so many people in the reviews. I love the hands on approach and listening to your customers. Maybe people don’t usually ask for this but I would LOVE to see more paid packs. I currently (and I’m sure others as well) don’t have use for a sci-fi pack but plan to get it anyways to support the app. Currently am running a pirate campaign with many beach themes. Would love to see some more tropical themes. Even if not more packs where we can support you would be awesomeI use this app every single session now. I swapped to this from recording my own custom music and my life is so much easier. There is a lot of content in this app but please don’t abandon this thing. I’ve seen that before and I want this app to keep growing.
Developer Response 03/10/2024
Hi JimmyJortz! Thank you so much for this kind review. We're so happy that you're enjoying Pocket Bard! Our team is pouring hours of hard work, soul, and creativity into making this app. And we do mean making - we feel like our journey is only getting started. We have so much content planned, both for our free users and our subscribers. We see Pocket Bard as a labor of love. It's our vision that our users experience what you've told us: an ability to add an immersive layer to their games and lives, and make that immersion as easy as possible. We hope you enjoy and stick around to see what we have coming next!

- Added AirPlay support - Added playback control on the lock screen, Dynamic Island, and Control Center - Added AirPods and Apple Watch controls - Smoother app launch - Playback and previews now pause when you switch to another audio app - Audio pauses for calls, alarms, and headphone disconnects - Improved system language sync - Added bulk add and remove for scenes, ambiences, and one-shots - Fixed downloads failing on slow connections - Improved preview behavior

Version 3.2.0 6d ago

Data Used to Track You

The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies:
- Usage Data
Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
- Diagnostics
Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
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- Contact Info
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Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Accessibility

Information

Seller: Pocket Bard Inc.
Size: 114.4 MB
Category: Music
Compatibility: Requires iOS 16.1 or later.

iPhone
Requires iOS 16.1 or later.

iPad
Requires iPadOS 16.1 or later.

Mac
Requires macOS 13.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.

Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
Languages: English and 4 more

English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish
Age Rating: 9+

9+

Learn More

Infrequent
Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
Horror/Fear Themes
Guns or Other Weapons
In-App Purchases: Yes

Pocket Bard Open Worlds $6.99

Pocket Bard Open Worlds Yearly $49.99

Learn More

Developer Website

Privacy Policy

License Agreement

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Pocket Bard

Ratings & Reviews

Best background music app for just about anything

Great to use, BUT

Great apps but has some bugs

This app is incredible. Please stick to it!

What’s New

App Privacy

Data Used to Track You

Data Linked to You

Data Not Linked to You

Accessibility

Information

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