Real Ear Trainer
Learning music from your favorite playlist
I joined as the design partner to shape a the first iteration of a cutting edge music learning app which had been developed by a small team of developers. They had created an innovative way to personalize the learning experience by using AI to incorporate any uploaded song into ear training quizzes. This project spanned around 4 months from user research to release of the first version.
Exploring music learning
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I conducted user research through interviews, and conducted a competitive analysis of existing ear training tools to better understand the audience for such an app as well as the where our app could fit into the current landscape.
User Interviews:
Musicians vs Non musicians
We asked ourselves the question: could people who are unfamiliar with ear training use this app?
By interviewing a range of people from complete beginners to expert musicians, I found that:
while many people are interested in learning music, most beginners don’t know what ear training is and are more interested in first learning to read music or play their favorite songs on an instrument. I concluded that:
the primary audience for the current version of the app are mid level to expert musicians who already have skills and knowledge and want to practice it.
Competitor Analysis
Where do we stand out?
I found that while there are many apps which offer ear training, our app is unique in its ability to upload and find the matching chord progressions in your favorite music.
Apps which are aimed at beginners tend to have the users answer by choosing the note on a keyboard. (This lined up with my findings in the user interviews. )
I found that our AI technology gave us the opportunity to stand out by being the only app I found which allowed you to personalize your learning by uploading or syncing your favorite music.
🎬 Actions Taken
Kept ‘ear trainer’ in the name.
Created a tutorial to guide new users (of all levels).
Highlighted the personalization aspect and the novelty of incorporating your favorite songs into chord progression quizzes.
For the first version we focused on musicians with prior knowledge and understanding of the chords and who want to test their listening skills.
🌱 Next steps
For a future version geared towards beginners we should simplify the quizzes and incorporate a virtual keyboard where you can answer by playing the right note versus identifying the name of the chord.
User Flows
The challenge was to simplify and create a more engaging home screen. I mapped out the ideal user flows to help identify redundant features and confusing navigation paths.
Simplifying the user journeys and flows led to a cleaner, more intuitive interface.
I added a bottom navigation to increase accessibility from anywhere on the app, and made the most important user actions all available directly from the homepage. There are now less clicks to complete many of the major flows.
Redesign
Visualizing AI Music Integration
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We wanted to find a way to visually show that uploading music ‘magically’ incorporates it into the quizzes. We wanted the learners to feel like they were enhancing their quizzes with each song they uploaded.
