Pocket Pitch
Problem
The vast majority of singers cannot identify or produce specific musical notes without some sort of musical reference; like a pitch pipe, piano, or audio track. (Only about 1% to 4% of Singers have perfect pitch and can produce or identify musical notes without any reference.) When singers don’t have a tool or instrument for reference, they can be prevented from practicing or performing correctly.
Solution
A digital pitch pipe and piano that singers can always have handy on their phone.
People
Founder / Designer (me)
Contract Developers (multiple)
Freelance Music Producer
I am the sole founder and designer of this app since launch in 2015. Most versions through 2023 involved freelance developers I hired and collaborated with remotely. I also worked with a music producer to recording the audio files. Today all updates are developed by myself using AI.
Impact
Pocket Pitch became the #1 result for “Pitch Pipe” on the AppStore, and is regularly used by singers around the world.
Unique Downloads: 740,000+
Monthly Active Users: 17,000+
Average Rating: 4.5-stars
Total Reviews: 1,400+
Select Reviews
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1994mets
“extremely simple and easy to use digital pitch pipe…”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Bay du Nord
“This makes finding the key and note much faster and simpler.”
How it all started…
Yep, that’s me in the photo. In 2015 I created Pocket Pitch while working as a professional singer at Hershey Park in Hershey, PA. At the time, I regularly used a piano app to play and identify musical pitches for practice, but I wanted an app that loaded faster. Also, I loved tech and just wanted to make my own app.
For my MVP I decided to make a digital pitch pipe rather than a piano because it would be simpler functionality for myself to figure out the programming to. I ended up messing it up enough times that I hired my first freelance developer to build out my designs.
Early Versions
After the excitement of launching the MVP, I quickly began making updates and added a piano/keyboard feature that was very inline with what myself and other singers were accustomed to using. Later added a button for users to email me directly with any requests or problems, and began adding smaller settings based on their requests.
Getting to know my users…
I discovered overtime through email feedback that my users were singers like myself, with the same core needs, but really covered a range of personas. They were individual singers, choirs, young, old, and all sorts of technical abilities.
Growth Hacking
An impactful update was when I focused on growth, and through a mix of research and brainstorming, I came up with some basic plans for AppStore SEO. I focused on keywords and in-app purchases, but the biggest mover came from using prompts to ask users for feedback. I noted negative feedback and redirected the positive feedback to public reviews. This all lead to an increase in usage by 300% in 24 months.
User Research for new updates
I had previously used user feedback to influence updates, but for this next update I took the time to organize feedback from emails, as well as feedback in AppStore reviews. I also recruited 10 professional singers for user interviews to verify their existing problems and what tools they use to solve them (whether it be Pocket Pitch or something else).
There was growing demand for a tuner feature, not just for tuning instruments (like in the review requesting a pitch sensor), but also for singers to identify notes. It was the most requested feature that singers would ask me for in person.
Also, I was noticing that the biggest issue that seemed to come up for my users was confusion about the extra settings and features that I made to accommodate other users!
I determined that I would update my app to include a tuner because it was in line with the core purpose of the app, to help singers identify musical notes. Given the issues of confusion with other features, I decided the to change my keyboard to look more like a piano.
Flows to Wireframes
Visuals and Style Guide
The main visual goals were to adopt a more specific brand color rather than the previous rainbow palette. I felt this could possibly help eliminate some user confusion by not having a bunch of colors all over the place. I also looked to use modern styles so that the app felt current and new like any other brand new tech. At the time, neumorphism was all the rage, so I used a lot of white with shadows to create depth for my buttons.
UI Designs
Broadway!
This was very cool, and kind of a full circle moment for me. After this major update to Pocket Pitch, I was contacted by a Broadway musical to become their official app!
My app had a promotional screen and link for their show until their production ended in early 2024.
Pocket Pitch today
The current version of Pocket Pitch has very similar functionality as the previous version above. Here are the key changes to the visual design:
I changed the brand color/gradient from primarily red to more of a purple/pink. I plan to add features in the future that will need red to be used as an error color, and I don’t want the brand color to be too similar to a negative indicator.
I swapped the neumorphic style for a flat design. This is to be more inline with other apps singers use for music (YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music) and common utility apps (Calculator, Notes).
What’s next…
The next big features will be centered around practicing and warming up for rehearsals and performances. There’s still plenty of growth left with this app, and so I hope to continue to make it more and more useful for singers!
Try Pocket Pitch for yourself on the AppStore.
