Databases

• MusicTheory.net has everything from quarter notes to the Phrygian dominant scale; it’s a great place to learn to read and understand music.
• IMSLP (International Music Score Library Project) has free scores of just about anything in the public domain.
• The VMII Song Database is a catalogue with descriptions and translations of just about every classical song you could possibly want to know about.

Apps

I personally use every one of these apps. Some are free, some have an up-front cost, and some require a subscription, but I have researched and tested each of them and am confident that they are all the “best bang for your buck.”

Accompaniment:

• $4-$15/month; I can provide a discount code!
• Huge catalogue of musical theatre and classical songs
• Options: controlling the key and tempo, adding fermatas, controlling relative volume of melody and accompaniment, and skipping or repeating sections
• Excellent for practicing songs or, in a pinch, performing if an accompanist is not available

Karaoke:

• Free preview with limited catalogue, then $10/month
• Huge catalogue of pop/rock and popular musical theatre music
• Options: raising/lowering pitch, controlling tempo, controlling volume of backing singers
• Best for pop music or for karaoke night with friends

Metronome:

• Free
• No unnecessary bells and whistles
• Options: controlling tempo, key signature, etc.

Rhythm Practice:

• Free for 10 minutes/day; for an upgrade, you get unlimited time daily
• Phenomenal app for training how to read and tap out rhythms
• Progresses from simple to very complex
• Go at your own pace, easily skip or repeat sections as needed
• I found this after I became a professional musician, and I wish I’d had it twenty years ago. Within a few weeks, it brought my confidence in reading rhythm from 20% to 90%. I can’t recommend it enough!

Pitch Practice:

• Free or minimal fee to download
• Great for students who are struggling with pitch!
• To use:
  • Sit at a piano or keyboard (or use a separate device with a simple piano app).
  • It’s best if you can connect it to headphones so the app only hears your voice, but in this case you need to know your note names.
  • Play a note in your range (starting around middle C is safe for everyone; treble voices can go higher, and adult male voices can go lower). Try to sing the same note. Watch the screen to see if you are on the pitch.
  • It is normal for human voices to have a very slight variation in pitch, which will appear as a faint squiggle. Without this, we would sound robotic! However, if the line representing your voice strays too far from the pitch, try again.
  • Remember to engage your breath support and “secret smile,” as this will help you to “nail the pitch.”

Music Theory Education:

• I haven’t spent much time on this myself, but from what I can tell it is a highly educational app for music theory and ear training

Scanning Music:

• I use this whenever I need to turn scan music (or any other documents) out of a book. It works like a charm! I then export them as a PDF by selecting “save to files,” and then I can email them or import them into Forscore

Managing Music on iPad:

• $25 to download
• This is the industry standard for musicians, but unfortunately it is only available for apple devices (iPad); similar apps, like Flat, are available for Android, but I’m not familiar with them.
• Allows you to manage and view your music, annotate, add and rearrange pages, manage set lists, store metadata (like song duration, tempo, key, rating, notes, etc.).
• Also includes a built-in tuner, metronome, scanner, and lots of other features I have yet to explore.

I do not utilize generative AI or autotune in any capacity. My performances, writing, artwork, and all creations are—and will continue to be—my own work, in collaboration with other human artists. Stay human!