I'm building a free iReal Pro alternative — need your feedback

[noix_de_coco]

 Hey everyone,

I'm a musician, and for a while now I've been struggling with the practice apps available on the market. iReal Pro is a great tool, but it's aging and it's paid. For everything else, you end up juggling 5 different apps — one for the metronome, one for ear training, one for chord charts...

So I started building Autonome — a music practice app designed by a musician, for musicians. Free, no ads, with a modern interface that actually looks different from what's out there. The core idea is to centralize everything in one place: metronome, ear training, chord chart editor, backing tracks, repertoire management, progress tracking.

The app is in development and well underway — but before locking in the features, I want to make sure I'm building exactly what musicians actually need. Your feedback will directly shape what goes into the first version. This is your chance to have a say.

The survey takes less than 3 minutes: https://forms.gle/nmddEdnQH15rCsE1A

Happy to chat in the comments. Thanks in advance 🙏

[hazelemily]

This sounds like a really solid idea
You’re absolutely right — most musicians end up juggling multiple apps, and it gets frustrating switching between tools during practice. Having everything in one place (especially metronome, chord charts, and backing tracks) would be a huge time-saver.
A couple of things I’d personally love to see:
Simple and clean UI (not overloaded like some existing apps)
Offline access for practice sessions
Customizable practice routines or goals
Easy import/export of chord charts
Also, keeping it free and ad-free will definitely attract a lot of users early on.
I’ll check out the survey — excited to see how this develops! 🎶

[dizzyfingers]

We're so pulled in by the current smart device / app technology.
People make their lives revolve around their hand-held devices - lots of weird emotional and mental attachment and dependence.
These folk fall under the spell of thinking apps are an essential extension of life / the mind
Do you feel disconnected if you haven't had a notification in 10 minutes?
Their necessity and importance and helpfulness is an illusion !!!

It's so easy to manage your practice routine with
A) your well organized mind and memory,  or
B) maintaining a journal with pencil and paper, or
C) a spreadsheet (yes using a device);  in this case you can design the organization of information yourself, and change it any time you want, you're not locked into someone else's design

[noix_de_coco]

This sounds like a really solid idea
You’re absolutely right — most musicians end up juggling multiple apps, and it gets frustrating switching between tools during practice. Having everything in one place (especially metronome, chord charts, and backing tracks) would be a huge time-saver.
A couple of things I’d personally love to see:
Simple and clean UI (not overloaded like some existing apps)
Offline access for practice sessions
Customizable practice routines or goals
Easy import/export of chord charts
Also, keeping it free and ad-free will definitely attract a lot of users early on.
I’ll check out the survey — excited to see how this develops! 🎶

Thank you for your enthusiasm! I'm giving everything I have to make sure the app meets musicians' expectations as best as possible — and reading feedback like yours confirms I'm heading in the right direction.
The points you raised — clean UI, offline access, customizable routines — are exactly the kind of things I care about too. No bloat, no unnecessary complexity, just tools that get out of your way and let you focus on playing.
And beyond the practical side, my secondary goal with this app is to preserve and celebrate the practice of actually playing an instrument, at a time when AI is taking up more and more space in artists' work. That matters just as much to me as the features themselves.

[noix_de_coco]

We're so swayed by the current smart device / app technology.
People make their lives revolve around their hand-held devices.
They fall under the spell of thinking it is an essential extension of their minds.
Do you feel disconnected if you haven't had a notification in 5 minutes?
Their necessity and importance and helpfulness is an illusion.
It's so easy to manage your practice routine with
A) your well organized mind and memory,  or
B) a pencil and paper, or
C) to be modern - a spreadsheet app on a device;  in this case you can design the organization of information yourself, and change it any time you want, you're not locked into someone else's design

That's a fair and honest perspective, and I won't dismiss it. You're right that dependency on devices can become a trap, and that a pencil and paper often does the job just fine.
That said, I'm almost done with my computer science degree, and this project was born directly from my own needs as a musician. It's not a startup looking for users to monetize. There's no engagement loop, no notifications, no paywall. Just tools I wished existed when I was practicing.
I grew up with the internet, and I think that gives me a certain responsibility to build tools that serve people rather than exploit them. A well-designed app shouldn't replace your memory or your judgment, it should free up mental space so you can focus on what actually matters: playing. If it encourages someone to pick up their instrument more regularly, I think that's a win,
But I hear you. The goal is never to create dependency.

[frodo12]

We're so swayed by the current smart device / app technology.
People make their lives revolve around their hand-held devices.
They fall under the spell of thinking it is an essential extension of their minds.
Do you feel disconnected if you haven't had a notification in 5 minutes?
Their necessity and importance and helpfulness is an illusion.
It's so easy to manage your practice routine with
A) your well organized mind and memory,  or
B) a pencil and paper, or
C) to be modern - a spreadsheet app on a device;  in this case you can design the organization of information yourself, and change it any time you want, you're not locked into someone else's design

Just a 2nd opinion.  I agree with everything here.  I use spreadsheets to organize.  Hand held devices are not to my liking.  Too small.  I'm sure some might like this app though assuming it is well written.

[adhochave]

Hey everyone,

I'm a musician, and for a while now I've been struggling with the practice apps available on the market. iReal Pro is a great tool, but it's aging and it's paid. For everything else, you end up juggling 5 different apps — one for the metronome, one for ear training, one for chord charts...

So I started building Autonome — a music practice app designed by a musician, for musicians. Free, no ads, with a modern interface that actually looks different from what's out there. The core idea is to centralize everything in one place: metronome, ear training, chord chart editor, backing tracks, repertoire management, progress tracking.

The app is in development and well underway — but before locking in the features, I want to make sure I'm building exactly what musicians actually need. Your feedback will directly shape what goes into the first version. This is your chance to have a say.

The survey takes less than 3 minutes: https://forms.gle/nmddEdnQH15rCsE1ASlope 2

Happy to chat in the comments. Thanks in advance 🙏

I like that you’re approaching it from a musician’s perspective rather than a “tech app” angle. A clean, modern interface is a big plus too; most practice apps look like they were designed 15 years ago.

I filled out the survey. One thing I’d personally love is a way to organize practice sessions by goals (technique, repertoire, ear training, etc.) and maybe track how often I return to each piece. Anything that helps keep practice intentional rather than random is a win.