Pocket Pitch
A tool for singers to play and identify musical pitches, for practice or performance. I am the owner of this app.
App Metrics
Unique Downloads
700,000+
Monthly Active Users
17,500+
Average Rating
4.5 Stars
User Reviews
1,300+
Origin
Yep, that’s me…in 2015 I create Pocket Pitch while working as a 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 honestly was looking for any excuse to make my own app.
I had been making websites and designing all sorts of stuff most of my life, but not yet an app!
MVP
The design was even simpler than the piano app I had been using before. It was one screen that replicated a pitch pipe, a simple reed instrument usually used by choirs. I hired some freelancers to help me, shared my designs, and with a little work I got it on the AppStore!
Version 2: Adding a Keyboard
I pretty quickly wanted to keep tinkering with my app (it was getting more downloads than expected) and I added a keyboard (piano) feature that I personally knew all singers with get use from. I had no formal design training at this point, but I kept trying to improve the UI.
Adding Blow Mode
There was no problem solving with this feature, just fun experimenting. I wanted to try to replicate the physical use of an old fashioned pitch pipe that a singer would blow into (like a harmonica if you’re not familiar), and so I created a setting that let users do that. Users could tap to select a note and then it would play when the app detected the user blowing on/at the mic.
Version 3: Growth
I continued to update the app a little, but my next major move was with growth. Through a mix of research and brainstorming, I came up with some basic plans for AppStore SEO. The biggest part of this was prompting users for feedback and then redirecting the positive feedback to user reviews.
This all lead to an increase in usage by 300% in 24 months.
Version 4: Post UX Bootcamp updates
The next major updates came after completing a UX Bootcamp. I had some new and improved design skills, and I saw that I could continue to improve this app. If anything I just wanted to redo the UI, but I was also long overdue for adding a tuner feature that had been on my wishlist for awhile (and users were asking for it!).
Broadway!
This was very cool, and kind of a full circle moment for me. Less than a year after updating Pocket Pitch to be a much more polished and professional experience, 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.
Version 5: Current
The current version has the same functionality as above, but makes use of a Design System I created to achieve a couple goals:
Align design sytles with my other app, Pocket Guitar Chords.
Align the design styles with modern app design trends.
Meet basic accessibility standards.
This Design System has its own case study.
Note: this version is actively being updated on the AppStore.
What’s next…
The next big feature will be scales for singers practicing and warming up. Along with that, after many failed attempts, I will be attempting again to crossover to Android. Finally, I hope to add Dark Mode which of course is the pinnacle of app design. There’s still plenty of growth left with this app, and so I hope to continue to make it more and more useful to singers!