Add a piece to the Journal
Open the Journal tab in the tab bar at the bottom (Play, Learn, Daily, Journal, More). The first time, it says “No pieces yet”. Tap + to add the piece you are working on. The form asks for a Title, a Composer or Artist (optional), the Instrument and the Target BPM, with Notes at the end if you want them.
Set the target to the tempo you actually need: the recording’s tempo, the metronome mark, or the speed the band plays it. If you are not sure, use the Metronome’s Tap button on a recording and enter that. A piece can be edited later from its screen with Edit, so you can raise the target as you improve.
How the ladder works
When you start a session, the ladder works out where to begin. It takes 60% of your target, rounds that to the nearest whole BPM, then rounds down to a multiple of 4 BPM. It never starts below 40 BPM. The rules are then simple:
- A clean run counts. After three clean runs in a row, the tempo goes up by 4 BPM, but never above the target.
- An Again tap resets the count of clean runs. Two Again taps in a row take you back down by 4 BPM, but never below where you started.
- When you reach the target, the screen shows “At Target!”.
| Control | Setting | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Target 100 BPM | Starts at 60 BPM | 10 steps of 4 BPM to the target |
| Target 120 BPM | Starts at 72 BPM | 12 steps of 4 BPM to the target |
| Target 90 BPM | Starts at 52 BPM | 60% is 54, rounded down to a multiple of 4 |
| Target 106 BPM | Starts at 64 BPM | 60% is 63.6, rounded to 64 before the multiple-of-4 step |
| Target 60 BPM | Starts at 40 BPM | 60% is 36, but the ladder never starts below 40 |
Running a session
Open the piece and tap Start Practice Session. The session screen shows the piece title, a timer, a pulsing circle that beats at the current tempo, the current BPM, a bar from the starting tempo to the target, and two large buttons: Again ✗ and Clean ✓. At the bottom is End Session.
The pulse is visual only. There is no click on this screen, so set up a metronome at the BPM it shows, in the SUS4 Metronome or a click of your own. The ladder changes the number on the screen when you move up or down, so you will need to change your click to match each time.
Decide what “clean” means before you start, and be strict. A good definition is: right notes, no stops, no hesitation before the hard bar, and no tension in the hands. If you are not sure, tap Again. The ladder is only honest if you are.
Ending and logging a session
Tap End Session and the app shows the duration in minutes and the BPM range you covered, for example 72 → 88. You can give the session a rating out of five stars and write a session note, then tap Save. A good note is the specific place you tripped, because that is what you start with tomorrow.
Saving does two things. It adds the session to the piece’s Session History, which lists the duration and the start and end BPM of every session. And it updates the piece’s current tempo to the one you finished on, which is shown on the piece’s card in a progress ring.
One thing to know: each session starts the ladder again from 60% of the target, not from where you finished last time. Treat the first few steps as a warm-up and let them go quickly. The log shows where you got to.
Reading the log
At the top of the Journal tab, three figures show This Week (minutes practised), Streak (in days) and Pieces (how many you are tracking). Open a piece and the Session History shows each session, so you can see the tempo you reached rising across the week.
If the end tempo is not rising over several sessions, the target is probably too far away, or the passage needs breaking into smaller parts. Make a separate piece for the hardest four bars, and practise that with its own target.
Going further
For a tempo that goes up automatically with an audible click, the Metronome guide covers its Practice trainer. For a way to practise keeping time without a click at all, the Time Trainer guide is the one to read.