Andante Practice Journal: An Overview of the Pro Features

Today I’m sharing a glimpse into the pro features in Andante Practice Journal, one of my favorite iOS apps for musicians!

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Upgrading the App

While the app is free to use, access to the pro features requires a one-time payment of $3.99. I use this app every time I practice, so it wasn’t a big deal for me. Forscore, the app I use to read and annotate sheet music, is a one-time payment for $19.99, so I paid less than $25 for two apps I use every time I practice.

Want to learn more about Forscore? I have an article on the annotation features, and another on just the top bar to help you navigate the app easier and more efficiently!

Differences between the free features and pro features

As you can see, the free version of Andante Practice Journal includes so many useful features! If you’d like to learn more about the free features, check out my earlier blog post where I showcase the free version of the app!

However, I would absolutely recommend for musicians to spring for the paid version, simply for the advanced functionality. Let’s dive deeper into each pro feature-

Session Notes

Session notes are attached to the practice session you write them in. You can type or use an Apple pencil to write your notes at the bottom of your practice session. This is a great way to make notes on what exactly you’re working on. To take more detailed notes, I’d recommend using the journal feature.

Journal

As part of the pro version, you’re able to create multiple journals in the app! You could make separate journals for each piece of repertoire you learn, for separate goals, or maybe you could make a new journal each month to keep things organized.

The journal feature is a bigger space than session notes, and the journal entries are not attached to specific practice sessions. In this space, you’re able to create a title for each entry, and again you can either type with a keyboard, or handwrite in the journal with an Apple pencil, though your handwriting will be converted to text.

Tuner

The pro features include a simple drone tuner. You can access this through the tuning fork icon within your practice session, and you can choose either a pure tone or a cello drone.

Drones are super helpful for intonation work, and having a string drone rather than the cold pure drone included in most physical tuners is a much more enjoyable experience for me as a violist!

Log past practice sessions

Go up to the top right hand corner and tap on the orange square with a slider icon on it. This will bring up a calendar where you can log a past practice session! This is super helpful for me when I practiced away from my iPad or would like to log some playing I did earlier when I was in a hurry.

I hesitated buying an iPad because I didn’t want to have to commit to using digital music and practice journals every day, so this feature helps me feel less tied to my iPad! (even though I’m obsessed with it and looooove using it.)

Exporting your stats

After purchasing the pro features, you can export your practice statistics as a .csv file! You can then manipulate it in software like Microsoft Excel.

Siri Shortcuts

You can make your own siri shortcut by tapping on your instrument icon and pressing the “siri shortcuts” icon. Here you can assign phrases to begin a practice session through siri, such as saying “Start practicing the viola.”

Practice Reminders

One of my FAVORITE pro features is the option to create practice reminders. I have one set daily at 3:15. Every day at that time, I get a notification from Andante saying “Start practicing the viola.” It’s super helpful to just remind me that maybe I should practice!

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Do you use Andante Practice Journal? What do you think? If you know of a cool practice hack or function within the app that I didn’t mention, please share it in the comments down below!

You can download the app in the app store for free, but I highly recommend buying the paid features. The app is run by one person, and purchasing the extra features helps support him and brings more fun features to the app!