The social practice journal for musicians
It's hard to hear yourself getting better. So HalfStep keeps every take.
Play your first take against your latest and hear the difference. Post the rough takes to other musicians who are mid‑piece too, and watch a piece move from Learning to Performing.
Not on an iPhone, or outside the US? Leave your email.
HalfStep is a free iPhone app for tracking music practice, on guitar, piano, voice or any other instrument. Log every session and keep the take, follow each piece from Learning to Performing, and see what the musicians you follow practiced today. Think Strava, for practice.
Why HalfStep
Everyone posts the gig.
Nobody posts the Tuesday.
There's the day you start a piece and the day it's ready. Everything that actually makes you better happens in between: the same passage, slowly, over weeks and months. That stretch is invisible everywhere else, which is why nobody posts it, and why nobody sees anyone else's either. It's the whole point here.
- Learning
- Developing
- Refining
- Performing
Three of the four are the grind. A piece moves when a session records that it got there, so the track shows how long it really took. One color is held back for Performing. When a piece finally gets there, you can see it from across the room.
With other players
See who practiced today.
- Follow other musicians and see their sessions as they happen
- Bravo a take, leave a comment, put someone in your Front Row
- Keep your account private and approve who follows you
While you practice
Keep the take, not just the time.
- A metronome and a chromatic tuner, built in
- Record audio or video with the click still running
- Name the piece, the focus and how it went
Over time
Every piece you're working on.
- Minutes, streaks and every session, logged
- Every piece you're working on, from first read-through to Performing
- Then & NowPRO: your first take beside your latest, ready to share
Pricing
Free is the whole journal.
Pro is the camera.
The free version is not a trial that runs out.
| Free$0, for as long as you practice | HalfStep Pro$39.99 a year, or $4.99 a month | |
|---|---|---|
| Audio takes | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Metronome and tuner | Yes | Yes |
| Repertoire, stages and progress | Yes | Yes |
| The feed, follows, Bravos and comments | Yes | Yes |
| Video takes up to 5 minutes, 1080p | First three | Unlimited |
| Then & Now your first take beside your latest | No | Yes |
| Your takes if Pro lapses | n/a | Stay and still play |
You subscribe inside the app, through Apple, and cancel the same way. Available in the United States at launch. The details are in the Terms.
Questions
The short answers.
Is HalfStep free?
Yes, and the free version doesn't run out. It includes unlimited audio takes, the metronome and tuner, your repertoire and progress, and the feed. HalfStep Pro, $39.99 a year or $4.99 a month through Apple, adds unlimited video takes (up to five minutes, 1080p) and Then & Now: your first take on a piece beside your latest, as a video you can share. Free accounts can record three video takes.
What instruments does it work with?
Any. Guitar, piano, voice, violin, drums and sax are on the list, and you can type in anything else. HalfStep records through the iPhone's microphone and camera, so if you can play it near your phone, you can log it.
What does a session record?
How long you practiced, the piece, what you focused on and how it went, plus an audio or video take if you want one, recorded with the click still running. Takes are kept, so months later you can play your first take on a piece against your latest.
How is it different from other practice apps?
Practice apps tend to be a private log or a live room. HalfStep is built around the take: every recording stays with its piece, so you can hear the piece improve over weeks, and the musicians who follow you see your sessions, rough takes included.
Is there an Android version?
Not yet. HalfStep is iPhone only for now. Leave your email at the bottom of this page and we'll send one email when that changes.
Can I use it outside the US?
Not yet. HalfStep is on the US App Store for now. Leave your email at the bottom of this page and we'll send one email when it reaches your country.
Can I keep my practice private?
Yes. Make your account private and approve each person who follows you.
Get HalfStep
Find the people who practice too.
HalfStep is free on the App Store, for iPhone. Download it and log today's practice, rough takes included.
Not on an iPhone, or outside the US? Leave your address and we'll send one email when HalfStep reaches you. See our privacy policy.