Getting a music app into schools for students/teachers?

adamkumpf

I've made a fairly popular musical instrument app (~30k users) that I think would be great for educators. It's built on music theory, completely free, no ads or in-app purchases, and allows players to experiment/create songs with drums, chords, notes, and loops.

Admittedly, it's a little unconventional (less focus on sheet music and more on experimenting with various keys, scales, rhythms, etc.), but it's very accessible and full of musical potential -- the very thing I imagine lots of band, choir, and theory students would enjoy and learn from.

However, actually getting it into schools is proving to be a lot more of an uphill climb than I imagined. Besides a bit of interest by directly contacting various teachers one-by-one, all of the sites that I've contacted that claim to be all about "apps for educators!" seem to all end up being paid promotional services (which is a total buzzkill, since they present themselves as an unbiased resource for teachers). Paying to be on an app list for teachers just feels wrong to me, so I've decided not to go down that road.

I've also reached out to a few awesome YouTube musicians/reviewers, but ultimately most aren't really focused on education per-se. And then there's reddit, facebook, twitter, etc, but with the massive number of apps out there (and everyone's guard being generally up and lots of skepticism about free things), that hasn't seemed to land with educators either.

This forum has been a fantastic source of feedback and ideas, so I figure it's worth asking... Are there any music educators/students on here that could point me in the right direction? Where do you find out about or discuss music apps for learning?

edit: I was planning not to include a name/link to avoid self-promotion, but re-reading the description it's a bit vague, so for completeness here's the app.

ajmiller

I listen to a podcast Musicality Now from musical-u https://www.musical-u.com/ which features websites and books etc of online musical educators. Might be worth trying them to have an interview on the podcast which would broaden your reach.

adamkumpf

Thanks @ajmiller -- I'll drop them a line. Seems like the right level of focus with a broader approach to education (not school-centric, but rather anyone who is looking to learn musically).

Still looking for where band teachers hang out online. From my memories growing up, the music teachers were always pretty interested in trying out new things, it seemed they were just overworked more than anything. I suppose summer would generally be more open for them to tinker.

audiblevideo

Possibly work in tandem with one music teacher and their principle and the work up the chain from there.

Also try putting flyers with codes in teacher supply stores and hold a small seminar there.

Those are my ideas.

gusgranite

Hi @adamkumpf - nice idea! How will this be sustainable / what is the business model? (If you don't mind me asking...)
Thanks

DYMS

I was in charge of App management and distribution for our teachers and students, but we removed student ipads a few years ago due to budget cuts. That said, many teachers are not able to just install their own apps, instead school boards or districts often prescribe the apps that they can use to deliver their curriculum.

Teachers also have to get through their teaching targets, and many don’t have time to explore new tools, except when they have time provided in professional development days.

I would suggest trying to get your hands on some music curriculum and seeing how your app can be used to reach teaching goals.

I would also suggest contacting local school boards or districts to see if you can be a part of their Pro-D days.

Finally, I would try to create some interest towards the end of a school year to try and have your app included in the tools for the new school year.

If you are just trying to get it into the hands of people that are teachers/students and not officially used in schools then most of the usual approaches (SNS, Youtube, direct contact) are the way to go.

Good luck with the app!

adamkumpf

All great suggestions! Thanks @audiblevideo, @gusgranite, and @DYMS. I'll roll up my sleeves and keep reaching out.

@gusgranite, the business model is evolving, but the general idea is to make it free for education (or for people that can't/won't pay) and paid for more serious musicians/users. If the App Store had a "pay what you want" option, I'd be all for it. But since they don't (and I can't stand ads or in-app purchases in creative tools since it feel like that ends up driving the design/experience in a negative way), I'll likely create a second app specific for classroom use that's free.

The "classroom edition" (CE) of the app would still be full featured (without ads or IAPs), but be a bit friendlier for younger users, support iOS back to v9.0 (since many schools have older iPads or choose not to go beyond a certain iOS version), and not have MIDI/IAA/AB (since they add complexity to the interface, and are not fundamental to the educational side of the app). Naturally, educators at higher levels could choose to go with the paid version if MIDI/IAA/AB are important for their workflow, but at that point it's beyond music education and more for serious use.