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A Minor Idea Beta

Capture a tune. Shape it later.

Keep a musical idea before it slips away. Record or import a short hummed, whistled, sung or played melody. A Minor Idea keeps the original audio alongside editable notes you can return to.

Free TestFlight beta · iPhone · iOS 17+. I’m looking for musicians to help shape what comes next.

Join the beta How to install

From a small idea to editable notes.

54-second demo · English on-screen captions · music, no speech

The demo imports “Porch Light”, a short sampled clarinet melody, compares the original Take with the detected Notes, then shows sheet music, guitar tabs, a note selection, an instrument choice and MIDI, MusicXML and WAV exports.

“Porch Light” is an original composition rendered with sampled clarinet. Piano and guitar playback use the app’s exported MIDI; the backing band was arranged for the film, not generated by the app.

Music and sample credits

Clarinet: FreePats (CC0), recorded by Tyler Dence, performed by Kaili Dence. Upright Piano KW and Spanish Classical guitar (Roberto): FreePats (CC0). Epiphone Emily guitar: Karoryfer (CC0); Meatbass: Karoryfer (publisher’s royalty-free licence). FluidR3 GM drums: Frank Wen and Toby Smithe (MIT). Inter: Rasmus Andersson (SIL OFL 1.1). Film rendered with Remotion.

FreePats · Karoryfer Samples

Keep the idea while it is fresh.

Start with one note at a time. Review the piano roll, adjust pitch and timing, or read the melody as sheet music or guitar tabs. Your original recording stays alongside your edits.

Take it into your music.

Try sampled instruments to hear the melody differently. Export MIDI, MusicXML or WAV to continue working in your usual music tools.

Details from the demo. The app interface is in English.

Porch Light in the piano roll: coloured notes show the detected pitches and lengths, with controls for editing a note.
See the shape of your phrase. Tap a note to hear it and make an adjustment.
The same Porch Light melody displayed on musical staves in the app’s sheet music view.
Read the same melody as sheet music, or switch to guitar tabs.

Get the beta on your iPhone.

  1. Install Apple’s TestFlight. Use an iPhone with iOS 17 or later.
  2. Open the beta invitation on your iPhone.
  3. Accept the invitation in TestFlight, then install A Minor Idea. No sign-in is needed inside A Minor Idea.

Have 10–15 minutes?

Try one familiar phrase, about 10–20 seconds long, with one note at a time. Hum, whistle, sing or play it — or import a recording.

  1. Compare Take and Notes. Does the detected melody sound like your recording?
  2. Adjust one note in the piano roll, then listen again.
  3. Try an export: MIDI for editable notes, MusicXML for notation, or WAV for audio.

Was it useful? Where did you get stuck? Would you use it again? Send beta feedback from TestFlight, or get in touch through A Minor Idea support. I’d love to hear how it went.

Join the beta