October 2025 Newsletter
Student Spotlight
Congratulations to Ethan, who completed his very first piano book lesson at Shobo Music Academy with director and piano teacher, Alan Chaubert! We’re so proud of you, Ethan! Ethan's passion for music is inspiring, and we're excited to see where his musical journey will take him as he heads into Lesson Book 2 of the Chord Approach!
Top Digital Apps for Learning Music
Smartphones have become a regular part of daily life for people of all ages.But for parents, there’s an opportunity to make screen time more enrichingfor your children. With the right apps, smartphones can become a powerful(and portable!) tool for supporting your child's musical development.
We compiled a list of our top music-related smartphone apps that help students grow their musical skills in fun and engaging ways (and they're all completely FREE to download).
1. Tuner & Metronome - Soundcorset
This multi-faceted app has several tools for practicing music. Its features include a tuner, a metronome, a practice time tracker, backing drum beats, and more.You can practice scales, timing, and record your playing to review after. The app comes with 4,000+ free music sheets or you can upload your own! It supports a variety of instruments, such as piano, guitar, drums, and violin, to name a few.
2. NoteWorks Lite for iPhone
This educational app teaches students note recognition and sight reading skills in a fun game format.Using an animated character, players are asked to quickly identify and recognize notes to earn stars and points. This app is great for beginners and young students who are just learning to read music. We recommend the paid version for full access and more features!
3. NotesTeacher
This app is similar to NoteWorksLite (above), but is intended for more advanced students.NotesTeacher helps you learn and practice reading sheet music. In"learn" mode, you can take 32 free step-by-step lessons on reading music notes. In "practice" mode, you can specify which notes you want to focus on, helping you improve your speed and accuracy. The app also customizes your experience to help target your weak points.
