Masters Thesis Defense “Development of an iOS App for Learning Intonation of Wind Instruments” By Swathi Pamidi

Committee:  Drs. Yong Pei, Advisor, Mateen Rizki, Co-Advisor, and Shelley Jagow (School of Music)

ABSTRACT:

Learning music instrument is a challenging task for a beginner without constant guidance from an instructor. The primary objective of this thesis research is to design and develop an iOS mobile learning app that helps users to learn and practice intonation for a suite of wind instruments by themselves with comfort and ease through app-provided tuning and charting guidance and app-assisted self-assessment.

Particularly, our successfully-implemented app provides the following features to enhance the user’s learning experience: 1.) provides learners easy-to-access information for the fingering and tuning techniques of wind instruments by converting Dr. Shelley Jagow’s book – “Tuning for Wind Instruments: A Roadmap to Successful Intonation” to an iOS app; 2.) provides instant feedback on learner’s technique and performance by assessing the intonation of individual note being played, while the fingering and tuning chart is presented simultaneously for the early practices; and, 3.) provides instant feedback on learner’s technique and performance by identifying the sequence of notes being played for subsequent practices. 

The app is implemented using Xcode and Swift 4.0 and will be distributed through Apple App Store.