A team of top-level collaborative pianists and coaches from all over the world record the accompaniments you hear in the app. By contracting specialists in every genre, we are able to offer the highest quality accompaniment recordings available. They record using specific digital recording tools and protocols which allow us to provide the patented features that give you almost total musical control over the finished recordings. If you are a collaborative pianist, or know one who might be interested in joining the Appcompanist team, please contact us at info@appcompanist.com.

The new Choral Feature, which allows users to emphasize one or more vocal parts against the accompaniment for part learning and practice, makes it possible for Appcompanist to begin including duets, trios, ensemble pieces, full roles and even all vocal parts of complete shows or operas. However, our concentration is still on building the most comprehensive library of solo vocal repertoire and choral music possible, so, if you have a specific suggestion for multi-part or ensemble pieces, feel free to contact us at info@appcompanist.com. We have added thousands of accompaniments by user request in just the last year, and we are not slowing down on recording any time soon. So, go ahead and request away, and we’ll work duets, trios, roles, and other ensemble pieces in as we can. 

If there is a pop song that is often sung by musical theater singers or is part of a Broadway show, it may well appear in the Appcompanist Library already. If not, go ahead and request it at info@appcompanist.com. Also, now that the exercise, classical vocal, and musical theater libraries are well over 8,500 titles. We are starting to add popular songs, jazz standards, spirituals, folk songs, and a wide variety of songs that singers want to sing. We’ve added over 3,500 titles by user request in just the last eighteen months, so we love hearing from the singers and teachers in our community. Let us know what you need. 

We are focused on creating the best accompaniment tool possible, and we look forward to working with existing publishers and digital music distributors to help you find and purchase the sheet music you need. In the meantime, we recognize that viewing scores on a phone wouldn’t be the most conducive experience to learning or rehearsing and that most teachers and singers have many sources from which they can obtain either hard copy or digital sheet music. But, we have built a split screen mode into the iPad version of Appcompanist, so that you can view sheet music side by side with the app using your favorite PDF viewer software. (ForScore, etc.) 

You can download the app for free, and view and search all the titles.

You can change, manage, or cancel your subscription at any time directly through Apple iTunes or Google Play by tapping the info/help icon at the bottom of your app, and following the link to Manage Your Subscription, or go directly to their Customer Support Pages - 

Apple iTunes Customer Support

Google Play Customer Support

Any questions about payment methods, refunds, etc. have to go directly through Apple or Google, as we don’t have any view of who subscribes, Apple IDs or Google Play IDs, payment methods, charges, etc. Apple/iTunes and Google Play have total control of the commerce piece and they handle all of that to protect your privacy.

Appcompanist is only for use on mobile devices.

In short, no. ANY mechanical reproduction or copy (making MP3s, CDs, digital recordings for students, friends, etc.) of our accompaniments is a violation of Copyright Law in the same way it would be to photocopy sheet music or make a copy of any recording that you buy to distribute to another person.  We pay royalties to publishers and composers for the use of the copyrighted material that we record and make available through Appcompanist, and our original recordings of public domain songs are also protected under copyright law. The artistic community depends upon people adhering to Copyright Law. Violation hurts composers, lyricists, publishers, recording artists, and companies striving to develop innovative products that serve artists. As with all streaming models, royalties are paid on subscription revenue, based on "streams" or actual use of each recording.  Please keep in mind: 

• ANY COPY distributed to another person is an illegal copy.
• ANY COPY made and retained by a user after a subscription is cancelled or expires is an illegal copy. 

Also, for your students to get the full experience of being able to practice with the recordings...controlling tempo, key, melody, fermata, etc., they really should have their own subscription to Appcompanist. This also allows them to explore new repertoire on their own and expand their horizons with our growing library of thousands of exercises, arias, art songs, spirituals, musical theater pieces, sacred, jazz, and popular songs. Thank you for doing your part as an artist to help your community thrive!

For many cases, yes! Many of our songs and vocal exercises are public domain. That means you can make recordings of yourself singing with our accompaniments and post them freely without needing to obtain a license to do so. Some of our songs and exercises are protected by copyright. A copyright protects the underlying musical composition, which may be owned by the song’s rightsholders like writers and publishers. A separate copyright exists in our recording of the composition, and that’s owned by Appcompanist. We own all our recordings and pay rightsholders licenses so you can use our accompaniments. We can’t wait to see how you’re using us, and hope you’ll credit and tag us so we can keep up with your creativity! You can use Appcompanist’s recordings of both public domain and copyrighted songs for private and non-commercial uses which include recording yourself practicing, sharing privately with your music teacher, and performing at auditions, juries, and recitals or settings where no one is making money off the performance. If you’re using Appcompanist to perform copyrighted songs in a paid performance, livestreaming from your own website, or in a video of you performing or practicing posted to a social media site, you must obtain any required licenses according to the law. We don’t mind you posting video of yourself singing with any of our accompaniments, but, to be clear, we cannot grant you the right to post any recordings or copies of any compositions which are not in the public domain. Such licenses would have to be obtained from the copyright rights holders directly.  We do not maintain a list of compositions in the public domain.

Song settings such as key, tempo, melody blend and melody octave are all automatically saved when you close a song, so that the next time you open that song, it will play exactly as it did when you left off.  You can clear all settings and restore to the original recorded settings by tapping the three dots in the lower right hand corner of the play screen and tapping “Reset Song Settings.”

You can also save all tempo changes and fermata changes that you make to a song during play by using the Create Custom Version feature. See Create Custom Version in the Using Appcompanist section of the website. 

The Apple and Google Play renewable subscription models don't allow for institutional purchases or licensing. Also, it wouldn't be ideal for students as they need to have their accounts tied to their own Apple IDs or Google Play IDs so that their playback settings, playlists, custom versions, etc. go with them wherever they go and on any of their devices under that ID. Some schools and private studios that have really wanted to help students with the purchase of a subscription have done it by giving iTunes/Google Play gift cards. It's not very tech or elegant, but it has done the trick where needed. Some schools also provide iPads with subscriptions under the school’s account, but again, for the above reasons, it’s more ideal for students to purchase and have their own accounts. 

Many times, especially in Musical Theater, the piano score has the melody doubled in the accompaniment as part of the arrangement, and early on, in an effort to stay true to what you will actually hear when a live accompanist plays from your sheet music, we left the doubled melody lines in the accompaniment. However, we are currently in a project to remove doubled melody in the accompaniment track, so that the Melody Blend feature remains more useful on these pieces. If you find a song that has a melody doubled in the accompaniment track, let us know at info@appcompanist.com and we’ll add it to our fix list. 

We maximize the piano volume in the accompaniment recordings so that you can get enough out of a quality bluetooth speaker to actually match the level of a classical or musical theater singer practicing full-out. Because of this, playing the piano sound through the phone’s internal speaker at high volume can cause distortion. The premium piano sound in Appcompanist is designed to be played through a good external Bluetooth speaker or quality headphones in order to achieve the volume necessary for accompanying live singers.

The search box is designed to narrow to very specific searches. For this reason we have it set to match to all words typed. For instance, if you type "baritone" and "some" the search will not include all baritone pieces as well as all titles or greater works with the word "some" in them, because we assume you’re looking for a baritone piece with the word “some” in it. It will use both to find ONLY baritone songs that have the word "some" like,  “Some Enchanted Evening.”

Appcompanist provides a number of ways to search the library and some powerful tools to find what you’re looking for. Tap “Search Tips” at the top left of the library search screen in the app for some detailed suggestions on improving your search and finding what you’re looking for. Here are a few bullet points:

• Less is more…type the minimum number of characters or words to find what you’re looking for in order to minimize mistakes. The list will update below with every character you type, so you may see it within just a few characters.
• Check that you didn’t leave an unwanted word or part of a word in the search box at the top from a previous search. 
• Widen your search by typing a broader category in the search box (like the composer’s last name or part of the show title the piece is from), or by simply sorting the list and looking in categories rather than for a specific piece.
• Check spelling. If you are typing anything other than part of a title of a song or greater work in the search box (like a voice type or language or composer) you would need to type the entire category word, spelled correctly to find it.

If you’re really stuck, reach out to us. We’re always here to help. info@appcompanist.com.

This is a complex answer because of the intricacies of published and printed music. Assigning a single key to a piece that moves through multiple keys; or has an intro or recitative that is in a different key from that of the Aria or Song "proper" is somewhat subjective and can be difficult. 

We decided in many cases, early on in our recordings, to display the key signature of the song or aria "proper" (Where the familiar part of a piece begins). For example the intro of the song "Popular" from Wicked starts in C major, but the song proper begins in F Major, when she sings, "Popular…I want to be popular." This is the key that is displayed on the app since most people think of that as the song and would claim to sing it in the key of F, rather than naming the starting key of the introduction. Using the melody feature on the app and any pitch pipe or instrument (even one on your phone), it’s easy to double check that you are playing the accompaniment in the right key for your sheet music. More recently we have tried, wherever possible, when it doesn’t cause confusion to simply use the starting key as the key for the entire piece. In these cases, remember that if you are looking at a later section of the piece, you may be seeing a different key signature than what appears in the app, since we don’t actively change the key signature when the piece moves to a new key. You simply need to return to the start of the piece to double check that your music matches the app. 

Another possible answer is that the piece was recorded in a different published key than the one you have. Numerous Art Songs, Folk Songs, Hymns, and musical theater pieces are published in multiple keys. Simply tap the Transpose button to change the key to the one that reflects the sheet music in front of you.

Finally, we try to get everything right, but with over 8,500 titles and growing fast, every once in a while we might have entered the key incorrectly. This is where we count on the help of our wonderful community of musicians. If you think we might have a mistake in the music or any of the data associated with a piece, including key signature, please let us know by reaching out to info@appcompanist.com. 

The “Share Song” feature is simply providing an easy way to suggest a title to another Appcompanist subscriber, or share a Custom Version you’ve created, or share certain settings like markers, cuts, loops, etc. that might be helpful. If you share a song with someone that does not have a current subscription to Appcompanist, they will be prompted to download the app and subscribe in order to play and control your share. 

The only case in which this does not apply is for Choral Director Subscribers and Choral Shares. See the Choral Features section in Using Appcompanist to learn more about “Choral Shares” which can be created and shared by Choral Director Subscribers, and played and controlled by recipients using the free version of Appcompanist. 

The Google and Apple apps are actually two different products being offered by two different companies, so there is no way to transfer a subscription between them. You would have to cancel at iTunes and then go subscribe at Google Play or vice versa. Keep in mind that while the main features and all the rep is available on both, there are still some feature differences and subscription option differences, so make sure you thoroughly review the website and subscription page to understand those differences.  

It is also very important that you follow the steps in the info/help section of the app under Managing Your Subscription to cancel your current subscription before switching over to the new one to make sure that you don’t get double charged for any period. Also tap Subscription Details to make sure you know when your current subscription renews and for how long to also avoid paying for two subscriptions at once. If you have Playlists or Custom Versions that you want to keep, make sure you share them with yourself so that you can receive and include them under your new subscription. 

One bit of good news in a switch from one platform to another is that you’ll have another 1-month free trial as a new subscriber on the other platform.

To begin with, we wanted to make sure we emphasized musicality in all of our recordings, so that our collaborative pianists and coaches could help guide singers toward a solid, musical performance, even if they chose not to use any of the musical controls of the app. And we counted on the player controls we offer to allow singers to further customize and control the music to better suit their own interpretations. 

However, over the course of several years, we realized that going to a “straighter” interpretation in recordings actually allows the app to be more effectively used in rep learning, practice and even performance. We also learned that interpretive qualities like rubato and fermata could more easily be added, using the tempo controls, fermata button, custom version feature, etc. when the initial recording wasn’t quite as interpretive. 

Therefore, we occasionally go back and re-recorded pieces that took so much liberty that they became a little tough to follow. If you run across such a piece, just reach out to us at info@appcompanist.com and we’ll work to fix it or add another version. Our current recording protocols are for the players to give a fairly straight, but musical interpretation. So, in time the entire library should reflect that priority. 

When we started, we didn’t require our artists to use metronome or set distinct tempo markings in the recordings because we wanted them to have the freedom to make very interpretive choices and very “singer sensitive” recordings. Therefore, percentage was the only option to show a flexible tempo that made any sense. We have since changed our recording protocols, (see above… “Why do you include rubato and interpretation if I can control the recording with the app?”), and we are currently in a project to go back through the entire library and retrofit the recordings so that tempo can be represented by choice in either percentage of original recorded tempo OR beats per minute. This update will be added to the app automatically when ready to launch.

The metronome or click track feature was recently introduced on choral music because the new recording protocols we designed for multipart recordings allows us to automatically generate an accurate click track that moves with your dynamic control of the playback tempo. We are currently working to retrofit the entire library to allow the use of the click track feature, starting with vocal exercises and then adding it to the accompaniments in the Solo+ Library as we can make it available. It’s going to take some time to get through our entire 8,500+ piece library, but we’re working hard on it, and hopefully, with each rep update, you will see the metronome feature appear on more and more pieces.