Wolfram Music Theory Course Assistant

This is a good example of what happens when software engineers overreach. (I am one; I understand the failing.) This is a weird mix of dictionary-ish articles and obscure stuff that reminds me of the feeling of reading the CIA Factbook. A buffet of random facts that does little to educate. Perhaps hiring a music teacher who can product manage a redesign would help.

Do not waste your money. Cumbersome interface with, in my opinion, little useful content. It needs to talk to the mother ship to do something as simple as the playing a single note. The "dictionary" implementation is simply ludicrous. Not worthy of the Wolfram name (which I have great respect for). review written Jan 13, 2014

Not detailed enough to be helpful with college level music theory. I expected so much more.

Stick with mathematics, Wolfram. No one does it better. Since math and music are inextricably linked, I wrongly assumed that Wolfram's music theory app would be as thoughtfully organized as their other sub apps (calculus, algebra, etc). Not even close. I deleted this memory sucker pretty quickly, since I already have access to Wikipedia. So...please make this app free, or better yet, in an update of this app, make it music centric instead of, as another reviewer so aptly called it, a "smaller dictionary".

This is, without a doubt, the single most useless app. It's a dictionary-that's it. Though it aggregates a collection of words relative to music to define - there are no examples. It defines a "fugue" as both a dissociative psych disorder and a style of composition. Thanks wolfram for a smaller dictionary.

Not worth your trouble even before the latest update, which breaks it so it won't even launch!

I think that the app is a bit misnnamed. I don't see it much of an assistant, but instead more of a (almost mathematical) reference tool. Look up something like C Major scale, and you will be given the obvious information, such as the names of the notes in the scale, a drawing of it on a staff. But then you start to get into the less common info (alternate names, frequencies of the pitches in the scale, midi note numbers) and diving into the esoteric (results of various set theory operations). As a music teacher, this is not an app that I would likely use. But, as a composer, some things are quite interesting. There is an almost encyclopedic set of scales that are fascinating to explore. Some areas are very disappointing. The section entitled "Science of Music" turns out to be merely a tiny dictionary of a handful of technical terms, all with brief definitions that would teach little to the average musician. Likewise for the section entitled "Song Types." For instance, I would expect a definition of gavotte to speak more of the typical rhythms involved, and what a missed opportunity in that no examples were offered. I was surprised that this same section didn't have an entry for "gigue." The interface is annoying at times. To look up a word, you must first identify its category (is it a style of music or a song type?), and then find the word in a picker menu. If you can not find the word, you may be left wondering if it is in another category. It is also very limiting that you must have a web connection in order for the app to work. Frankly, I do not see enough information presented by the app to merit an Internet connection. The contents could easily be downloaded. And there does not seem to be any complicated aspect of the interface that would be served well by centralized processing. This is not an app that I expect to use, although I might pick it up once and a while to explore its scales. I am not sure what Wolfram had in mind for this app. Perhaps they expect to grow the knowledge base online over time so that the app will evolve to a comprehensive knowledge source. In the meantime, I'd recommend waiting before purchasing it.

Great app- especially the many scales!

I have always held the Wolfram software company in high regard - ever since the early days of Mathematica - so I had admittedly high expectations for this app. Unfortunately, this app disappoints on all fronts. It is painfully slow. It is of surprisingly little substance. It requires a network connection for every feature. Apps like this are a vivid reminder of why I hate Apple's no refund policy.

Poorly designed. Definitions copied out of a non-music dictionary. Others poorly worded or just wrong! Pitch and interval sections are too laborious for anyone to learn anything. It takes 4 steps just to get to middle C! This app is of no help and a waste of money.