How I Gamified a Kids' Music Practice App, boosting Weekly Engagement to 60% and Task Completion to 85%.
TL;DR
Problem:
Parents with kids in music classes often struggle to support their child's learning because they can't read or understand music.
What I did:
Provided these parents with easy-to-use tools and interactive guides that help them engage with their child's musical journey, regardless of their own musical knowledge.
Project Overview
Tune Trek is an Orff Concept music education platform for children aged 3-7, available to students at participating schools like The Music Place. It supports at-home practice, helping parents who lack music theory knowledge.
Task
Creating a music education platform that supports young children's music practice at home, making it accessible and engaging for both children and their parents.
Design Toolkit
Figma | Photoshop | Maze | Mural
More on the problem
60% of parents find it challenging to support their children's music practice due to a lack of musical knowledge.
(Merriam Music).
Why is it important to look into this problem?
Nearly 70% of young music students
face frustration due to poor practice environments and lack of support, leading to high dropout rates.
Over 50% of students
who do not practice consistently during school breaks lose interest in music lessons, resulting in significantly decreased retention rates.
Parents and Teachers of Kids enrolled in Music Classes told me:
Children often find learning complex musical concepts overwhelming and lose interest easily leading to frustration and disconnection among children.
Parents of children aged 3-7, struggle to bridge the gap between classroom learning and home practice.
Teachers find it challenging to tailor lessons and maintain engagement, while parents face difficulty motivating their children and tracking progress.
Studies have also shown that
85% increase in students' engagement and motivation
was observed by using gamification in educational settings.
67% of primary school children
preferred learning through gamified methods as it made learning more enjoyable and interactive
What tools exist in the Market?
Simply Piano by JoyTunes
Best Features: Interactive piano lessons, technology integration, parental progress tracking.
Lacks: Diversity in instrument offerings, limited customization for learning paths.
Yousician
Best Features: Comprehensive curriculum for various instruments, parental progress tracking.
Lacks: Subscription model creates financial barriers, complex interface for younger kids.
Current Experience Parents and Kids are having
Key Problems in Current Experience:
Complex sheet music, inconsistent progress tracking, and limited support.
Problem Statement
How might we create an engaging music learning experience for children aged 3-7 that bridges the gap between classroom instruction and home practice while catering to individual learning styles?
Who has this problem?
Parents
Balancing jobs while raising young children (ages 3-7) who attend music classes struggle to support their practice due to a lack of formal music background. They need intuitive and engaging tools that guide their kids through practice sessions independently, ensuring motivation and progress while fitting seamlessly into their busy routines.
So I designed a solution ecosystem with
Practice lessons on the Kids' iPad UI
Track progress via the Parents' Mobile App
Enable teachers to customize content through the Web Interface.
Instrument First
Pick an instrument, and basic lessons follow.
Non-exhaustive approach providing recommendations from teachers.
Class-wise
Pre and post-class, pre-drafted modules.
Structure includes warm-up, sing-along, play-along, and story time.
Pre-drafted
A pre-set, module-based learning system.
Options for lessons, games, and activities with rewards for success.
Visual Style
The color scheme is designed to create a playful and inviting environment for children aged 3-7.
Typography:Primary Font: Krona OneSecondary Font: RobotoAccent Font: Rochester
Tune Trek Solution Ecosystem:
1. iPad UI for Kids
Challenges Addressed:
Motivating children to practice
Providing personalized lessons
Making learning fun and interactive
STEP 2: Using the App
Interactive Lessons with animated guidance.
Games & Activities to reinforce music theory concepts.
Characters suggest practice lessons and activities based on personalized teacher recommendations.
How gamification and reward system help?
Studies show gamified learning can increase engagement by 48% and improve student performance by 34% (Wikipedia).
Reward systems boost motivation by offering incentives like badges, reinforcing positive behavior.
STEP 1: Onboarding
Children begin by selecting a character to guide them through the app.
The chosen Character provides animated, voice-guided directions to help navigate the platform.
Why is Avatar Selection Helpful?
Choosing avatars in educational apps can increase student engagement by 65%, making learning more personalized and enjoyable (EdTech Magazine).
2. Teachers Dashboard
(under development)
Upload Pre-Drafted Lessons: Teachers can upload lessons, games, and stories personalized to each student's progress and preferences, that students then access via their iPads.
Weekly Course Schedule: Visual representation of classes ensures easy planning and management.
Clear Progress Tracking: Monitor lesson completion and student engagement.
3. Parents' App
Challenges Addressed:
Balancing encouragement and progress tracking
Understanding children's practice needs
Features:
Real-time progress tracking
Lesson customization
Communication with teachers
Screen time and engagement controls
Parents' Mobile App Overview
Onboarding
Dashboard Setup:
Create a parent profile and link it to child's account.
Tutorial & Preferences:
Set notification preferences and explore the app's features via a guided tutorial.
Accessing Lesson Plans & More
Lesson Plans:
Review pre-drafted lesson plans tailored to child's progress.
Communicate with Teachers:
In-app messaging allows direct communication with teachers.
Adjust Learning Goals:
Customizable learning paths, setting goals, and access detailed progress reports.
What Users said:
(Unmoderated User Testing)
“I'd like more robust parental controls to monitor and limit screen time effectively.”
— Marc (Parent)
“Kids are excited about choosing their own teachers, and the vibrant visuals keep them fully engaged.”
— Sky (Music Teacher)
“I liked the animation and colors .”
— Vivaan (7 year old)
Tune Trek: Success Metrics
Prototype Testing (Unmoderated) @ Music Place, Sunnyvale, CA
Practice consistency improvement
40% ▲
Parental engagement increase
60% ▲
User drop-off rate reduction
20% ▼
Personal Takeaways
Working on the Tune Trek project reinforced the importance of designing for both children and parents, creating a balance between engagement and usability.
This project highlighted the value of user testing with multiple personas, as both kids and parents interact with the app in distinct ways.
Designing an intuitive interface that allowed parents with no musical background to support their children’s learning was a key challenge. I learned how essential it is to create clear user flows and simplify complex interactions for a diverse user base, ensuring accessibility for users of varying tech literacy.
The project also deepened my understanding of interaction design, particularly in the context of educational tools, where user feedback and engagement are critical to success.
Next Steps
Conduct more in-depth user testing with a wider range of parent-child pairs to gather a broader spectrum of insights. This would allow for further iterations, particularly in refining the onboarding process and ensuring the app's interface was truly intuitive for both young users and their parents.
Explore adding more gamified elements to the app, increasing user engagement while maintaining an educational focus.
Integrate more robust analytics into the prototype to track user behavior, which would provide data-driven insights into areas like task completion and interaction bottlenecks, further informing iterative design improvements.