There’s something very odd that happens to all of us in school. We get used to forgetting things. We can learn so much wonderful stuff—everything from how to read poetry to how DNA works—but once the test is over and the summer comes, all that knowledge seems to evaporate away. And then when the next school year arrives, it feels kind of like starting all over again. What a waste.

How to Remember

I think there’s a better way to learn. In fact, I know there is. Our minds have this straight-forward and well-understood way of remembering things. They need to be convinced something is important in order to remember it. And not convinced by pure enthusiasm, anxiety, or obligation, but instead simply by well-timed reminders.

Here’s what I mean. Today you’re going to go to your local coffeeshop (Seaside Coffee) and, because you’ve seen her so many times, you’re going to introduce yourself to the owner, Sally.

“Hi, I’m ____! I love your coffee,” you say.

“Hi, I’m Sally! Thanks so much!” she says.

Let’s call today Day 1.

Now, if you wait a week to go back for your next coffee, there’s a good chance you’ll have forgotten Sally’s name. But if you make some effort to remember today (e.g., “Seaside Coffee… Sally… OK, both start with S”) and then go back tomorrow, you’ll probably remember. Let’s call that Day 2.

That act of remembering—or recall—is really important. It’s a little “memory practice session” that lasts just a second or two, but it consolidates that memory in your head. It convinces your mind that the memory might be important enough to hold on to.

But that’s just the beginning. We haven’t got to the magic bit yet.

The timing of that act-of-remembering (the “memory practice session”) is really important. The most valuable time to do the recall is when you’re on the verge of forgetting—but can still pull up the memory pretty quickly. So, probably not Day 3…

But maybe Day 4. “Hi… (um…) Sally!”

OK, you’re mind is starting to get the point: you want this name remembered!

Then comes Day 7 or 8. “Hey… Sally!”

Alright, you’re less anxious you’ll forget now. Nice work.

Day 15: “Hey, Sally!

Day 30: “Hi Sally!”

Day 60: “Sally! It’s been a month!”

By Day 60, you won’t have had to recall Sally’s name for a whole month, but the memory will probably still be right there. Through practising less and less, you remember longer and longer. There’s the magic. You’ve convinced your mind to remember!

“Immersive application (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️). Although I’ve taken voice lessons, violin, and guitar, Eventually taking music theory 1, theory 2, and harmony in college, I never knew how to apply those concepts and they eventually got lost. I kept playing guitar and singing in bands but was discouraged that I couldn’t get past my ceiling. This app is perfect because it does what it claims to. It doesn’t stop at just content but provides fun, fresh ways to apply that content, which is the path mastery. Understanding AND application. I’m actually excited to write songs again and this app is greatly simplifying and speeding that process along.”

–Waspishframe, May 26, 2022

We do this type of “memory practice” all the time without thinking about it (e.g., do you ever forget your best friend’s name?), but when we do it intentially it can be called “spaced repetition learning.” I’ve been doing it myself for about five years (first for Spanish, then for some programming stuff, and now for so much more) and it’s honestly changed how my mind works. It’s amazing.

So, what does this have to do with music?

Well, the more I developed my own memory practice, the more I thought about how useful this would be in Waay. Users would learn a skill, say Intervals, and then instead of coming back to the exercise on a whim to review, Waay could help guide that review timing using spaced repetition principles. The idea just got me so excited. Waay’s promise wouldn’t just be “Learn music theory” anymore, it would be “Learn music theory forever“

The Practice Space

That’s what today’s release of the new Waay is all about. All exercises are collected together in the new Practice Space. This is the place to hone—and retain—your new skills. Beside each exercise is a Freshness indicator that looks like this:

If the indicator is full, then the skill is fresh. No need to practice today! But if it’s started to go down, then today is a great day to practice:

By practising one of these yellow skills, you’re doing one of those “memory practice sessions” at the perfect time. And once you’re done, this skill will say fresh for almost twice as long as last time. The magic of spaced repetition!

But let’s say a few skills are yellow, where do you start? You can follow your interest, or you can leave it up to the new Recommended exercise feature. Just scroll to the exercise with the Recommended badge and dive in.

At any time, the number of exercises to practice is shown in the top-right of the Practice Space or Course screens. Just tap it and you’ll be taken straight to the Recommended exercise. Easy.

…And More

But that’s not all. Here’s what else you can expect in the new Waay:

• Corrections exercises. If you get one or more questions wrong in an exercise, you can now choose to practice your “corrections” as soon as the exercise is done. ✅
• Untimed exercises. Want to practice without a timer? Just toggle off the timer in the Practice Space. (See image above.) ⏳
• New exercise completion awards. Got an exercise perfect? Refreshed a skill? The new exercise completion awards will help you celebrate your achievement. 🎉
• Easier-to-tap buttons. Some users have commented that the exercise buttons can be a bit tough to tap. I enlarged all the tap areas on the note buttons and the Check button which should fix the issue. 👍

Want to see the new Practice Space in action? Here’s a demo:

Pricing (and Free Upgrades)

Finally, you may have noticed the pricing structure has changed. Instead of an upfront fee for the app and two courses (plus an in-app purchase for the third and fourth course), we’re offering the app for free with a handful of lessons and exercises to try out. Then if you want the whole package, you can choose between a purchasing and subscribing option.

Oh, and as a big thank you to all our current users, everyone who bought the app before today gets a free upgrade: all the content they had access to before, plus the new Practice Space! Indefinitely.

Questions, comments, feedback? Just reply to this email. Think a friend would like to take a read? Feel free to share. 🙏

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