JoyTunes

JoyTunes
Industry Education Technology
Founders Yuval Kaminka, Yigal Kaminka, Roey Izkovsky
Headquarters Tel Aviv, Israel
Key people
 Yuval Kaminka, (CEO)
Roey Izkovsky, (CTO)
Yigal Kaminka, (Musical Director)
Products Simply Piano
Piano Maestro
Piano Dust Buster
Website joytunes.com

JoyTunes[1] is a privately held company developing music learning solutions and apps. The company specializes in creating mobile apps for a fast and fun way to learn how to learn piano[2]with interactive listening that can tell how well you’re playing a piano or a MIDI keyboard.[3]

JoyTunes incorporates gamification dynamics along with traditional music methods to encourage music practice and improve sight reading and rhythm skills.[4]One million songs are played each week on JoyTunes’ apps.[5]

Apps

Simply Piano (iOS, iPad, Android), released in 2015, is a mobile app that helps people learn how to play the piano step-by-step with little to no previous experience. The app slowly progresses from learning a few notes at a time to simple (and later, more complex) songs.[6] Simply put the phone down near the keyboard, and Simply Piano will “listen” to you play. As you play, the app identifies what you’re playing and gives you feedback on how to improve.[7]

Piano Maestro, formerly Piano Mania (iPad), released in 2013, is an educational practice motivation iPad app. Piano Maestro includes public domain songs as well as licensed content and piano methods from known publishers, such as Alfred's Premier Piano Course. The app introduces one new sheet-reading skill at a time. Using the iPad’s microphone to listen, JoyTunes asks players to perform what’s written on the music staff. The staff and the notes move as the app plays background music. The player’s job is to read music, in time, and play the melody’s correct notes in response to the app’s prompts.[8]

Piano Dust Buster (iOS) is a gamified introduction to piano, released in 2012, boasting tens of millions of songs learned.[9] The app works via an on-screen digital piano keyboard or by listening to your real piano as you play. Piano Dust Buster offers points as you play the right notes in time to a recording, and you can level up and earn medals. There is also a social angle in which you can play against other users around the world.[10]

Awards

JoyTunes has been recognized in the fields of parenting, music, education and gaming.

Investors

JoyTunes has raised three rounds for a total of $7M from angel investors and VCs. In Aug 2014, JoyTunes raised $5 million in Series A funding led by Aleph VC and with participation from Formation 8 and Genesis Partners.[20] Angel investors include the former CEO of Steinway, Dana Messina.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "'How to Secure Funding from Top VCs Against All Odds', Interview with co-founder and CEO Yuval Kaminka for Startup Camel Podcast". Startup Camel. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "'Best App Deals of the Day!'". Yahoo. 27 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "To Take Up a Musical Instrument, First Pick Up Your Phone". The New York Times. 14 September 2016.
  4. ↑ "PIANO HERO: HOW JOYTUNES MAKES YOUNG MUSICIANS ACTUALLY LIKE PRACTICING". fastcompany. 7 April 2014.
  5. ↑ "Deaf Austinite Uses App to Teach Himself How to Play Piano". Spectrum News, Austin TX. 9 March 2017.
  6. ↑ http://mashable.com/2015/09/05/5-cant-miss-app-simply-piano/#QZHJSS60Kiqr
  7. ↑ http://lifehacker.com/simply-piano-teaches-you-piano-listens-and-corrects-yo-1733875348
  8. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2015/08/29/this-app-will-teach-your-kid-to-play-the-piano/
  9. ↑ "With 1 million songs played per week, JoyTunes gets $1.5 million to make piano lessons a game". pandodaily. 2 May 2013.
  10. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/technology/personaltech/video-feature-pitch-perfect-ways-to-read-music-better.html?_r=4
  11. ↑ "Parents Choice Award 2010". parents-choice.org.
  12. ↑ "Parents Choice Award 2012". parents-choice.org.
  13. ↑ "Parents Choice Award 2014". parents-choice.org.
  14. ↑ "Best Tool for Beginners, NAMM 2014". wsis-award.org.
  15. ↑ "Best Tool for Beginners, NAMM". sbomagazine.
  16. ↑ "Joytunes wins EMI’s Innovation Challenge 2013". musically.com.
  17. 1 2 "Best Tools for Schools, NAMM". sbomagazine.
  18. ↑ "Silver Winner (MassChallenge, 2010)". masschallenge.org.
  19. ↑ http://www.sfmusictech.com/startups-developers/
  20. ↑ https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2014/08/12/joytunes-collects-5m-to-make-it-fun-to-learn-to-play-music/?
  21. ↑ https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/05/joytunes-lands-1-5m-releases-new-app-to-help-you-learn-to-play-instruments-through-interactive-mobile-games/
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