Showing My Work - First Android App

"The hardest thing in the world to do in this business is start a band nobody’s heard of." - Tom Whalley, Interscope Records

I wrote previously about a web application I created for practicing sight-reading music. The application had a serious limitation: It was only of any practical value if viewed from a desktop computer or maybe a tablet with adequate resolution. As part of an exploration into coding with AI, I decided to make the application responsive.

This wasn't as successful as previous coding experiments. I think this effort involved more nuance than the other experiments, which were essentially refactoring efforts. For this experiment I needed AI to show me how to use a particular JavaScript library in a way it wasn't designed to be used. It failed at that but did give me important clues and, as before, helped me from going too far down a dead end.

Eventually I worked out all the issues and the web application is now wonderfully responsive. Thanks to friends and family, I've collected feedback from over 40 different mobile devices - iOS, Android, smartphones, and tablets - and confirmed that the responsiveness holds.

With this success in hand, I wondered if it were possible to convert a web application into a mobile phone app. To answer this, I asked Grok and ChatGPT. The answer was "yes!" Not only was it possible, for the sight-reading application it was amazingly easy - even on Linux. I spent about an hour and a half setting up the development environment and another hour and a half creating a fully functional beta version that would install on my Android phone and tablets.

Huzzah!

If you’ve found something of value in this article, rather than a paid subscription I’d gladly welcome a cup of coffee.

But that's where the fun stalled. The process for preparing this app for Google's Play Store was MUCH more involved. Navigating all the procedures, rules, constraints, and reviews Google has in place before an app can be offered through the Play Store was time consuming to say the least. My app collects no data and is not monetized, which greatly simplified what would have been an even more arduous process. Once the app is approved, word is it can take another 7-10 days before it appears in the Play Store.

Publishing an app of any sort these days is like trying to sell a kernel of wheat from within a wheat field. How do you stand out? Unsurprisingly, there are a zillion sight-reading apps and mine looks rather dull in comparison. I've no illusion of greatness from this little app. The minimalist design, however, is intentional.

Here's the Play Store description:

"The Sight-Reading Practice application is designed to do one thing and do it well: Help students develop the ability to recognize the names of notes for a selected key on a sheet of music regardless of where they are or how much time they have to practice. Whether waiting in line, bored in class, on an airplane, or just taking a few moments to be distracted in a useful way, the Sight-Reading Practice application can fill such gaps in a way that builds music reading skills. Students can use the application like flashcards for music or play along with the notes as they are displayed to help develop familiarity with reading sheet music."

If you can't find it in Google's Play Store, try this link.

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