TONALY: Write & Practice Songs Reviews

by CarbonFiberGuitar

UPDATE 5/5/21: A closer look into their data policies reveals that they provide our personal data to at least 3 other companies, each with their OWN privacy policies. Once again, kudos to Apple for forcing companies to reveal this in a way most of us can understand. The following is from TONALY privacy policy where they tell you where your private data is being sent.

“Facebook Analytics for Apps: Personal Data: Usage Data; various types of Data as specified in the privacy policy of the service
Facebook Lookalike Audience: Personal Data: Cookies; Usage Data
TestFlight: Personal Data: device logs; email address
Sentry: Personal Data: various types of Data as specified in the privacy policy of the service.”

When I purchase a product, I expect to get and use the product without it being a spy inserted into my life. I’m deleting TONALY, and would never have purchased it if they had disclosed it was spyware at the time I purchased it.

Kudos to Apple for requiring these folks to disclose their data collection policies.

by I Wanna Watch Madea

Normally, I would give TONALY five stars. However, when I tried to export it as a midi file and add it to my GarageBand it starts making a noise that wasn’t happening on TONALY originally. I am not sure if that’s a branded sound effect for using TONALY or maybe somethings wrong with TONALY . I feel that with the limited amount of instruments that you provide I should be able to export it put it onto GarageBand and manipulated in which ever way I would like. Which would aid in making music a bit more. This would be really grateful for beginners (speaking for myself) but now I have to sit here and slightly struggle with making chords on the iPad. Maybe I’m doing something wrong please let me know what I can do to change the alien noise that I hear or let me know if it’s not going to stop. Or at least if this is a branded sound affect please let me pay for it to disappear, SOMETHING, just make it go away.

by Wckreation

Great little app, very helpful for composing and actually hearing chord progressions back for those who don't have relative and perfect pitch. The only thing is that I would love for more customizations of the chords, namely inversions (even in combination with four note chords) and different rhythms that aren't 4/4. Right now, the root of the chord is always on the bottom. Inversions add a different color to the chord and are very widely used in songs and compositions. Some chords in the context of a certain progression just aren't the same sound without inversions. As for rhythms, it would be helpful for more control over how many bars a progression is and how many beats are in a bar. Right now, it's always 4 beats to a bar. Either 4 or 8 bars. I don't think adding different time signatures would be incredibly difficult nor adding custom length of bars any amount between (2-8). Also, adding chord changes within a bar would be awesome. That would add more complexity, sure, but TONALY for have so much value for making fully realized chord progressions for a song or composition. Other than those things, a solid app with lots of potential for improvement. I'm sure the inversions and rhythms features can be included in a future update.

by Allstar1609

TONALY is great, it is a really good tool for musicians. Although I think it could use some improvements: 1.) The ability to use different chord voicings would be great and is definitely something that would be helpful. Maybe use the piano to change the voicing. 2.) the way you change chords on your chord progression was kind of unintuitive to me especially when I’m trying to listen to a chord in my progression and then listen to other chords to use or follow up with and then I accidentally replace the chord in the progression. I’m not sure how to you would go about doing this because I know app design is difficult.

by Goodnte

I love Tonally. I does all it claims to do as a basic songwriting tool. Think of it as a songwriting sketch pad. Pro features would include the ability to place a different chord on every downbeat (this would allow you to do chord walk ups or walk downs). Currently TONALY only allows you to subdivide the bar in half thereby placing chords on the 1 and 3. You can extend or lengthen the amount of time a chord plays however you are currently prevented from further subdividing or muting a potion of a chord after making the first subdivision. Furthermore I wholeheartedly agree with my fellow reviewers who have asked for the ability to make chord inversions. Inversions really affect the feel of a song and are a must. I envision Tonally one day being a stand-alone app giving songwriters the ability to fully write and arrange a song and then export a fully fuctional lead sheet. When that day comes expect my rating to jump to a five.

by Freshprinceofbethel

App is pretty good and fun to use. I recommend getting it to anyone who wants a better understanding of progressions. I would hope to see in the future options for saving chord progressions, making chord progressions that are longer than 8 bars, and possibly different instrument sounds. I think these are all relatively easy additions. I would also recommend an option to use chords from the parallel minor or modal interchange. This would be a tremendously better app if it had that. It would be worth way more money. I would even pay in app purchase for it if it worked well. I'd rather see it free but people need money. TONALY is good and is updated pretty regularly. I'd give it five stars if they manage to bring my suggestions to life. I'm hopeful because these don't seem like they would be incredibly hard to add to the already good UI. I would also like to point out a glitch where if you exit to home screen out of TONALY while having a chord progression being played it can make a horrible spazz noise. Overall really good app that's actually worth the price I'd buy it again.

by Guzzy75728

great app! recommend it to anyone, particularly those going through a bit of writer’s block who don’t really have all their music theory put together (like me, lol)

only issues i have are spoiled ones. i wish there were ways to have chords play when i want them to. for example, if i’m writing in 4/4, i may want: chord I, chord II/III, chord IV, chord V

here i would have my third chord progression come in on the second chord’s third and fourth beat, and there’s no way (that i know of) to do that... if it’s 4/4 then i only can use 4 chords. no more, no less. speaking of less, what if i want my third chord to hold out in place of a fourth chord? if i want to replicate that, i have to just repeat the chord in the fourth spot and it’s just not the same

i feel like if there was a way to implement these improvements, it would make TONALY so much more dynamic and a true songwriters companion.

no hate tho, i really like TONALY and would still recommend it!

by Kremserm

A major hats off to whoever made TONALY! I have been really trying to learn music theory so I can learn to play the guitar. What are the scales, what notes go well together, major, minor scales, etc... I downloaded TONALY not having major expectations. Then bamm! This is a very well developed app, it has all of that knowledge. You can go look at the notes in a key on keyboard, or switch to guitar (which I did). I thought, wow... but surely you don’t have it for a left handed and again... I was pleasantly surprised: they do! A big big big thanks. Miku

by Siriusvibes

TONALY is really a nicely done music tool with a great UX. There are a few comments critical of aspects that it lacks to which I would comment give it a chance. The developer appears to be very responsive to suggestions and this is a first cut. We need great tools like this so let’s give them support so they can work on it to continue making improvements. I see a lot of potential for this tool and hope everyone can see this as well and support it. Spread the word.

Great job! Looking forward to future versions. Thank you.

by Erohs1

I study music and perform for a living as well as write my own music on the side. This is a wonderful tool that allows a visual learner like myself to see a chord progression and hear it at the same time. Instead of plinking chords for a half hour trying to find a groove, I can mess around with this for a bit until I find something I like and then bring it over to the piano. TONALY saved a ton of time for me and I am so glad I purchased it. This is an essential tool for me these days. I would highly recommend!

by MM10K

As someone who has struggled with learning this type of thing for my entire life because of ADHD and some other similar issues, this has been a tremendous gift! I am very grateful to it’s developer to helping me finally be able to understand music theory a little more. I love music more than anything and have played in bands most of my life. TONALY is teaching me the things I have always yearned to be able to grasp and implement into my musical vocabulary. I can’t thank you enough for TONALY!

by Damon Pauk

Incredible app everything I have always looked for I understand chords I understand scales but I can get into the melodies I want TONALY allowed me to take my idea and put it forward into my music with little hassle quick easy and fun. I would add the if you guys could turn this into a plug-in for DAWs like Ableton or fl studio so then we can use directly in the program. Don’t get me wrong though that midi feature is flawless. I just want to use it in my DAW directly that would be cool. Thanks for TONALY makes a huge difference in my life.

by Ivicachem

The new update brought many nice features including the one crucial for me - the ability to use chords which are not in the current key (mode). I have a suggestion for a future version. Say that I want to add E and E7 to the Am key. And maybe A7, for transitioning to Dm. Those additional chords could be permanently added to the current circle by, for example, stacking them behind the diatonic chords with the same root. A long-press gesture (or something else) could be used for revealing all the non-diatonic chords at the presses root so that we can use, edit or remove them.

by Deadjest

TONALY is great for many different reason, but thought maybe it would be cool if you could change the chords up per measure and have triplet beats. TONALY is fun to tap the chords as the click track plays at different grooves almost like a sampler, it gives it that chopped sound that has and will always be so popular hip hop crowds. Would be cool to be able to record them as you tap them. I do understand that’s a great reason for the midi export but just a suggestion. Also, maybe I’m not smart enough to find it but is there a way to do inversions? Thanks keep making music fun.

by Amirtech2005

I really like TONALY. I don’t wanna waste the review to talk about what it can do because Chris’s tutorial videos are pretty informative on that note. But I like the developers to add (or I’d better say to complete) the chord section;
When you click on the Chord Symbols under the left menu, it shows lots of great info. I first clicked on the square which contains the chord name thinking it plays the chord but I was wrong.
Also, it shows the chord only in the first position on the fretboard.

Personally I don’t mind to pay more for TONALY if these super useful educational improvements are added. So, I hope they add the following features:

1- when you click on the chord name, I like to hear how it sounds as well,
2- I’d also be able to change the chord position on the fretboard to see other inversions or chord options, “interactively”.

PS: this can be added as a new option, something titled as Chord, in the menu with Songwriting, Scales, and Modes.

by MotownHeroes

It really is! I am a choir director and sometimes my guys are not too adept in music theory. I use this to compose lead sheets and it saves me sooo much time when teaching them new songs!!

The fact that you can export chord arrangements into a comprehensible pdf lead sheet just blows my mind!!

Other only complaint that I have is that we play a lot of world music, and some island music are in 2/4 or 2/2. Please add those time signatures to TONALY , I would never need another program (app/computer) for composing again if it had those two time signatures. Please add them !!

by Lonzdaddy

i’m self taught on the keys for the past 2 years and just started taking lessons where i had to get my fingerings together with Scales. TONALY has been so helpful in learning how to transpose in all keys, and knowing my 1-7 in each key. the extra $2.99 for the scales is also a huge plus for those who are looking to diversify their sound and learn all types of scales. i also love the song writing mode that shows you what a typical chorus will start on in terms of key (cmaj verse, to a min bridge with a 6234 progression for instance). i recommend this to anyone who wants to better their playing. couple TONALY with lessons and you can really become deadly on the keys!!!

by Krishna Peri

I almost never write reviews for apps but this one felt like it deserves a praise. The UI is very appealing with neat colors and the makers of TONALY clearly did their research on user base because it caters to both beginners and professionals. I’ve been a musician for about six years now and a UX designer for three, and this is the first time I’m seeing two of my favorite things blend into one awesome entity.
At first even I thought if it’ll be worth spending the money for and now I’ve realized the vast possibilities TONALY has to offer. Sometimes I get writers block when trying to come up with a piece and cannot really place the next chord in the sequence and also I’ve had hard time getting my head around different modes. TONALY surprisingly has it all and I’d highly recommend any musician to check it out.

by Retrospectre

I downloaded this app on a Friday, prior to traveling because I needed an app that would provide me with the circle of fifths for composition, and I was not disappointed. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by how full TONALY is with features that help with composition and songwriting, in addition to the view of the circle of fifths. What’s more, you can change the length of chords a chords measures, and save your work to come back later to it. You can very quickly transpose your compositions to hear what they sound like in other keys.

If you’re a musician without a background in music education, and even if you are, I would recommend TONALY be on your device! I’ve also used it to figure out chords to songs quickly, as I’m still learning to do that by ear. This is a very useful on-the-go composition tool, and easy to use for those who are not yet comfortable with theory or their instrument, yet wish to express themselves.

by TrinityWave

TONALY is beyond astonishing and the ease of use for a beginner to a virtuoso is just incredible. I was skeptical going into the purchase due to the lack of attention to detail and disarray of previous apps but this is the PLATINUM standard in the what should be used for learning theory on a whim and combined with creativity is debate fully an absolute NEED in your arsenal when playing guitar/ writing or learning music in general. I can say with confidence that this is the pinnacle of an interactive and informative experience that can further your abilities as a musician with the proper work ethic. GET IT, you can’t regret it!