I've started writing about practice on note (note.com), a Japanese blogging service. I'm the developer of Metronome.fm, and I play guitar and piano. I build a metronome, yet rhythm is actually my weak spot. I'm writing for people who practice an instrument, especially those who struggle with rhythm.
How it differs from this dev blog
This dev blog covers how Metronome.fm works and the code behind it.
On note, I write about practice itself. The focus is how to get better, not a tour of the app. Here are some of the topics I have in mind:
- Rhythm mistakes I've made
- The practice ideas behind Metronome.fm's features
- How to practice with those features
The first post: "はじめてのnote" (My first note)
The first post is an introduction. It starts with a rhythm mistake: in a choir contest at junior high, my piano accompaniment kept speeding up, and the conductor had to stop the whole class each time.
I write the posts on note in Japanese. note translates posts into English automatically, and the link below adds ?hl=en to open that English version. Translation can take from a few hours to a few days after a post goes up, so until it's ready, the link shows the Japanese original. Profile pages are not translated.
A thank-you animation for likes
On note, when someone likes a post, a pop-up appears with a thank-you image and message chosen by the writer. I put some effort into mine: an animated GIF of Friko, the mascot, grooving at 120 BPM.
At 120 BPM, two seconds is exactly four beats. Friko swings the pendulum on its head left and right and hops a little on each beat, and hops highest on beat three, the peak of the groove. Hearts appear on beats one and two and float up, sparkles twinkle on beat three, and a music note drifts by on beat four.
The GIF loops, so there's no telling which frame the pop-up will start on. Friko is in every frame, so it never shows an empty screen.
The message that goes with it says, in Japanese, "Got your like at 120 BPM! Thank you ♪"
Every post on this dev blog now ends with a link to note, too.