Getting through the first weeks
Small wins from the very first session, so beginners keep going past sore fingers and awkward shapes.
From your first chord to your first song, one small win at a time.
My role
From the first MVP to hundreds of thousands of players
I’ve worked on Simply Guitar since its very beginning, from the initial MVP to an app with hundreds of thousands of active and paying users. As lead product designer and animator, I shaped how people learn in the app, and I created and built its design system. My main focus was retention.
Target audience
Age: 15–35
Level: Beginner guitar learners
Motivation: Playing the songs they love
My focus: retention
Early
Long term
A reason to come back
Songs, progress and streaks that turn practice into a habit.
I want to play freely and independently the songs I like to my friends and family.
The hardest part of guitar is the first few weeks
Simply Guitar teaches with a real guitar: the app listens through the microphone and reacts to every note you play. The technology hears you, but beginners still have to push through sore fingers, awkward shapes and slow progress before playing feels like music.
My goal: break every skill into small, winnable steps, show progress at every moment, and keep real songs close from day one.
Chord shapes feel impossible
Three fingers, six strings and no idea which one is buzzing.
Switching is the real wall
Knowing a chord isn’t the same as changing to it in time.
Rhythm comes last
Strumming patterns are hard to read and harder to feel.
Motivation fades early
The songs people dream of playing feel months away.
A path in six small steps
I designed a family of trainers that each isolate one skill, then bring them together inside real songs, with features that keep players coming back.
1Chord trainer
Learn a chord, one string at a time
A full chord is six notes that all need to ring. The trainer walks through it string by string, so a buzzing note is caught and fixed on the spot instead of hiding inside a messy strum.
- A real-looking fretboard, seen from the player’s side
- Numbered fingers and a hand guide for finger placement
- An arrow that moves to the next string to play
Nice!That’s a C chord
Barre chords, piece by piece
The barre lights up first, then each finger joins it, with the fret number called out.
Then strum them all
Once every string rings, the arrow turns into a full strum of the chord.
A hint when you’re stuck
A chord chart and a real hand photo, for players who think better in pictures.
2Chord switching trainer
Switching chords, on the beat
Changing chords in time is where most beginners get stuck. This trainer drills one pair at a time: hold the first chord, count three beats, and land the second one right on time.
- Real hand photos show both shapes side by side
- Three beat dots count you into the switch
- Eight clean switches clear a level
- The tempo only rises once the switch is solid
3Strumming trainer
Making rhythm visible
Strumming patterns are usually written as cryptic arrows. Here the pattern becomes a row of cards with a playhead, so players can see the rhythm and feel it at the same time.
- Down and up strums, with rests faded out
- Counting “1 & 2 &” under every strum
- The same pattern moves to a new chord
70 BPM
4Songs
Real songs, at the right level
Songs are the reason people pick up a guitar, so they appear from the very start. Each song comes in several arrangements, from a basic melody to the full lead version, with stars to earn. A static trainer lets players rehearse a section’s chords before the music starts moving.
5In‑game plucking
Beyond strumming: pinch and pluck
Fingerpicking songs keep the moving timeline: notes scroll along a tab-style fretboard, grouped under their chord, and every note answers back as it’s played.
Up next
Played right
Missed, try again
6Chords in‑game
From a moving timeline to a chord sheet
The first in‑game borrowed Simply Piano’s moving timeline: strums scroll toward a playhead under each chord name, green for a clean strum and red for a miss. It worked for piano. On guitar it ran into problems unique to the instrument.
Eyes off the screen half the time
Players look at the strumming hand, the fretting hand and the device in turn. A view that never stops is hard to come back to, and stressful to keep up with.
Only the next chord in sight
All focus went to landing the next strum in time. Which chord came after, and the parts of the song that repeat, stayed hidden.
Strumming patterns lost in the scroll
Up and down strokes passed by one at a time, so the pattern itself was hard to understand and follow.
A sheet of chord cards instead
I designed the new chords in‑game around those issues: a static sheet of chord cards, grouped by verse and chorus, that players can leave and come back to.
7Song tutorials
A plan for every song
Some songs are worth a little homework. Tutorials split a hit into short lessons with a real teacher, so players learn the parts first and then play the whole thing.
8Streak
Building a habit that sticks
Teens and adults fit their guitar practice around school, work and family. A weekly streak sets a goal they can actually keep, and streak freezes protect it when life gets in the way.
Looking back
From a first chord to a weekly habit
Simply Guitar grew from an MVP into an app hundreds of thousands of people play and pay for, and I got to shape it the whole way, including the design system it is built on. Every part of this story answers the same question: how do we keep a beginner coming back? Quick wins in the first sessions, songs worth learning, and habit-forming loops like weekly streaks, rewards and gentle reminders that bring players back to the guitar.
