Noodle

Guitar practice, five minutes at a time.

Noodle is an iPhone app that gives you one thing to practise each day: a chord change, a scale shape, a rhythm, an interval to hear. Pick a plan, pick your pace, and play.

An iPhone appHow it works
The same step with Hint 2 of 3 open: a line about the shape, where the roots are, and a Show me button for the next hint. The plan calendar for November with session days marked, a flag for the checkpoint and a different icon for the exam day. The Plan tab: First Chords in 4 Weeks, week 2 of 4, today's Learn session with a Start button, and the week's sessions. A Try it step for the minor pentatonic box: the step text, a Hint button and a fretboard with Notes or Degrees and position selectors. The Progress screen: the plan ring and a bar chart week by week. Demo data.
  • 14plans
  • 359lessons
  • 11topics
  • 5, 10 or 15minutes a session

Every note in the app plays when you tap it

Inside a lesson, the fretboard is a real instrument: tap any fret and you hear that pitch. Here is the same idea. Tap a string, or swipe across them to strum, and tap higher or lower for a different fret.

The sound here is synthesised in your browser, nothing is recorded or sent anywhere.

No sound? Check the silent switch.

How it works

  1. A question from the placement quiz: a note on the fretboard and four choices.

    Answer a short quiz

    It asks about your level and how confident you feel on each topic, so you do not start at chapter one if you are not a beginner.

  2. The plan picker, with a few recommended plans for a mixed placement result.

    Pick your pace

    Choose how much you want to practise. Sessions are 5, 10 or 15 minutes, and you can change it later.

  3. The plan calendar for November with session days marked, a flag for the checkpoint and a different icon for the exam day.

    Follow your plan

    Your plan lays the sessions out on a calendar. Miss a day and the rest slide along.

The Plan tab: First Chords in 4 Weeks, week 2 of 4, today's Learn session with a Start button, and the week's sessions.

Why Noodle

  1. Plans, not random lessons. Each of the 14 plans is a few weeks of sessions in a set order, with a goal, a checkpoint and an exam.
  2. Review that comes back on schedule. A lesson returns after 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days, as long as you keep getting it right.
  3. Hints that do not give it away. A nudge first, then the notes ringed on the fretboard, and only then the answer.
  4. A fretboard you can tap and hear. Every note plays when you touch it, in the lesson, not just on this page.
  5. Works offline. The lessons and the sound live on your phone.
  6. One idea per session, and no microphone. It does not listen to you play. You tell it how the check went.

All the features

What a plan looks like

This is First Chords in 4 Weeks: 18 sessions. Week 2 is called Switching chords: Em to Am, up or down by ear, counting 1 2 3 4. It ends with a checkpoint, a short listening quiz on major against minor. You can't fail it; it just tells the plan what to bring back.

  1. Week 1, Session 1
  2. Week 1, Session 2
  3. Week 1, Session 3
  4. Week 1, Session 4
  5. Week 2, Session 5
  6. Week 2, Session 6
  7. Week 2, Session 7
  8. Week 2, Checkpoint
  9. Week 3, Session 9
  10. Week 3, Session 10
  11. Week 3, Session 11
  12. Week 3, Session 12
  13. Week 3, Session 13
  14. Week 4, Session 14
  15. Week 4, Session 15
  16. Week 4, Session 16
  17. Week 4, Session 17
  18. Week 4, Session 18
  19. Exam

A sketch of that plan's calendar. Miss a day and the sessions after it slide forward, and the plan's finish date moves with them. Nothing resets.

Questions

How do I get Noodle?

Noodle is an iPhone app for iOS 18 or later. This page will link to its App Store listing when there is one.

Does Noodle listen to me play?

No. Noodle does not use the microphone. When a check involves playing, you tell the app how it went. Ear and rhythm quizzes are answered on screen.

How long is a session?

You choose 5, 10 or 15 minutes. Every session covers one concept: Learn, Try it, then Check yourself. The 10 minute session adds a Go further exercise, and the 15 minute session adds Go further and a Use it task.

Is Noodle only for beginners?

No. A short placement quiz sets your starting point, and there are 14 plans from beginner to advanced.

What happens if I miss a day?

Nothing is lost. A plan is a queue: the next session is always the first one you have not done, and nothing resets. After a gap Noodle eases you back in.

How does review work?

Each lesson comes back after 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days as you keep getting it right, so practice goes into what you are most likely to forget.

Where is my progress stored?

On your iPhone. See the privacy policy for the details.

How much will it cost?

Pricing has not been announced.

Noodle is an iPhone app

It runs on iOS 18 or later. It does not use the microphone.

An iPhone app

Noodle is made by one developer. Bug reports and questions go to support.