A new app aims to connect classical musicians during practice breaks

Practicing music can be a lonely pursuit. 

The skill requires hours of isolation to decode sheet music, build muscle memory and master technique. Few could understand that better than Amit Peled, a renowned cellist and professor at Baltimore’s Peabody Institute. 

He hopes to liven up practice sessions with iMeetStand, a platform designed for collaborative music learning. 

“We’re trying to make it fun for the user,” Peled said, “so they will feel like ‘oh my god, I want to practice right now.”

Launched for free on the Apple App Store in September, the platform allows people to leave annotations, such as fingerings or dynamics, on sheet music for others to see. They can also drop questions for those practicing the same piece and live chat with friends. 

While sheet music apps like Newzik and forScore offer similar annotation features, they lack the same social aspects. Peled believes iMeetStand can distinguish itself by connecting players with users around the world.

“Amateurs could connect with students at Juilliard,” Peled said, “and see what fingering they’re using or what their teacher would say for a phrasing.” 

Other features include a built-in metronome and tuner. Plus, users can upload videos of themselves playing for feedback. 

Ideally, people would watch those videos during practice breaks, Peled said. The platform issues reminders to take them hourly, and hosts a virtual break room for musicians to chat about what they’re working on. 

Peled built that feature with student distraction in mind. 

“Instead of going on TikTok and scrolling,” Peled said, “you can engage with other people.”

The app integrates with the International Music Score Library, the internet’s largest public domain of music works. Mostly classical music falls under its parameters, but Peled hopes the startup could eventually afford copyrighted music. 

“Right now, we will concentrate on the 300 years of music that is not copyrighted already,” Peled said. 

Vibe coding made it possible

When Peled thought of the idea behind iMeetStand, he turned to one of his students to help code it. 

Josh Jang, who studies both cello at Peabody and mathematics at Johns Hopkins University, laughed the idea off at first. As a busy college student, he certainly did not have the time for such an ambitious project. That is until vibe coding came around. 

Using Claude Pro, Jang coded a beta version in two weeks. Peled then paid several of his students to give it a try. They reported bugs, and inspired the duo to create additional personalization, resulting in “meetie,” a tiny music note that guides users through the app’s features.

For now, the app is free to download, but Peled plans to launch a pro subscription in January.

Peled realizes his biggest challenge will be recruiting users. Fortunately, as a Peabody professor since 2003, his musical connections are nothing to sniff at. Plus, he plans to start a podcast interviewing classical musicians to promote the platform.

“We’re starting first with my students and my studio,” Peled said, “but hopefully we can get the whole school on board.”