What problem & for whom
For whom: For those of us who are not musicians but every time we see a piano wish we had spent 20 years studying just to sit down and leave everyone speechless.
Problem: Not a real problem. But what if there is a piano at the next birthday party you go to?
This: Follow the lights. Hit the notes. Enjoy.
The iteration
From the first prompt the piano was already there, playable, with a metronome, a record button, and multiple modes: guided with lights or just the sheet music. Then I picked up the phone and the piano was cut in half. Portrait mode was never the answer. Landscape was, and with that decision came a simpler product: fewer features, one clear experience. Two pianists tested it before shipping. Do we trust them? Absolutely.
What AI could and couldn't do
The guided piano mechanic landed on the first prompt. The hard part was adapting it to a screen that changes size depending on whether the browser navigation bar decides to show up or not. The AI struggled to find a solution that worked without asking anything from the user. At one point it suggested a PWA, a version the user installs on their phone like an app, which removes the navigation bar entirely but requires installation first. These prototypes are built so anyone can enjoy them with as little effort as possible. A long pixel battle and a switch to Opus finally got there.
Minimum viable effort
Pick a song, follow the lights, and shine bright like a diamond.
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