Q&A With Alex, One of Talented Founders

When it comes to learning music, most beginners struggle to find where to start — and even more give up before they truly begin. That’s the challenge that inspired the creation of Talented, a music e-learning app designed to make skill-building simple, structured, and stress-free.

Q&A

In this exclusive Q&A with Alex, one of the founders, we explore the ideas, goals, and heartfelt mission behind Talented. proving that everyone can learn music, Alex shares how the app helps users turn curiosity into confidence and practice into progress.

What inspired the creation of Talented? How did that initial idea evolve into the product we see today?

We're musicians, and we've been running a music education business for over 10 years.

We remember very well how we learned music ourselves, and we've seen how students

learn. There's always been a huge "elephant in the room" problem: all students have different starting points. Even among total beginners, some have a more developed ear,

sense of rhythm, and coordination — people call this "musical talent" — while others (the

majority, in fact) have those skills less developed.

The result is that this majority gets cut off from music, no matter how much they might

love it. People are told, "music is not for you" — it's terrible. Or they give up early, or get desperate about how slow they progress, and lose confidence in themselves. A beautiful world turns into a source of stress. It's everywhere, and it's just so sad. But our experience proves that core music skills can be developed. It only requires time,

consistency, and structure.

So the initial idea behind Talented was simple: build a tool to simplify the development of core music skills. Make music learning less stressful and more structured. To prove that everyone can become Talented.

Who was involved in bringing the first version to life, and how did the team’s vision shape the platform?

We have an amazing team of passionate music teachers, designers, and software development specialists. We're still a very small team — no more than 15 people total. But we always try new approaches and run tests with a close circle of our students. Since the first version went live, we've come a long way — and yet we feel there's so much more ahead.

What have been the benefits of working with a small team?

We can afford it. Seriously, we’re still a self-funded startup.

What challenges come with a smaller team?

We need to plan better and set clear priorities. We have to rely more on vision and real value

rather than on A/B tests and other tools that big corporations use heavily. For us, every wrong decision costs time.

Did you draw inspiration from other industries (like language learning or gaming) when designing the experience?

Great question — yes, absolutely. Language learning apps are an extremely well-developed industry, and good games have a lot to teach about making players feel their progress. Even though music learning is quite different from language learning, we took a lot from gamification: rewards, streaks, and leagues.

We also came up with our own fresh ideas. For example, the "Talent Tree," which is quite

unique for learning apps. It's a place where you can actually use your XP points to unlock

new features and abilities. It's fun.

Were there any unexpected challenges in translating complex musical concepts—like rhythm or harmony—into a mobile-friendly experience?

The biggest challenge is fitting a piano keyboard onto a phone. Some concepts, like polyphony, remain partially unresolved. But we're always working on solutions — sometimes

small things make a huge difference.

For example, in our first version of the rhythm exercise, we had a running cursor to show

when to hit the note. It ended up with users just chasing the cursor like Guitar Hero — they

stopped listening to the music and reading the rhythm. The solution was simple but not

obvious at first: remove the cursor from most rhythm exercises, so students actually have to

listen.

In your experience, what do most beginners struggle with the most when

learning music?

In my experience, pitch hearing is the trickiest part. So tricky that most beginners just

don't do anything about it — they completely skip it. Many don't even believe it can be

improved.

Sight reading is the second biggest struggle. Many beginners avoid learning notes as

much as they can.

But I'd recommend starting both in parallel. Or soon after you start learning your

instrument. These skills might not seem mandatory in modern music, but they give you so

much more freedom and confidence. You'll always miss them if you don't develop them, and

it won't get any easier later. Talented is a great help here.

What’s the most common mistake new musicians make early on?

The most common mistake new musicians make is trying to rush performance progress without building a solid foundation. Students chase songs or flashy techniques and end up with an unstable, shackled performance, which leads to more stress, more mistakes, loss of confidence, and eventually giving up on music.

It’s like trying to learn a language by just memorizing a few words and phrases. You can get away with it in a specific situation you’ve been prepared for, but you won’t be able to express a complex thought, keep the conversation going, or enjoy the conversation. Music is a complex skill that takes time, consistency, patience, and a structured approach. But it is absolutely worth the effort — it develops the brain and the soul and gives a truly unique creative experience.

Many people find learning music intimidating—how does Talented help users overcome those barriers?

Yes, this is exactly the key problem we're solving. When you learn music, most of the time

you don't perform well. You're really bad most of the time... and that's absolutely okay. But even when you understand this, it can still be intimidating. You might want a more comfortable start.

That's where Talented comes in: a tool where you can be as bad as you want, and no one will know. It gives you an advantage — a calm place to train without pressure, help your neural connections build a foundation, gain confidence, and feel more freedom with music

What role do motivation and gamification play in building confidence for beginners?

It is extremely important to have a well-structured and balanced learning methodology

that works for different kinds of students.

The second thing — and this turned out to be just as important — is making this repetitive, routine process engaging and fun. Some things you have to repeat dozens of times, every day, for weeks.

I mean, note reading or ear training — you just have to repeat. And that’s where people usually get lost: they have no idea if they’re actually progressing. So it’s all about building a habit and helping students feel his progress, giving them a sense of accomplishment, structure, and goal.

What makes Talented’s approach to ear training or rhythm learning different from traditional methods?

It's not really different — it's just simplified so you can do it on your own, without a teacher

to tell you if you're right or wrong, and without feeling embarrassed. I like to say: you have

better things to spend time on with your music teacher — learning to produce beautiful

sounds from your instrument, working on artistry, emotional expression, meaning, and what

you want to say through music. Leave the rest to Talented.

Music theory can feel abstract—how does your app make it more intuitive or relatable?

Music theory is very precise, structured, and logical — it's just very big. We make it more

intuitive by breaking it into smaller pieces and immediately putting it into practice. There's a

whole section called the Learning Path that guides you through theory step by step. Every

lesson is built around a musical fragment that helps you understand what you've just learned

and why you need to know it.

We don't go too deep into theory, at least for now. We focus on explaining the core principles — the language of music. Once you get that, there are no more secrets in music theory for you.

How do users transition from app-based learning to real-world playing? At what point do you recommend learners begin applying their skills on an instrument?

The app can provide a solid foundation before starting with an instrument. There’s enough

content for months that a user can work on without any instrument at hand. Still, I’d recommend beginning to play an instrument from day one.

First of all — it’s fun. Second, it’s all essentially one set of skills.

Playing an instrument immediately puts into practice what we learn in the app. And vice versa: when you learn and develop your skills with Talented, it helps you better understand what you’re doing with an instrument, gives you more freedom, and makes you progress much faster.

What advice would you give to musicians just starting their journey today?

Music is a universal language that can express what no other language can put into

words. If you’re able to feel it, then you are truly talented. Never doubt that.

What’s next for Talented—any new features, instruments, or updates we should be excited about?

We have a big roadmap. Most of our effort is focused on improving the learning process,

adding new units for advanced students, and better progress indicators.

But two big milestones for the next updates:

• Adding more engagement with the virtual music teacher — to track your progress, give personalized feedback, and help you plan your learning time.

• The ability to capture sound and recognize notes from a real instrument. This becomes really important at more advanced levels because of the limitations of a mobile phone keyboard.

What do you hope users feel after spending time with Talented?

We hope they feel progress. Feel that they're guided. We hope they feel that music is accessible. And eventually, sooner or later, they will truly realize that they are Talented.

Final Thoughts

As Alex describes, the goal is to make music education more inclusive, enjoyable, and achievable for anyone willing to dedicate just a few minutes each day. Whether you’re picking up your first notes or rediscovering your rhythm, Talented offers the tools and motivation to keep growing.