July 2026 · Version 2.6.0
Tiny Instrument 2.6
Practice that rewards you. Every session now earns XP and moves you toward the next level, achievement badges celebrate your milestones from your first chord to a well-rounded week, and daily and weekly challenges give you something to aim for. It's built into every mode, and it's free for everyone. Plus a live preview keyboard on every practice setup, and a long list of polish.
XP & Levels
Every session earns XP.
Lessons, scales, chords, ear training, and two-hand drills all earn XP and move you toward the next level, with a celebration each time you cross one. Free for everyone.
Progress deep dive →
Achievements
Collect badges.
Dozens of achievement badges across bronze, silver, and gold, from your very first chord to finishing a whole learning track. Tap any one to see how to unlock it.
See Achievements →
Challenges & Streaks
Something to aim for.
Fresh daily and weekly challenges nudge you toward well-rounded practice, and a daily streak keeps your momentum going.
See Challenges →
Earn XP for everything you play
There's no separate mode to grind. Every kind of practice earns progress.
XP from every mode
Finish a lesson, run a scale, nail a chord, train your ear, or work a two-hand drill, and you earn XP for it. Your progress is tracked across Lessons, Ear Training, Scales, Chords, and Two-Hand Drills, so every kind of practice counts.
Level up
XP moves you along a rising level curve, and a full-screen celebration marks each level you cross. Your home card carries a live XP bar and a level chip so you always know where you stand.
See the XP you earned
Every session ends with a breakdown that fills an animated meter with the exact XP you just earned, complete with a little sparkle. Reduce Motion sets the bar directly, no spring or sparkle.
Collect achievements
Dozens of badges mark the milestones that matter.
Bronze, silver, and gold
Badges span getting-started firsts, volume, personal bests, consistency, per-track mastery, and curriculum completion. Gold badges reward finishing a whole track, not just starting it.
A gallery with a mastery meter
The Achievements gallery shows a five-track mastery meter and every badge you've earned or are working toward, with branded icons for the type-specific ones.
How to unlock, and where
Tap any badge for a plain-language hint about how to earn it and a 'Go to area' button that takes you straight to the right place in the app.
Curriculum achievements
New badges reward finishing your learning: complete theory chapters (Chapter Done, Well-Read, Graduate), work through Play & Explore (Explorer, Trailblazer, Master Explorer), read music (Note Reader, Sight-Reader), and cover every kind of lesson (Full Spectrum).
Daily challenges and streaks
Something to aim for every time you open the app.
Daily and weekly challenges
Fresh daily and weekly challenges, plus longer multi-day ones, appear on an Active Challenge card on your home screen. They refresh on their own, so there's always a next goal.
Balanced practice
Challenges gently steer you toward the kinds of practice you've been neglecting, so you stay well-rounded instead of drilling the same thing.
Keep your streak
Keep a daily streak going, hit streak milestones along the way, and turn on optional reminders for level-ups, gold badges, and challenges about to expire.
Also in 2.6
A live practice preview, Learn filters, and a long list of polish.
See it before you play it
Every practice setup (Scale, Chord, Chord Progressions, Two-Hand Drills) now shows a live animated keyboard at the top that plays through exactly what you've configured. It follows your key, scale type, chord, play mode, voicing, and left-hand drone as you change them, and colors the two hands so you can see the split at a glance. Turn it off in Settings if you prefer.
Start a focus session as you learn
Finish a lesson and tap Continue, and the app can offer to start a focus session so you stay in the zone. Ask once, or turn it off for good.
Contrary-motion scales your way
The Contrary Scale drill now plays both hands through the same scale in opposite directions by default (the classic contrary-motion exercise), with an option to switch to an exact mirror.
Focus areas track what you practise
Your Journal's daily focus and coaching now highlight Two-Hand Drills, replacing the older MIDI Practice slot. Chord progressions are tracked together with Chord Practice.
New Learn filters
A 'To Do' chip narrows the lesson list to what you haven't finished yet, and a 'Warm-ups' chip lists the bonus warm-up mini-games so you can jump straight to one. Both combine with the category chips and search.
A warm welcome for returning players
If you've been playing for a while, a one-time welcome quietly catches up the badges you've already earned, shown as a single summary the first time you open the Achievements gallery instead of a flood of pop-ups.
A calmer, fairer rating prompt
The occasional 'enjoying Tiny Instrument?' prompt now waits until you're genuinely engaged before it appears, so active players are actually asked and new users aren't pestered.
Practice fixes
Ending a Scale or Chord session on iPhone now keeps your result summary on screen instead of flashing away, and after an update you no longer see a burst of chapter-unlock celebrations for chapters you'd already earned.