Architone

Music Learning App for Zhejiang University

Traditional music education often leaves learners confused by abstract theory and aural skills, reducing their interest and creativity. Architone innovatively transforms abstract music theory into intuitive musical blocks and buildings to help learners naturally acquire knowledge through engaging interaction and ultimately empowering them to create beautiful music. Its dual-mode design, Learning Mode and Creation Mode, supports incremental skill development while fostering creativity. Architone uses the power of design to make every learner a musical architect.

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Architone by Jiaxing Yu

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Music Learning App by Jiaxing Yu

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Jiaxing Yu Architone

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Jiaxing Yu Music Learning App

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Zhejiang UniversityBrand Logo

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Unique Properties

ArchiTone innovatively transforms abstract music theory into intuitive musical blocks and buildings to help learners naturally acquire knowledge through engaging interaction and ultimately empowering them to create beautiful music. Its dual-mode design, Learning Mode and Creation Mode, supports incremental skill development while fostering creativity. ArchiTone uses the power of design to make every learner a musical architect.

Tags

Music education, Learning platform, Music learning, App, Music

Production Technology

We carried out interviews with both music educators and music learners. After the interviews, we first created the interface prototype and low-fidelity design on Figma software and iterated through user testing. Then, we developed ArchiTone as an iPadOS application using SwiftUI that enables adaptive layouts and smooth animations.

Design Challenge

The most significant challenge in designing ArchiTone is bridging the gap between abstract music theory and intuitive, engaging learning experiences. In our interviews, we found that educators and learners alike desired a way to visualize music that would lower barriers to teaching and learning. Aiming at the above problems, we designed a visualization scheme for core music concepts in ArchiTone, representing them as interesting musical blocks and buildings. After more than 20 iterations, we are confident that we have done great things.

Project Duration

The project started in Hangzhou, China, in October 2023 and was completed in October 2024.

Operation Flow

ArchiTone includes two modes: Learning Mode and Creation Mode. Learning Mode is designed to progressively introduce chords and harmony structures. In this mode, there are multiple levels, starting with the fundamental chords and advancing to the more complex chords. In each level, learners first learn a new chord block alongside previously learned chord blocks through a musical composition, and then reinforce their understanding by reconstructing the musical building from shuffled blocks. Creation Mode allows learners to freely use the chords they have already learned to create new musical works. By customizing blocks and forming the building, they can apply the music theory flexibly to music praxis and achieve the goals of music education.

Research

At present, music education plays an important role in many aspects, such as reducing stress, enhancing creativity, and fostering collaborative skills. However, traditional methods often struggle to effectively convey abstract concepts and aural skills to learners. Through interviews with both educators and learners, we found three major challenges with existing learning softwares: the abstractness of music theory, the monotony of repetitive training, and the lack of integration between theory and practice. Therefore, we designed the ArchiTone, a platform for music theory learning and music praxis.

Inspiration

Music education has long been recognized for its profound impact on cognitive development, emotional regulation, and social inclusion. However, traditional approaches to music education often leave learners confused by abstract theories and aural skills. According to our formative interviews with educators and learners, we found three key pain points: the abstractness of music theory, the monotony of repetitive training, and the lack of purpose-driven integration. These challenges inspire us to design ArchiTone, an App for music theory learning and music praxis.

Image Credits

Image #1: Creator, Jiaxing Yu, ArchiTone Main Image, 2025. Image #2: Creator, Jiaxing Yu, ArchiTone All Modes, 2025. Image #3: Creator, Jiaxing Yu, ArchiTone Learning Mode, 2025. Image #4: Creator, Jiaxing Yu, ArchiTone Creation Mode, 2025. Image #5: Creator, Jiaxing Yu, ArchiTone Learning Mode Details, 2025.

Project Overview

Architone Music Learning App has been a Iron winner in the Education, Teaching Aid and Training Content Design award category in the year 2024 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.

Iron Recognition

Jiaxing Yu was recognized with the coveted Iron A' Design Award in 2025, a testament to excellence of their work Architone Music Learning App.

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