nkoda: sheet music

I have been a user of nkoda and the new update that has merged the library and reader is game changing!

Do not get this app, it is convoluted, doesn’t work, and often gets you stuck in an endless loop or constantly logging in and resubscribing to use its service. I’ve tried it on iPad, Mac, and iPhone and it all ends up being extremely broken, I suspect this app is a scam to get people to subscribe money without actually providing a service

I had one charge on my card and one through iTunes. Could be a great app but is infuriating to use as takes a decade to download and have to shift between library and another app. Have to close the app 10 times before it works. Major issues

About 40 minutes ago I signed up to an Nkoda subscription because I wanted to access a specific score that was referred to me. I still haven’t been able to view it. When I bought the app, I was hit with an immediate paywall which I signed up to. However the app did not let you manually enter card details, and kept directing you to the app store, and therefore I had to find a card, add it to my app store and verify it before even purchasing the subscription. I then spent around 10 minutes searching for the score as I wasn’t able to filter by instrument even though there is a filter for that, I just wasn’t able to click on it. Finally, when I found the arrangement I wanted, I was not even able to view it to make sure it was correct - no, to do that, I must go BACK to the app store and purchase the Nkoda Music Reader? In 2022, what kind of software requires you to buy a 2nd app to view PDFs? Finally once I’d bought the 2nd app I had to log in to access the music library to find my score, although the link from the 1st app doesn’t reference a library. Turns out I hadn’t even set up a ‘true’ account on the 1st app! So I went back to the first app, signed up, then went into the 2nd app and logged in. Then I went back to the 1st app and added my score to the library (I had to research for it because the app reset once I signed up for an account (how can you buy a subscription without creating an account in the first place?)), and then finally I returned to the 2nd app to hopefully view my score. Nope! It wasn’t there! So I return to the 1st app and try to press ‘open in Nkoda music reader’ which is written above the score. And when I pressed that, it asked me if I would like to subscribe to Nkoda - the original paywall. If by some miracle I end up finding a way to download my score today, thank god. But after I do, I’ll be cancelling my subscription immediately! If for some reason you’ve read this whole review, you must be feeling frustrated and tired of it. That’s how you feel if you use Nkoda.

This product was fabulous til a few months ago, providing many a score unavailable online. It’s gone to the dogs now, with no offence to our canine friends. I’ve warned you, Nkoda, before that I’d review you unfavourably should you refuse to make this easier for us musicians to navigate. Well here it is. With this new 2 step app to simply view a score you have destroyed any faith I had in you. The process is akin to an episode of Fawlty Towers, without the laughs. As a professional musician and academic, I have found it embarrassingly impossible to pull up a score in anything less than half an hour– which DEFEATS THE PURPOSE OF THIS VERY APP. Not only are several of your editions sub–standard, but the logon process between your app and reader is awful. You keep asking me to subscribe even though I already do. And thereby ensues a round and round process of back and forth between your two apps. I DO NOT WANT TWO APPS TO DO ONE THING. AND EVEN IF I DID, I’D LIKE THE PROCESS TO BE SMOOTH. Simply awful what has happened here. If you don’t have time for this rubbish stick to IMSLP. Not everything is on there, but they won’t waste your time with endless logon bullsh*t. My heart is broken and my musical tastes are now far away from this ridiculous app.

This product was fantastic prior to the division of apps to the seperate library and reader. I would be keen to hear back from someone as I am so disappointed in this app, it frustrates me every time I use it, to the point that you’ve now charged me for something I can’t even use. Was on e the best and most used app I had.

The app is a great idea and has a great range of music. Would be better if searching for a specific title was easier. If you don’t know what book a certain piece is in, you have to load all books & search manually to find it yourself. E.g. Sonata 34 in E minor by Haydn... I had to load a number of books to find it which took too long to be helpful.

I signed up to the monthly-billed service, based on the fact that this begins with the free trial with subscription-equivalent access. However I cannot actually view any scores: every time I try to open a score, I get redirected to the subscription page with the recommendation to purchase the yearly access all upfront payment instead?! I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt, and I’ll assume there’s a technical problem for now, but this isn’t a good look..

You should not release an app until it works properly or has been through some serious user testing. The work flow is not intuitive a and yes it crashes often. When I did manage to open a score to my surprise I had to swipe like a book to see the poorly written score and not just scroll down which seems to be a more intuitive way to use on an iPad. The score looked like a photocopy of a photocopy. I had the app for 5 mins then deleted it. Of course now they have my phone number which is of no great comfort I assure you. Please remove the app, redesign its work flow and do some user testing and find out how users would actually like to use this type of service.

Absolutely love being able to get new music any time, and the library should satisfy any classical musician. Can you please implement a two page landscape mode (just like a book). So many scores are formatted to allow a page turn at the end of the right page, and less tapping is better. I could use a foot pedal but I’ve practised my page turning for 35 years and a tap should work fine.