Tech Forum

Are there any organists here? My son just built a mobile app designed to help novice organists figure out what stops to use for which hymns. I would call it a work in progress, but it's already on the App Store and Google Play. Would anyone be opposed to my posting the links here, or if so, just asking for feedback? Thanks.

A couple members of my family would be interested in seeing the app. Is it free?

I haven't seen objections when others have posted links to apps in the forum previously.

With the name of the app anyone should be able to find it at the appropriate store. No need for a link.

The app is free and contains no ads. My son basically did his mom a favor, creating the app over the summer break. He also wanted to develop a mobile app for his resume.

I agree with you @lajackson. I didn't want to make it seem like I'm trying to advertise it. The name of the app is "Organ Stops" on Google Play for Android, and "Organ-Stops" (with a hyphen) on the App Store for iPhone/iPad. If you can't find it, try adding "walking river" to the search. Or if you really want the link, you can PM me.

What he's really looking for is help figuring out the best settings for each hymn, and also whether or not he'll need to add support for multiple organ models, or whether the stops are standard enough to make the organ sound good enough.

Pops right up at Google Play (if you press the search button after you type in the name, duh!).

Nice little app.

Thanks. I just hope crowdsourcing the data will work and will actually be useful.

My musical skills don't include actual organ stop settings. As for whether the stops will work on another organ, most of them should have the basic set. If there is an easy way to add a note that "these stops are suggested based on the [brand name] organ" (perhaps in the About section), that may be helpful.

I did not go looking to see if there is a way to add hymns. I did note that you can tailor the stops for the hymns that are there. I think that's a nice feature, that you can personalize the app.

My recommendation to him is eventually to add Organ models, and be able to tag the stops for each model. Or tag the customizations. Yes, you can add songs, assuming you register with the app. Once you've customized a song or added it, it's visible to everyone running the app anywhere in the world. It has live updating, too, which I thought was kinda cool.

You might also try posting in "LDS Music Resources" or similar groups on Facebook – I'll bet you could get some good input there.