STEAM
RiffQuest
Audiation + transcription as a game (ages 9–14): HEAR a riff, PLAY IT BACK on your voice or your instrument, then WRITE DOWN its shape (contour → pitches → rhythm). Grading is TRANSPOSE-INVARIANT — it grades the tune, not the key — so it works in whatever key feels right for you. The produce-don't-name inverse of note-ID drills. On-device — nothing recorded.
▶ Play it nowBuilt for sittings of about 20 minutes on the screen. That is our design budget, not a measurement.
Meet your mentor
Every Spark & Anvil app has a friendly mentor character that demonstrates, asks, and patiently scaffolds learning.
Mentored by Aud
#7B52C9 Characters who teach
Meet the cast
RiffQuest's audiation cast (ages 9–14): each member embodies one step of the hear→play-back→write-it-down loop. Illustrated chapters are on the way.
Aud
plays a riff and asks you to hear it inside your head first (audiation, embodied)
Read chapter →
Echo
listens as you play it back — in any key that feels right (transpose-invariant)
Read chapter →
Quill
helps you write down the shape: up, down, or the same (transcription)
Read chapter →
Ladder
the climb: contour → pitches → rhythm
Read chapter →
Browse all chapters → · What's distributed-narrative methodology? →
What's inside
Learning goal
Audiation + transcription as a game (ages 9–14): HEAR a riff, PLAY IT BACK on your voice or your instrument, then WRITE DOWN its shape (contour → pitches → rhythm). Grading is TRANSPOSE-INVARIANT — it grades the tune, not the key — so it works in whatever key feels right for you. The produce-don't-name inverse of note-ID drills. On-device — nothing recorded.
Mentored by Aud — no data leaves the device.
How RiffQuest handles your kid's data
- ✅ All progress, settings, and AI-generated content stays on the device
- ✅ No analytics, no tracking, no third-party SDKs
- ✅ Free — no ads, no in-app purchases
- ✅ No personal information collected from children — in line with COPPA (updated by the 2026 FTC amendments)
- ✅ No chat with strangers — play-together rooms use a short code and preset emotes, never typed messages