STEAM
StrumPals
The ukulele app that LISTENS (ages 6–8): strum a chord and Strummer the sea otter tells you the chord you played (C, F, G7, Am) by listening — with per-string presence, a free tuner that is NOT a funnel, and beginner two-chord songs. Play in a key that fits your own voice. On-device — your playing never leaves the device, nothing is recorded.
▶ Play it nowBuilt for sittings of about 15 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 Strummer
#1F9E91 Characters who teach
Meet the cast
StrumPals is a gentle guitar and ukulele app for ages 6 to 8. Strummer the sea otter listens to your child strum and names the chord, Tuner helps tune each string, Shaper shows where fingers go for each chord, and Changer teaches a song one chord change at a time. Illustrated stories are on the way.
Strummer
listens to your strum and names the chord you played (chroma-chord recognition, embodied)
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Tuner
the free tuner — pluck a string and know it's just right (nearest-string + cents)
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Shaper
shows the chord shape — where your fingers go on the fretboard
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Changer
the song, one chord change at a time
Read chapter →
Browse all chapters → · What's distributed-narrative methodology? →
What's inside
Learning goal
The ukulele app that LISTENS (ages 6–8): strum a chord and Strummer the sea otter tells you the chord you played (C, F, G7, Am) by listening — with per-string presence, a free tuner that is NOT a funnel, and beginner two-chord songs. Play in a key that fits your own voice. On-device — your playing never leaves the device, nothing is recorded.
Mentored by Strummer — no data leaves the device.
How StrumPals 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
For you, the grown-up
The grown-up side of StrumPals on Spark & Whetstone, our free site for grown-ups: The Family Songbook. Three chords and a family song to strum together.