ModusPractica Manual

1. What is ModusPractica?

Learning a musical instrument requires consistent, strategic practice—but deciding what to practice and when can be overwhelming. ModusPractica solves this challenge by acting as your intelligent practice assistant, taking the guesswork out of your daily routine.

How ModusPractica Helps:

• Smart Scheduling: The app calculates the optimal review time for each piece based on proven memory science (Ebbinghaus forgetting curves). You practice exactly when your brain needs reinforcement—not too soon, not too late.
• Adaptive Learning: As you practice, ModusPractica learns your unique retention patterns. Pieces you master get longer intervals; challenging sections appear more frequently until they stabilize.
• Efficient Focus: Instead of aimlessly running through your repertoire, you receive a prioritized daily agenda showing exactly which pieces need work today. This targeted approach maximizes retention while minimizing practice time.
• Long-Term Retention: By reviewing at scientifically optimal intervals, you build solid motor memory that lasts—preventing the common frustration of forgetting pieces you worked hard to learn.

Who Benefits: Whether you're a beginner building fundamentals, an advanced student preparing recitals, or a professional maintaining a large repertoire, ModusPractica helps you practice smarter, not harder. The system tracks approximately 300 pieces, accommodating even the most ambitious practice goals.

2. Getting Started

ModusPractica opens with the Dashboard, presenting your active profile and scheduled sessions. First-time users should review the onboarding checklist to prepare their practice setup and explore the adaptive agenda.

3. Profile Management

Profiles isolate your repertoire, statistics, and adaptive learning calibration. Use the Profile Manager to create, duplicate, or archive practice journeys. Automatic local backups ensure your progress never leaves your device. All data is stored in the local storage of the browser you are using.

Creating a New Profile

This page serves as the starting point for creating a new profile. To create a profile, select "Create New Profile" and fill in the required details, such as your name and experience level. Once completed, click "Start Practice" to begin your session.

Experience Level Selection

When creating a profile, you can optionally specify your musical experience level. This helps the adaptive algorithm establish an appropriate baseline for practice interval scheduling:

• Beginner (0-2 years) — Shorter baseline intervals (τ × 0.8) to accommodate faster memory decay and developing motor skills.
• Intermediate (3-5 years) — Standard baseline intervals (τ × 1.0) representing the typical learning curve.
• Advanced (6+ years) — Slightly longer baseline intervals (τ × 1.1) reflecting stronger encoding and slower forgetting.
• Professional — Longest baseline intervals (τ × 1.3) leveraging expert chunking and motor memory consolidation.
• Not specified — Uses the standard intermediate baseline if you prefer not to categorize your level.

Editing Your Profile

You can update your profile information at any time by clicking the "✏️ Edit Profile" button below your profile information. This is particularly useful when:

• Your skill level advances — As you progress from Beginner to Intermediate or higher, updating your experience level allows the algorithm to gradually extend practice intervals while preserving all your historical data and learned patterns.
• After a long break — If you've had an extended pause (6+ months), you might temporarily downgrade your experience level to rebuild motor skills with more frequent practice.
• Switching focus areas — Moving to a new genre or style might warrant adjusting your experience level to match your proficiency in that specific domain.

Profile Information display with Edit Profile button - update your experience level as your skills progress

Data Management

The "Export Data" button allows you to save your profile and practice data to a secure location, such as a USB stick or cloud storage, ensuring you can restore it later on another device. The "Import Data" button lets you load previously saved profiles and data into the application, making it easy to continue your progress across devices.

3A. Building Your Repertoire: A Practical Chunking Strategy

One of the most common questions from new users is: "How should I structure my chunks to build a complete piece?" This section provides a practical, proven workflow for breaking down and mastering musical passages using ModusPractica's three-tier system.

The Three-Tier System

ModusPractica uses a hierarchical approach to chunk learning:

• Tier 1: Micro-Chunks — Small building blocks (2-4 measures). Focus: technical accuracy and initial memorization.
• Tier 2: Integration Chunks — Combined sections (4-8 measures). Focus: smooth transitions and musical flow between components.
• Tier 3: Maintenance Chunks — Complete pages or passages (8-16 measures). Focus: long-term retention and performance readiness.

Example Workflow: 8-Measure Passage

Let's walk through building an 8-measure passage. Remember: these timelines are illustrative—your pace may differ!

Phase 1: Build Micro-Chunks (Typically 1-2 weeks)

Start by creating four separate chunks:

• Chunk A: Measures 1-2
• Chunk B: Measures 3-4
• Chunk C: Measures 5-6
• Chunk D: Measures 7-8

Practice each chunk through its foundation phase (Stage 0→1→2→3). The dashboard will schedule each chunk according to the Ebbinghaus algorithm. Once a chunk reaches Stage 3, it enters the adaptive Ebbinghaus phase with expanding intervals. (For detailed instructions on tracking your practice sessions, see Section 4: Practice Sessions.)

Goal: All micro-chunks at Stage 4+ (typically indicates solid memorization and technical command).

Phase 2: Create Integration Chunks (Typically 1-2 weeks after Phase 1)

When both components of a pair reach Stage 4+, create integration chunks:

• Integration 1: Measures 1-4 (when Chunks A and B are both Stage 4+)
• Integration 2: Measures 5-8 (when Chunks C and D are both Stage 4+)

These chunks focus on practicing smooth transitions and musical flow. Because the individual components are already well-learned, you'll likely rate these sessions as "Good" or "Excellent" from the start, causing the algorithm to accelerate progression.

Goal: Integration chunks reach Stage 3-4 (demonstrating secure connections between sections).

Phase 3: Build Maintenance Chunk (Ongoing)

Once both integration chunks are secure (Stage 3-4+), create your maintenance chunk:

• Full Passage: Measures 1-8 (complete section for long-term retention)

This chunk represents the finished product and will be your primary maintenance tool going forward. As it progresses through stages, intervals will extend to weeks or even months, providing efficient long-term retention with minimal practice overhead.

Phase 4: Archive Earlier Chunks (Optional)

Once your maintenance chunk (1-8) reaches Stage 3+, you may optionally archive the micro-chunks and integration chunks. Archiving stops their scheduling but preserves all data, keeping your dashboard focused on active maintenance tasks. You can always reactivate archived chunks if you need to revisit specific technical challenges.

Visual Timeline Example

Key Principles

• Build foundations first — Don't rush to create integration chunks until components are solid (Stage 4+).
• Avoid redundancy — Don't create overlapping chunks at the same tier. Use the three-tier progression instead.
• Trust the dashboard — Let the algorithm tell you what to practice. Your job is to provide honest performance ratings.
• Archive strategically — Once maintenance chunks are active, archive earlier chunks to keep your dashboard clean. The data remains available if needed.
• Scale the system — This approach works for 8 measures or 64 measures. Simply add more micro-chunks and integration layers as needed.

Practical Tips

• Adjust target repetitions: New chunks (Stage 0-1) may only need 5 target repetitions. Increase to 7-10 as chunks mature.
• Be honest with ratings: Overrating leads to intervals that are too long; underrating wastes time. Aim for accuracy.
• Use Free Practice: For pure musical exploration without tracking, use the Free Practice mode. Save scheduled practice for systematic retention work.
• Monitor your dashboard: If it feels overwhelming with too many chunks, you may be creating chunks too quickly. Focus on mastering existing chunks before adding new ones.

4. Practice Sessions

Practice Sessions display the prioritized pieces for the current day, including tempo targets, difficulty adjustments, and the projected next review. Track your completion status and submit qualitative feedback to refine future scheduling.

Practice Session Interface Overview

The practice session view splits into two coordinated panels. The left column houses the timer, the Learning Progress window, current stage details, and session notes. The right column is your data entry workspace with counters for mistakes, correct repetitions, and streak resets. Because the adaptive system relies entirely on what you enter here, think of the right-hand panel as the control center for everything the scheduler learns about this chunk.

Entering Your Data

Use the counter controls to record exactly what happens at the instrument. Every button responds instantly—there is no automatic audio detection—so your manual input drives the analytics, intensity guidance, and future scheduling.

• Failed Attempts [+ / −] — Click the plus button once for each meaningful error within a run-through (wrong notes, rhythm slips, coordination issues). Use the minus button to correct accidental clicks. These entries feed the Technical Difficulty Score (TDS) and %Correct display but do not change the review interval by themselves.
• Target Repetitions [+ / −] — Set the number of clean repetitions you want to achieve during this session. New chunks default to 10; maintenance work often uses 5–8. Adjust before you begin so the OLQ tracker knows when you are finished.
• Correct Repetitions [+ / − / ↺] — Press plus every time you complete a flawless (or nearly flawless) take. Use minus if you awarded a success by mistake. When a complete memory lapse occurs, hit the reset button (↺); this drops the counter to zero and increments the streak reset total automatically.
• Timer Start / Pause / Stop — Run the built-in timer while you practice or edit the time manually by clicking the display. The recorded duration is saved with the session for statistics and charting.
• Session Notes — Add qualitative observations (fingerings, articulation choices, reminders) so future reviews include both quantitative data and musical insight.

The Complete Session button unlocks automatically once Correct Repetitions matches your target. If you halt a session early, choose Cancel so partial data is not stored.

Reading the Learning Progress Window

The window labeled Learning Progress translates your live counters into immediate guidance. It becomes visible as soon as the Intensity Module loads a recommendation for the selected section.

• Technical Difficulty Score (TDS) — Shows the current failure rate based on Failed Attempts ÷ (Correct Repetitions + Failed Attempts). The horizontal bar fills as the difficulty increases (more errors), giving an instant snapshot of how demanding the section felt today. A full bar (100%) means every attempt failed; an empty bar (0%) means flawless execution.
• Overlearning Quotum (OLQ) — Shows progress toward the recommended target. The numerator reflects the clean repetitions you have already logged; the denominator mirrors the target. As soon as the bar reaches 100% (green), you know the day’s quota is complete.

Why does the Target increase when I play well?
You might notice that the target number increases automatically during a session (e.g., from 6 to 7 or 10). This is not a punishment, but a scientific necessity driven by the Intensity Module. When you are struggling (Initial Acquisition), a lower target (6) is sufficient to grasp the material. However, when you reach Mastery, the goal shifts from 'learning' to 'automating'. To consolidate a skill into long-term muscle memory so it holds up under stress, you need a higher volume of correct repetitions (Overlearning). The system automatically scales your target based on your performance and the Technical Difficulty Score to match this shifting neurological requirement.

Starting a New Stage
When you successfully complete a stage and are promoted to the next level (e.g., from Stage 1 to Stage 2), the target repetitions automatically reset to the baseline of 6. This ensures you start every new stage with a clean slate.

Manual Override: Taking Control When Needed
You retain full control and can manually adjust the target at any time using the [+ / −] buttons—even after an automatic increase. When you manually lower the target, the system respects your decision for the remainder of that practice session. The Intensity Module will not automatically increase the target again until you start a new session or reset the counter. This allows you to stop when fatigue sets in, time runs out, or when a passage proves too demanding on a given day.

However, reducing the target below the scientific recommendation is generally not advised for optimal consolidation. If you adjust the Target Repetitions to a value different from the Intensity Module's recommendation, the system will display a warning in bold red text: "manual override (recommended X)". This serves as a gentle reminder that you are choosing to practice below the scientifically optimal volume for long-term retention, while still fully respecting your autonomy.

Important: Your manual adjustment only applies to the current session. When you return to practice this section again, the target will reset to its last saved value (which may be higher than your previous manual override), and the Intensity Module's automatic adjustments will resume based on your fresh performance data. This design ensures that each session starts with scientifically grounded recommendations while still honoring your immediate needs during active practice.

Because the panel listens to the same counters you maintain on the right-hand side, accurate data entry is rewarded with accurate coaching. The moment you add a failed attempt or reset your streak, the display responds—helping you decide whether to keep reinforcing the section or wrap up the session confidently.

Understanding Practice Metrics

ModusPractica tracks three key metrics during practice sessions, each serving a distinct scientific purpose in the Ebbinghaus scheduling algorithm:

• Failed Attempts — Manual counter tracking execution errors (wrong notes, missed entrances, technical mistakes). This measures motor skill difficulty and calculates your %Correct performance rating. Does not directly affect review intervals.
• Correct Repetitions — Manual counter tracking successful run-throughs in your current practice streak. Used to determine if you've reached your session target and to calculate overall success rate.
• Repetition Streak Resets — Automatic counter that increments when you click the reset button (↺) next to Correct Repetitions. Represents memory retrieval failures and directly affects your next review interval according to Ebbinghaus theory.

How to Use the Practice Session Page: Step-by-Step Guide

Follow this workflow to accurately track your practice and optimize scheduling:

Step 1: Start Your Practice

1. Open the section you want to practice from the Calendar or Dashboard
2. Click the timer "Start" button when you begin practicing
3. Set your Target Repetitions (default: 10 for new sections, 5-8 for reviews)

Step 2: Track Every Attempt

Critical Rule: You must track BOTH small mistakes AND successful run-throughs simultaneously throughout your entire practice session.

For EVERY run-through you play:

• If you make mistakes (wrong notes, rhythm errors, missed entrances):
  • Click the [+] button next to Failed Attempts once for each mistake
  • Do NOT click [+] on Correct Repetitions for this run-through
  • Example: You play the section, make 3 mistakes → Click Failed Attempts [+] three times
• If you play perfectly (or with only tiny, insignificant slips):
  • Click the [+] button next to Correct Repetitions
  • Do NOT increment Failed Attempts
  • Your streak continues building: 1 → 2 → 3 → etc.

Step 3: Handle Small vs. Large Errors

Small Errors (motor/execution mistakes):

• Wrong note, finger slip, missed ornament, slight rhythm hiccup
• Action: Click Failed Attempts [+] but continue your streak
• Correct Repetitions stays unchanged — your memory is intact, it's just a technical issue
• Example: You're at 5 correct reps, you play again but miss one note → Failed Attempts +1, Correct Reps stays at 5

Large Errors (memory failures):

• Complete memory blank, forgot what comes next, had to stop and look at the score
• Gave up mid-section because you couldn't remember how it continues
• Action: Click the [↺] (reset) button next to Correct Repetitions
• This resets your Correct Repetitions to 0 and automatically increments Repetition Streak Resets
• You must now rebuild your streak from scratch
• Example: You're at 7 correct reps, suddenly blank out completely → Click [↺], Correct Reps resets to 0, Streak Resets becomes 1

Step 4: Reach Your Target

• Continue practicing until Correct Repetitions reaches your Target Repetitions
• You can have many Failed Attempts along the way — that's normal for difficult pieces!
• The goal is to achieve X perfect run-throughs in a row (or nearly in a row, with only small mistakes)

Step 5: Evaluate Your Performance

After clicking "Complete Session", rate your overall experience:

• 😔 Poor — Struggled significantly, constantly needed the score, felt uncertain
• 😐 Fair — Made progress but challenging, needed occasional glances at score
• 😊 Good — Comfortable performance with minor issues, mostly from memory
• 🎉 Excellent — Flawless execution, confident, completely from memory

This rating directly affects your next review interval — be honest!

Real-World Example: Practicing a Chopin Nocturne (bars 12-15)

Target: 10 correct repetitions

1. Attempt 1: Play through, miss 2 notes → Failed Attempts: 2, Correct Reps: 0
2. Attempt 2: Play through, 1 rhythm error → Failed Attempts: 3, Correct Reps: 0
3. Attempt 3: Perfect! → Failed Attempts: 3, Correct Reps: 1 ✓
4. Attempt 4: Perfect! → Failed Attempts: 3, Correct Reps: 2 ✓
5. Attempt 5: One finger slip → Failed Attempts: 4, Correct Reps: 2 (streak continues)
6. Attempt 6: Perfect! → Failed Attempts: 4, Correct Reps: 3 ✓
7. Attempt 7: Perfect! → Failed Attempts: 4, Correct Reps: 4 ✓
8. Attempt 8: MEMORY BLANK — completely forgot bar 14 → Click [↺] → Failed Attempts: 4, Correct Reps: 0, Streak Resets: 1
9. Attempt 9: Review score, try again, 3 mistakes → Failed Attempts: 7, Correct Reps: 0
10. Attempt 10: Perfect! → Failed Attempts: 7, Correct Reps: 1 ✓ (rebuilding streak)
11. Attempts 11-20: Continue until you reach 10 correct reps...

Final result: Failed Attempts: 15, Correct Reps: 10, Streak Resets: 1, %Correct: 40%

Interpretation: Difficult section (many execution errors) but good memory (only 1 retrieval failure). System will schedule appropriately.

4A. Practice Charts Overview

The Practice Charts page visualizes how consistent execution (success ratio) evolves alongside the effort required to reach the first clean repetition (start friction). These two signals share the same timeline so you can immediately spot sections that feel harder to enter than their average success rate suggests.

Understanding the Summary Bar

The summary bar above the chart aggregates the most recent session data for the selected bar section:

• Current / Avg (7 sessions) — Cumulative success ratio based on repetitions ÷ (repetitions + totalFailures + attemptsTillSuccess); i.e. both memory failures (streak resets) and execution failures are counted.
• Zone — Adaptive practice zone (Too Hard → Overlearning) mapped to the average success ratio.
• Start Friction chip — Highlights the latest attempts before first success category: Low (0-1 attempts), Moderate (2-3 attempts), High (4+ attempts).
• Stage / Section Time / Piece Total — Current scheduling stage plus cumulative practice minutes for the section and entire piece.

Reading the Dual-Line Chart

• Success Ratio Trend (solid blue) — Rolling cumulative ratio for the last N sessions (3,5,7,10 selectable). This mirrors the desktop implementation and the planner’s core retention metric.
• Start Friction Trend (purple dashed) — Normalized value of attemptsTillSuccess. The chart maps 0 attempts to the 0% line and ≥5 attempts to 100%, making steep rises a clear warning that more preparation is required before clean takes.
• Zones — Background bands from “Too Hard” through “Overlearning”, helping you gauge which ratios keep the section in the ideal consolidation window.

Session Cards

The right-hand panel lists the most recent sessions with matching metrics:

• Success Rate, Repetitions, Failures — Exact numbers used in the blue line.
• Attempts Before Success + Start Friction chip — Raw attempt count plus the same Low/Moderate/High badge shown in the summary bar.
• Tempo / Performance — Optional tempo tracking and subjective performance rating for additional context.

Practice Charts with dual trend lines: solid blue success ratio and purple dashed start friction, inclusief nieuwe legenda en summary chip.

5. Adaptive Learning System

The ModusPractica engine blends Ebbinghaus intervals, SM-17+ stability, and Bayesian calibration. Each session refines your personalized Ï„ trajectory, ensuring review timing adapts to your retention profile.

• Dashboard Logs: Use the development console commands (showCalibrationReport(), showMemoryStats(sectionId), exportAdaptiveData()) for deep diagnostics.
• Stability Tracking: Memory stability scores increase with consistent accuracy and decrease after lapses.
• Confidence Weighting: The system balances historical performance with the latest session results.

6. Media Library

Use this section to collect high-quality photos, annotated diagrams, or short GIF sequences that illustrate best practices. Maintain consistent image widths and captions for a polished documentation flow.

• Convert images to optimized web formats (WEBP or compressed PNG).
• Store media in moduspractica/assets/manual/ and reference them with descriptive filenames.
• Provide alternative text for each media element to maintain accessibility.

7. Manual Release Notes

This chapter chronicles notable updates to the manual itself. Every entry should highlight newly added sections, refreshed screenshots, or policy changes.

• 2025-11-24: Updated "Reading the Learning Progress Window" to reflect the new TDS calculation (Failure Rate instead of Success Rate) and the new Manual Override warning system for OLQ targets.
• 2025-11-21 (Major Update): Added comprehensive "How to Use the Practice Session Page: Step-by-Step Guide" with 5-step workflow, real-world Chopin Nocturne example, and detailed explanations of small vs. large errors. Clarified that Failed Attempts must be tracked continuously throughout practice, even during active streaks.
• 2025-11-21: Added "Understanding Practice Metrics" subsection to Practice Sessions chapter with detailed explanations of Failed Attempts, Correct Repetitions, and Repetition Streak Resets. Included scientific basis for metric separation and practical usage guidelines.
• 2025-11-20: Added dedicated Release Notes page with comprehensive version history. Table of Contents now includes link to app release notes. Initial BETA manual created with structured sections and media placeholders.