If you’re trying to figure out how to use Maponos and whether it’s the right app for you, you’re in the right place. Here are the answers to all your questions.
What is Maponos
Maponos is an app created by musicians for musicians. More specifically, it’s for anyone who plays, studies, or teaches orchestral excerpts.
The Maponos app is available on Google Play Store and App Store. You can also use Maponos on your computer.
Why use Maponos
Maponos is designed to make the orchestral excerpts practice more effective, by offering multiple many solutions in one app. It addresses the daily challenges orchestra players face – especially the challenge of finding an orchestra to practice with whenever they want.
This is made possible through the highly customizable Maponos features. Each excerpt comes with immersive audio, specifically designed to give you the sound context you need. This simulates the real orchestra experience, including the acoustic perspective you’d hear from your actual seat in the orchestra.
Maponos is not meant to replace the orchestra. Practicing with an orchestra, surrounded by your fellow musicians, is always ideal: if you have the opportunity, do that as much as you can. However, most orchestra players often find themselves trying workaround for all the (many) times they can’t practice with a full orchestra.
Issues Maponos solves
If you’re an orchestra player, you already know there’s usually a long list of issues to deal with:
- finding scores and parts
- settling for playing along to recordings or online videos
- struggling to focus on the music
- missing the full sound context
- having to adapt to the recording’s speed
- dealing with different orchestra tunings
Not to mention the acoustic perspective: recordings are made from the conductor’s or audience’s viewpoint, not yours.
Maponos solves all of this by offering many solutions in one app:
- a constantly updated catalog with the most requested orchestral excerpts
- the full orchestra score and the individual instrument part, always available
- visual score following: watch the score on your screen as each measure is highlighted in sync with the music
- orchestra sections: each of them can be included or muted
- a customizable metronome, countoff included
- adjustable tempo: control the speed to focus on technique
- loop selected bars to per repeat tricky passages
- immersive audio (with headphones) or stereo audio (with speakers)
- mark excerpts as favorites to find them later
- “download” feature to work on your excerpts offline
Who created Maponos
Maponos Music was created by musicians for musicians, in Italy. It was founded by Matteo Magli and Cristiano Calaresu.
Tuba player Matteo Magli has been working for years with Orchestra Sinfonica della Rai. He has also worked with Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia. He teaches tuba at Conservatorio della Valle D’Aosta. He is the co-founder and artistic director of Maponos Music.
Cristiano Calaresu graduated in jazz drums, and also in arranging and conducting for jazz orchestra. He worked on compositions and arrangements for international clients, before focusing on the technical side of sound, especially mixing and mastering. He is the co-founder and chief technical officer of Maponos Music.
They both live and work in Torino, Italy.
Who is Maponos for
Maponos helps everyone who studies or works with orchestral excerpts, whether as student, teacher, or orchestra player.
- Students. In addition to offering valuable study support, Maponos lets you gain the awareness you need to prepare an orchestral excerpt or, more generally, apply to an orchestra position. Even if you rarely have an orchestra to practice with. Maponos immersive audio, made for headphones, is specifically created to realistically simulate the feeling of being in your seat in the orchestra. Maponos stereo audio, made for speakers, is perfect for small groups and ensembles. Maponos helps solve many daily challenges that distract you from practicing – it makes your sessions more effective and focused.
- Teachers. Finding creative solutions to schools’ lack of funding is often a teacher’s issue. The inability to offer their students access to an orchestra to practice with consistently often leaves gaps in their preparation. These gaps aren’t due to a method, but rather to the lack of a key element: the orchestra. Maponos offers an effective solution. The stereo audio, used with regular speakers, is an ideal classroom solution. The full context can also be provided gradually, introducing one section at a time. Another important tool in educational settings is speed control: slow down passages to get the correct technique before performing them at the required tempo.
- Orchestra musicians. Preparing for competitions and auditions to land a position in your dream orchestra requires great commitment and dedication. And time. The minutes you waste while searching for good recordings, or videos to play along to, are always too many. Plus, they always come at the expense of actual practice (learning the part, perfecting those more complex measures). Maponos allows professionals to focus on what matters most: music. It also includes an extensive list of features to customize your practice.
How to try Maponos for free
Use Maponos for free – try all its features.
You’ll find two trial excerpts for almost every instrument (the trial excerpts will always be available for free).
Follow these steps:
Try the free excerpts from smartphone or tablet on iOS
- Download the app for iOS from this link
- Click on “Catalog” on the bottom bar
- The excerpts with the “FREE” label are available for free
- If you want to see the excerpts available for your instrument only:
- click on Instrument
- click on the section to see all instruments in that section
- click on the instrument
- click on the excerpt
Have fun practicing! You can try the free excerpts without limits, as long as you wish.
Try the free excerpts from smartphone or tablet on Android:
- Download the app for Android devices from this link
- Click on “Catalog” on the bottom bar
- The excerpts with the “FREE” label are available for free
- If you want to see the excerpts available for your instrument only:
- click on Instrument
- click on the section to see all instruments in that section
- click on the instrument
- click on the excerpt
Have fun practicing! You can try the free excerpts without limits, as long as you wish.
Try the free excerpts from your computer
To use the free excerpts from your computer you need to create an account first (this is not required on the app).
If you already have an account, skip the next 3 steps
- Go to this link and click “Sign up”
- Add the required information:
- first name
- last name
- password
- Click on “Sign up”
- Go to Catalog
- The excerpts with the “FREE” label are available for free
- If you want to see the excerpts available for your instrument only:
- click on Instrument
- click on the section to see all instruments in that section
- click on the instrument
- click on the excerpt
Have fun practicing! You can try the free excerpts without limits, as long as you wish.
Pricing
The Maponos app è disponibile on Google Play Store and on App Store. It’s free.
In the app, you will find 30+ free orchestral excerpts (almost two per instrument) that will always be available for free. Try every feature of Maponos as long as you want, at no cost.
Monthly and yearly subscriptions will be available starting late September 2025.
If you like Maponos and want to get a paid plan, join our newsletter: you’ll get early access to offers and launch dates.
Getting started with Maponos
How to sign up
To create a Maponos account, go to our website.
- Go to this page
- Click on “Sign up”
- Add the required information:
- first name
- last name
- password
- Click on “Sign up”
- You will now receive an email to activate your account
- If you don’t receive it in the next few minutes, check your spam folder
- If you don’t see any activation email, please let us know at [email protected]
Don’t forget to join our newsletter to receive early access offers.
How to get a subscription
Monthly and yearly subscriptions will be available starting late September 2025.
Don’t miss Maponos launch date and early access offers – join our newsletter.
How to join our newsletter
Fill this form to join our newsletter.
Newsletter subscribers get access to Maponos launch offers in advance.
Features overview
Catalog
Go to this page to access the Catalog.
If you don’t have any paid plan, you will only see the 30+ free excerpts. You’ll find two free excerpts for almost every instrument (these excerpts will always be available for free). You can use these 30+ excerpts to try every Maponos feature for free, with no restrictions.
When paid plans will become available (starting late September 2025), the full catalog for one or more instruments will become available based on your subscription plan.
Search
Several search options are available. You can simply type a name or a title in the search bar. If you’re not searching for a specific excerpts, or you don’t remember the title, feel free to use filters:
- by composer’s name
- by work title
- by instrument
Combine these 3 filters to refine your search.
Metronome
From the player view, click on the metronome icon. You’ll now see a small panel with metronome customization options.
Metronome can be activated (“on”) or deactivated (“off”).
To increase or decrease speed, slide on the “Speed” bar. The value is expressed as a percentage.
The number of bars the metronome counts off (“Countoff“) is set to 2 bars by default. To change it, use the “+” and “-” buttons next to “Countoff”.
If you don’t want the metronome to count off, click on “-” until it displays “0 bars”.
To go back to the player view, click again on the metronome icon.
Volume
To increase or decrease the main volume of the excerpt, use the slider next to the “play” button. You can find it at the bottom of your screen.
Changing the volume of one or more sections doesn’t affect the main volume of the excerpt.
Sections
From the player view, click on the sections icon. You’ll access a side panel side panel where you can see a list of all orchestra sections.
The “Solo” button deactivates all sections except the one related to that button (example: if you click “Solo” next to the strings section, all sections will be deactivated except strings – you will hear the strings only).
If you want to deactivate some selected sections only, click the “Mute” button next to the sections you don’t want to include.
Each section has its own volume slider: feel free to adjust it for each section.
To go back to the player view, click anywhere on the screen, outside of the side panel.
Pitch
To change the orchestra tuning, click on the tuning fork icon. The default value on Maponos is set to A=440 Hz. Available values range from from A=439 Hz to A=444 Hz. To go back to the player view, click on the tuning fork icon again.
Loop
Use the loop button to repeat selected bars as long as you want.
To select the bars you want to repeat, click “Bars”.
First, click next to “Loop” to set it to “on”. It will turn orange.
To select the bars, use the two buttons with numbers: “From bar” and “To bar”.
Click on each button to type the bar number with your keyboard.
In the example below, Maponos will repeat the bars 4-5-6-7 on loop, without interruptions, until you press “Pause”. If you have not changed the default settings, the loop will start after two countoff bars.
To go back to the Player view, click on the bars icon again.
Stereo audio and binaural (immersive) audio
If you’re using Maponos immersive (binaural) audio, you will see the headphones icon and the word “Binaural”.
To switch to stereo audio, click on the headphones icon. You will now see the speakers icon and the word “Stereo”
Click again to go back to immersive audio.
Favourites
To add an excerpt to your list of favourites, click on the heart-shaped icon.
To see your list of favourites, go back to home page and click on the menu.
Select “Favourites”.
Download
You can download an excerpt to use it offline, without internet connection.
To see the list of the excerpts you downloaded, go back to the home page and click on the menu.
Click “Download” on the menu.
