Help with Riff Locker

Tap the combination lock on the locker door to open the app. The first time, four short pages explain capture, Whisper Mode and permissions. Turn on "Start with sample riffs" if you'd like example ideas to explore; you can remove them later in Settings › Sample data.

Tap the red Capture riff button. Recording starts immediately. Tap the square to stop, then give it a name, a type, tags and a project if you want. You can leave all of that blank and come back to it later.

An optional gate on the locker door for keeping casual eyes out. Turn it on in Settings › Privacy and storage. It is a convenience, not encryption: someone with full access to your unlocked phone could still reach the files.

Any iPhone running iOS 18.2 or later. iPad works with the iPhone layout for now.

Open iOS Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone and turn on Riff Locker. Both quick capture and Whisper Mode need it. The app never records unless you tap capture or turn Whisper Mode on.

Check iOS Settings › Notifications › Riff Locker and allow notifications, then check Riff Locker › Settings › Whisper Mode › "Notify when a session is captured". Captures still appear in the "Needs review" section at the top of your locker even without notifications.

• Make sure the status says Listening and the small level meter moves when you play.
• Play something sustained and harmonic for a few seconds. Percussive scratching and single staccato notes score low.
• Move the phone closer to the instrument or amp, or switch Sensitivity to Eager in Settings.
• Whisper Mode pauses while Riff Locker itself is playing or recording, and while the app is in the background unless "Keep listening in background" is on.

Switch Sensitivity to Conservative, raise "Ignore takes shorter than", and discard the false starts from the review screen. If it keeps capturing a speaker or a TV, tell us what it heard; those examples are exactly what improves the thresholds. How it decides explains the current limits.

A pause longer than the silence window ends a take. Raise "Stop after silence" in Settings for music with long rests. Merging takes is on the roadmap.

Listening keeps the microphone active and runs lightweight analysis about ten times a second. With the screen on it is comparable to a voice call. "Keep listening in background" is off by default because it prevents the phone from sleeping the audio system.

Analytics listens for major and minor chords in the take, writes the sequence in Roman numerals relative to the estimated key (for example i–♭VI–♭III–♭VII), and compares that shape with a short list of well-known progressions such as four-chord pop, the 12-bar blues, ii–V–I and the Andalusian cadence. The percentage is how many of your chords line up with that shape. It compares chord shapes only, never songs, and it is not an opinion about originality.

Single-note riffs, drones, heavily distorted parts and very fast changes do not read as triads, so the card stays quiet rather than guessing. Strummed or arpeggiated chords held for at least half a beat work best. Sevenths, sus chords and power chords are reported as the nearest major or minor triad.

WAV 24-bit for Logic Pro, GarageBand and any other DAW. AIFF is the same audio in Apple's classic container. M4A is smaller and carries the title, key and tempo as metadata; good for sending to bandmates.

1. In the riff, tap Export, choose WAV, and choose "Share / AirDrop / cloud".
2. Tap Export and share, then AirDrop it to your Mac (or Save to Files → iCloud Drive).
3. In Logic Pro use File › Import › Audio File, or drag the file onto a track. Set the project tempo to the BPM in the file name.

Export to "Riff Locker folder in Files". In GarageBand, open the Loop Browser, choose Files, and pick the exported file from On My iPhone › Riff Locker › Exports.

In the Files app under On My iPhone › Riff Locker › Exports. Delete them there whenever you like; the original recording stays in the locker.

Inside Riff Locker's private storage on your phone. They are included in iCloud and computer backups of the device. They are not uploaded anywhere by the app.

Restore the new phone from a backup of the old one and the locker comes with it. Direct sync between devices is not available yet; it is on the roadmap.

Settings › Danger zone › "Delete all riffs and projects", or simply delete the app. Both remove all recordings from the phone.