Milwaukee-based Hal Leonard Corp. has acquired Tunessence, a music education technology company based in Pittsburgh.
Hal Leonard, based at 7777 W. Blue Mound Road, is the largest music print publisher in the world, producing educational music and songbooks, as well as eBooks, digital sheet music and apps. It has more than 500 employees at offices across the world. Last year, Hal Leonard made a “substantial investment” in cloud-based interactive digital sheet music company Noteflight LLC.
Tunessence was founded in 2012 by Alexander Soto and Matt Bauch, recent graduates of Carnegie Mellon. It offers a web-based platform for interactive music lessons, which allows a musician to play along with a follow-along marker, looping and tempo control.
“Tunessence has made it easier for aspiring musicians to learn how to play their favorite music online,” said Alexander Soto, co-founder of Tunessence. “With Hal Leonard’s vast library and expertise creating music lessons, we’ll be able to continue that mission on a larger scale.”
Hal Leonard will integrate Tunessence into its websites and digital projects across the board.
“Our GuitarInstructor.com website was in the midst of a major revamp, and Tunessence proved to be a first-class, tech savvy solution for taking this site to the next level,” said Jeff Schroedl, executive vice president of Hal Leonard. “Tunessence will be debuted within GuitarInstructor and included in many other Hal Leonard projects moving forward.”
“Tunessence uses the latest HTML5 technology and it’s auto-responsive,” said Chris Koszuta, product manager for Hal Leonard digital media. “These two elements alone will ensure that these interactive lessons are accessible and enjoyable across all devices, including smart phones, tablets and computers.”
“We hoped to help a new generation of practicing musicians with Tunessence,” Bauch said. “Hal Leonard is the perfect company to team with to make our vision come true. We’re excited to see what lies ahead.”
