Underscored

About

Underscored is an app that generates original, AI-composed film-score-style music and synchronizes it to your reading pace. Every book in the library receives a unique musical score – not a playlist, not background noise, but a composed score that evolves with the narrative.

The music responds to the emotional arc of each chapter: tension builds during conflict, themes shift with new settings, and quieter passages breathe alongside reflective prose. It's the reading experience you didn't know you were missing.

The current library features public domain classics – from Shelley's Frankenstein to Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby – each with a handcrafted score brief that guides the AI composition. More books are added regularly.

How It Works

1. Pick a book – Browse the library and download a title. The app fetches the text, score, and all audio chapters in one tap.
2. Read at your own pace – Open the built-in reader and start reading. The score follows your progress automatically, transitioning between musical segments as you move through the story.
3. Or use Paper Book mode – Reading a physical copy? Set your words-per-minute and the score plays in sync with your estimated pace. Adjust speed anytime.
4. Take it offline – Once downloaded, everything works without an internet connection. Read and listen anywhere.

Two ways to listen

Reader mode reads the book on screen with paginated text and swipe navigation. The score detects your page turns and adjusts in real time.

Paper Book mode is for physical books. You set a reading speed (words per minute) and the score advances on a timer. Great for reading in bed with headphones.

AI & Ethics

Underscored uses AI to compose music. That raises fair questions – here are honest answers.

How the music is made

Each book has a score brief – a human-written document describing the musical vision for the novel. This brief specifies themes, moods, instrumentation, and how the score should evolve across chapters. An AI composition model (ACE-Step) then generates original audio from these descriptions. Every segment is unique to the book it was composed for.

What the AI doesn't do

The AI does not remix, sample, or copy existing music. It doesn't pull from a database of songs. It composes from text descriptions the same way a synthesizer produces sound from electrical signals – it's a tool for creation, not a shortcut around it.

Respecting intellectual property

The library currently features public domain texts only. We take both literary and musical intellectual property seriously. No copyrighted books are included, and no copyrighted music is used in any form.

Transparency

We're upfront about AI's role: it is a compositional tool. The artistic direction – the score briefs, the narrative analysis, the emotional mapping – is human work. The AI handles the final step of turning those directions into audio. We think that's a fair and honest use of the technology.

Privacy Policy

Underscored is designed to respect your privacy. The short version: we don't collect your data.

• No accounts required. No sign-up, no login, no email address needed. Just download and read.
• Your data stays on your device. Reading progress, settings, bookmarks, and preferences are stored locally and never leave your phone.
• No analytics or tracking. We don't use analytics SDKs, tracking pixels, or any third-party data collection tools.
• No third-party data sharing. Your information is not sold, shared, or transmitted to anyone.
• Minimal network usage. The app connects to our content server only to download book text, score data, and audio files. No personal data is sent in these requests.
• Offline by design. Once a book is downloaded, the app works entirely offline. No network connection is needed to read or listen.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Reach us at privacy@underscoreapp.com.

Last updated: February 2026