# Drum Notation by Beat Note — Notate, Teach, Learn, Practice > App for creating, practicing, and sharing drum music notation. (iPhone/iPad app by Kick Snare Hat Apps, LLC.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drum-notation-by-beat-note/id1539132475 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Kick Snare Hat Apps, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/945994325) - Category: Music, Education - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.70/5 from 83 App Store ratings · 119 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 15.6 · 87 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2022-06-03 - Data updated: 2026-08-29 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drum-notation-by-beat-note/id1539132475/reviews.md ## What is Drum Notation by Beat Note? Beat Note — Drum Notation for Drummers, Teachers, and Content Creators The fastest way to write, hear, practice, and share drum notation. Built by a drummer, for drummers. FOR DRUMMERS — FROM YOUR HEAD TO THE PAGE IN SECONDS You have a groove idea. Beat Note gets it down before you lose it. Tap the sequencer grid to build beats. Watch them turn into clean, professional drum notation in real time. Hit play and hear exactly what you wrote — at any tempo, with a click track, on loop. - Transcribe songs to check your ear and lock in what you hear - Compose your own grooves, fills, and exercises from scratch - Count in with a visual on-screen "1, 2, 3, 4" so your eyes and ears are ready together - Use Beat Note as your in-ear metronome during rehearsals — your beats, not just clicks "Been waiting a long time for an app like this. Clearly built by a drummer." — App Store review FOR TEACHERS — WRITE IT, PLAY IT, SEND IT What used to take 30 minutes in a desktop notation program now takes 2 minutes on your phone or iPad. Write exercises on the fly — during the lesson, not after it. Play back the notation so students hear exactly how it should sound. Share a link so they can listen at home. Export a PDF they can print and bring to the kit. - Use the sequencer as a live music whiteboard, in person or online - Build a library of exercises organized by tag, ready for any student - Send a shareable link or export a high-quality PDF in one tap "What would normally take 30 minutes on a computer has become 2 minutes from my mobile device. My students love it." — App Store review FOR CONTENT CREATORS — PROFESSIONAL NOTATION VIDEOS, IN MINUTES Export your beat as an animated MP4 — portrait for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, or landscape for YouTube and Vimeo. Choose 720p, 1080p, or 4K. Pick a color theme. Preview before you export. PDF, PNG, WAV or AAC audio, shareable link, and animated MP4 — all from one app. NOTATION THAT LOOKS RIGHT Professional drum notation, consistent across every format you export. What you see on screen is what your students get in the PDF, what your followers see in the video, and what you hear in playback. - All standard drums, cymbals, and articulations - Subdivisions from 8th notes to 32nd notes, plus triplets, quintuplets (5s), and septuplets (7s) - Common and compound time signatures, including 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8 - Linear, split hands/feet, or split drums/cymbals voicing - Sticking annotations (R, L) - Single-measure repeat symbol (%) — renders automatically when measures repeat ORGANIZE AND DISCOVER - Tags, search, and sort to manage your beat library - Discover tab: curated educational beats for all skill levels - Beat templates to get started fast - Customize tempo, click track, count-in, and timer MADE BY A DRUMMER, SHAPED BY THE COMMUNITY Beat Note was built by me — an independent developer with 35+ years behind the kit. But the direction comes from the community. Every major feature on the roadmap has been voted on, requested, and refined by drummers, teachers, and creators just like you. Join the conversation at roadmap.beat-note.app — vote on upcoming features, share ideas, and see what's coming next. I'm here to make sure it all comes together into something that actually works. Premium subscription required for full access. Educator and Creator tiers available. Free trial included. Payment is charged through your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period via iTunes Account Settings. Terms and Privacy Policy: https://www.beat-note.app/privacy-and-terms ## Key features - Sequencer to notation conversion - Compose and transcribe drum beats - Customizable practice sessions - Interactive teaching tools - High-quality PDF and image export - Multiple notation voicing options ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **Subscriptions** | Subscription | Price | Period | | --- | --- | --- | | Educator Tier Annual (No Trial) | $59.99 | per year | | Educator Tier Annual + Free Trial | $59.99 | per year | | Educator Tier Monthly (No Trial) | $6.69 | per month | | Creator Tier Annual + Free Trial | $119.99 | per year | | Creator Tier Monthly (No Trial) | $13.49 | per month | ## What do users think of Drum Notation by Beat Note? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 👍 Intuitive and easy to use - 🚀 Quick and efficient notation - 🎶 Great sound playback - 💡 Excellent for teaching and learning - ✍️ Simple to write exercises and ideas - 📲 Easy to share and export - 🥁 Made by drummers for drummers - ✨ Well-designed UI - 💬 Responsive developer support - 📚 Great for building a library of grooves - ⏱️ Saves time compared to desktop apps - 🎧 Useful as an in-ear click track - 🎯 Helps improve reading and playing skills - ✅ Versatile and customizable - 🌟 Constantly improving with updates **Cons** - 💰 Expensive subscription model - 💸 High annual cost - 🆓 Limited free version - 🚫 No one-time purchase option - 🤔 Subscription model makes little sense to some - 📉 Limited number of subscribers impacting development - ⚠️ Free trial issues (charged immediately) - 🪲 Occasional bugs and instability - ↔️ No sync between devices or web version - 📏 Some notation features are not standard - ⏳ Duplicating/creating lengthy sections is arduous - 📈 PDF export measure lines too thick/close **Commonly reported bugs** - Preview rarely matches notes on staff - Sometimes doesn't play any notes - Sounds not always appropriate for instrument voicing - Editing measures is inconvenient - Free trial charged immediately - iCloud data sync issues for subscription confirmation - Not stable in loopings, slow delay on first note - Measure lines on PDFs too thick and close **Most requested features** - 7/8 time signature support - Syncing between devices - Web version - Native Mac/Windows apps - Add text or notes to notations - Cowbell instrument - More drum samples and pitch control - Ability to work on spaces longer than a measure - Add 32nd notes - Duplicate multiple bars at once - Copy/paste large sections - Option to drag duplicated bars to the end - Add melody track - More instrument options - Ability to manage volumes of different instruments - Add quintuplets and sextuplets to a bar - Add repetition options for measures - Add text to music sheets - Improve loop stability and reduce delay - Allow monthly subscription option - More free beats/unlimited free version - Add sticking for grace notes - More advanced editing options for multiple bars - Improve PDF export readability - Add virtual drum kit for accessibility - AI-powered automatic notation - Auto-sync to track ## Recent user reviews (10 of 119) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drum-notation-by-beat-note/id1539132475/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Beyond Useful *2026-08-09, version 5.6.1* I’ve been using this app for about a year and a half and it has far exceeded expectations. My band and I have written a full length album and being able to brainstorm different notes within patterns and actively listen on the sample kit has been crucial. Not to mention being able to then export the track and send to my band mates to write while listening along. The only downside now is that I write better than I can play hahah. Luckily, it doubles as a practice tool and being able to slow them down and loop makes the process even easier ### 5/5 — It’s great! *2026-07-20, version 5.6* You can make your own beats and download other beats created by your friends or teacher idk. It’s good for practicing to learn drums and practicing for your band or smthn idk ### 5/5 — Not just for teachers *2026-06-10, version 5.3.3* I program different exercises I’ve gathered from buying various artist’s lesson packs and use it as something to play along to. Makes it more fun than just playing with a metronome alone! ### 5/5 — BEAT NOTE IS PERFECT! *2026-05-29, version 5.3.1* This app is absolutely quick and intuitive. My history of using old school drum machines make this a breeze. Input is so quick and easy to export. Adding stickings is also super simple. I use this gif video content, book writing, ideas and quick student lessons. Really well done! ### 5/5 — Mr O *2026-05-27, version 5.3.1* Fantastic drum notation app! Does it all with style. Props to the developers ### 5/5 — Perfect apart from…. *2026-05-23, version 5.3* Perfect way to quickly knock out an idea or lesson. Perfect apart from no 7/8 time signature 😔….although, it’s in the pipeline. ### 5/5 — A Must Have Tool for Teachers and All Drummers! *2026-05-08, version 5.2* As a teacher, I just started using beat note as my main metronome tool during lessons with students. I’ve been building out a library of exercises, which are so easy to create and organize, and send the links to my students for home practice. This tool helps myself and students become better drummers. And the customer support is next level awesome!!! ### 2/5 — Great program *2026-04-26, version 5.1.3* This program is great for drum notation, but $60 a year indefinitely for a subscription is kind of crazy. I know you need to make money on this app but the subscription model makes zero sense. Not sure if I can justify the cost ### 5/5 — Great app! *2026-03-25, version 5.0.5* I almost passed by this booth at the PAS show but they happened to be giving a demo. I stopped and was sold long before the demo was over. I signed up and immediately started using it to write exercises for students and ideas for myself. I have just about every notation app out there but none has the ease and speed for writing drum parts that this has. Bravo to Derek and the team. ### 5/5 — Finally *2026-02-15, version 5.0.4* Been waiting a long time for an app like this. Makes it super easy to build a library of grooves and fills, transcribe songs, etc. Clearly built by a drummer. ## Frequently asked questions about Drum Notation by Beat Note ### What does the Drum Notation by Beat Note app do? This app allows users to create, practice, and share drum music notation. It converts sequenced beats into professional sheet music, enabling composition, transcription, and interactive teaching. Users can also customize practice sessions and export their creations in various formats. ### What are the key features of this drum notation app? Key features include a sequencer that transforms tapped beats into notation, tools for composing and transcribing music, customizable practice sessions with tempo control and a click track, and interactive guidance for teachers. It also offers high-quality PDF and image export options, along with multiple notation voicing choices tailored for drummers. ### How much does Drum Notation by Beat Note cost? The app is available for free with in-app purchases. This means you can download and use the basic functionalities without charge, with options to purchase additional features or content. ### Who is the target audience for this app? The app is designed for a wide range of users including drummers who want to learn or compose, music teachers looking for interactive tools to guide students, musicians aiming to elevate their practice sessions, and content creators who need professional-looking drum notation for their work. ### What are some common use cases for this app? Common use cases include composing original drum beats, transcribing songs by ear to understand their structure, creating personalized practice routines with specific tempos and timers, teaching rhythm and drumming techniques to students visually and audibly, and generating professional-quality sheet music for sharing or social media. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 5.7 — 2026-08-23 Thanks for using Drum Notation by Beat Note! NEW FEATURES - Stacked articulations: add more than one articulation to a single note, so you can write flam accents, cheeses (flam diddles), accented diddles and ghosted diddles the way you actually play them. Tap a note in the beat editor, then pick the second articulation from the row that appears on top. Stacked notes play back and travel with your beat everywhere it goes: audio, PDF, image and video exports, and shared links. Available on snare, toms, hi-hat and ride, with the most combinations on the snare. Thanks to everyone who voted for this one on the roadmap! IMPROVEMENTS - Beats sync more reliably, especially after editing while offline. BUG FIXES - Fixed rhythm counts appearing in exported PDFs where there is no note. Thanks to Andi for reporting this! - Fixed a triplet or other tuplet number overlapping a rest in exported PDFs. - Fixed beats coming back after you deleted them. - Fixed a crash that could happen when opening a beat in Practice right after the beat list refreshed. - Fixed a crash that could happen while scrolling quickly through Discover. - Fixed icons looking washed out or greyed, including the Play button, the tempo controls, the Edit Score menu and the My Beats card actions. This was most noticeable with Increase Contrast turned on in your iOS accessibility settings. Remember to check out the Beat Note roadmap under the Settings screen to learn about upcoming features and vote on user-requested ones. As always, thank you for your support. This update also includes general bug fixes and performance improvements. Have feedback? Tap Settings → E-mail Derek. I'd love to hear from you! ### 5.6.1 — 2026-08-08 Thanks for using Drum Notation by Beat Note! BUG FIXES - Fixed a beat in Discover that would not open. The Nirvana "Come As You Are" Pre-Chorus 2 / 3 beat now loads correctly. Remember to check out the Beat Note roadmap under the Settings screen to learn about upcoming features and vote on user-requested ones. As always, thank you for your support. This update also includes general bug fixes and performance improvements. Have feedback? Tap Settings → E-mail Derek. I'd love to hear from you! ### 5.6 — 2026-07-18 Thanks for using Drum Notation by Beat Note! NEW FEATURES - Beat Descriptions: A beat shows what to play. Now you can capture how to play it, too. Add a description to any beat with an explanation, a cue, or a reminder, and it appears right at the top of the practice screen so the guidance is there while you play. It's also included automatically in your PDF exports and shared beats, so those notes travel home with the groove. Edit it anytime in the app. It's perfect for teachers sending context home to students, or for keeping your own practice notes. Thanks to everyone who requested this on the roadmap! BUG FIXES - Long titles are no longer cut off in exported PDFs. Long titles now wrap so the full name fits the page. - Fixed music notation overlapping the measure and exercise number labels in Focused Practice. Remember to check out the Beat Note roadmap under the Settings screen to learn about upcoming features and vote on user-requested ones. As always, thank you for your support. This update also includes general bug fixes and performance improvements. Have feedback? Tap Settings → E-mail Derek. I'd love to hear from you! ### 5.5 — 2026-07-14 Thanks for using Drum Notation by Beat Note! NEW FEATURES - Measure Navigation: In Focused Practice, jump to the next or previous measure using the left/right arrow keys (iPad/Mac keyboard) or a swipe - no need to leave the practice view. Playback, tempo, click, and your practice timer keep running. Left/right arrows previously controlled tempo; use the up/down arrow keys for that instead. BUG FIXES - Fixed rhythm count labels displaying incorrectly in 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8 time signatures. - Fixed music notation rendering issues where rests and tuplet brackets in busy measures could overlap or display at the wrong height. Remember to check out the Beat Note roadmap under the Settings screen to learn about upcoming features and vote on user-requested ones. As always, thank you for your support. This update also includes general bug fixes and performance improvements. Have feedback? Tap Settings → E-mail Derek. I'd love to hear from you! ### 5.4 — 2026-07-06 Thanks for using Drum Notation by Beat Note! NEW FEATURES - Rhythm counting, one of the most-requested features on the Beat Note roadmap, is here! Display the count — like "1 e & a" — right on your music notation so rhythms are easier to read, learn, and teach. Tap or swipe to add counts to the notes you choose, or fill a whole bar in one tap and clear it just as easily. Works with eighths, sixteenths, triplets, and every other subdivision. Remember to check out the Beat Note roadmap under the Settings screen to learn about upcoming features and vote on user-requested ones. As always, thank you for your support. This update also includes general bug fixes and performance improvements. Have feedback? Tap Settings → E-mail Derek. I'd love to hear from you! ## Apps similar to Drum Notation by Beat Note | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Drum Notes: Beats & Notation](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drum-notes-beats-and-notation/id1493160348) | 4.6 (203) | Free | Music | | [Beat Maker Go：DJ Drum Pads Pro](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beat-maker-godj-drum-pads-pro/id1141835258) | 4.4 (94,145) | Free | Music | | [Music Rhythm Trainer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/music-rhythm-trainer/id1319997438) | 4.8 (5,050) | Free | Music | | [Tabla: India's drum instrument](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tabla-indias-drum-instrument/id703071767) | 4.4 (1,187) | Free | Music | | [WeDrum: Drum Games, Real Drums](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wedrum-drum-games-real-drums/id474286241) | 4.3 (20,324) | Free | Music | | [Drum Pads 24 Beat Maker Music](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drum-pads-24-beat-maker-music/id667945907) | 4.7 (12,402) | Free | Music | ## More apps by Kick Snare Hat Apps, LLC - [Gap Click by Benny Greb](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gap-click-by-benny-greb/id1443682940) All apps by Kick Snare Hat Apps, LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/945994325 ## Related topics [drum notation by beat note](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/drum-notation-by-beat-note) · [drum notation](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/drum-notation) · [voya health account solutions](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/voya-health-account-solutions) · [drum notes](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/drum-notes) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-29.*