Drum Notation by Beat Note User Reviews

Customer Experience

Positive experience82.9% of reviews
Neutral7.7% of reviews
Negative experience9.4% of reviews

~ Based on 117 written reviews from the US App Store.

What users say

Is Drum Notation by Beat Note Safe?

Drum Notation by Beat Note appears safe based on user ratings. AppsHunter Safety Score for Drum Notation by Beat Note is 88/100.

This assessment is based on 82 user ratings, with an App Store average of 4.6/5.

Safety Analysis

89.0% of ratings point to a safe experience
4.9% of ratings suggest some concerns
6.1% of ratings point to a risky experience

~ Based on 82 App Store ratings for Drum Notation by Beat Note.

Is Drum Notation by Beat Note Legit?

Drum Notation by Beat Note appears legitimate, with a few gaps. AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Drum Notation by Beat Note is 73/100.

Based on 73 of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.

Top reviews

Not just for teachers

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!

BEAT NOTE IS PERFECT!

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!

Mr O

Fantastic drum notation app! Does it all with style. Props to the developers

Response from developer

Hi D.funk, Thank you for the kind words and for the props to the developers, that really does mean a lot. I am glad Beat Note is covering what you need and doing it with some style along the way. Even a short note like this helps more than you might think. Thanks again for checking Beat Note out. – Derek

Perfect apart from….

Perfect way to quickly knock out an idea or lesson. Perfect apart from no 7/8 time signature 😔….although, it’s in the pipeline.

Response from developer

Hi Ninefivemal, Thank you for this. "Perfect way to quickly knock out an idea or lesson" is exactly the kind of use I built Beat Note for. You are also right about 7/8. Support for 7/8 time signature is already on the Beat Note Product Roadmap. If you have not already, it would be great if you could upvote that request and add how you plan to use it. You can find the roadmap on the website or from within the app under the Settings tab, or reach out anytime using the "Email Derek" option in Settings. Thanks again for the feedback and for helping shape where Beat Note goes next. – Derek

A Must Have Tool for Teachers and All Drummers!

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!!!
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Response from developer

Hi OCDrummer74, Thank you for this, and for calling the customer support "next level awesome." Hearing that means a lot. Building a library of exercises and sending links straight to your students for home practice is exactly the kind of workflow I hoped teachers would build around Beat Note. Out of curiosity, about how many students are you working with, and what level are most of them at? Thanks again for bringing Beat Note into your lessons. – Derek

Great program

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

Great app!

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.
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Response from developer

Hi I Miss Dizzy, Thank you for this, and for the story about the PAS show demo, that's exactly how I hope people discover Beat Note. I'm glad it's already found a place in both your exercises for students and your own ideas. Conferences are one of my favorite ways to meet drummers and educators face to face, and reviews like this make me want to keep showing up at more of them. Thanks again for bringing Beat Note into your teaching. – Derek

Finally

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.

Great concept, needs more users and support for feature refinement

I use this app to help teach drums. It’s excellent, for quickly notating concepts, exercises, and song parts.

On its own, I’d probably score this app lower than 5 stars. However, this is a work in progress, so while it’s not perfect, and the developer has limited resources for improving the app and adding features and functionality (due to its limited number of subscribers); I believe in this app, as a foundation for something truly great.

That being said, it’s still a very good tool, the developer is responsive, engaged/communicative, and eager to improve its functionality.

I’ll continue to support it, and am looking forward to the improvements and additional features the developer is working towards.
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Response from developer

Hi Sloejelley, Thank you for this, genuinely. Teaching with it for quick notation of concepts, exercises, and song parts is the sort of scenario I had in mind when I was building it, and hearing that you see it as a foundation worth sticking with means a lot. You're right that resources are limited on a project this size, and I'm working through improvements and new features as fast as I can. Support like yours, staying patient through the rough edges, is genuinely what keeps that work moving. Thanks again for believing in where this is headed. – Derek

20$ !!

App sends me to other website , very limited.. I expected more for the money

Super application

Parfait pour apprendre le solfège rythmique et noter rapidement des idées de breaks et de grooves et les partager sous forme de partition

Response from developer

Bonjour Mungo, Merci pour ce retour, et pour avoir décrit aussi précisément comment Beat Note s'intègre dans ta pratique : apprendre le solfège rythmique, noter rapidement des idées de breaks et de grooves, puis les partager sous forme de partition. C'est exactement le genre d'usage quotidien que j'avais en tête en concevant l'app. Merci encore de faire confiance à Beat Note pour ta pratique. – Derek Hi Mungo, Thank you for this, and for describing so specifically how Beat Note fits into your practice: learning rhythmic solfege, quickly notating breaks and grooves, then sharing them as sheet music. That's the kind of day-to-day use I designed it around. Thanks again for trusting Beat Note with your practice. – Derek

Great app!

No adds, easy to use, helped me learn a song I’ve wanted to know for ages! Though, only five free beats you can make, but incredibly useful!

Response from developer

Hi Cari, Thank you for this, and for saying it helped you finally learn a song you've wanted to know for ages, that's a great thing to hear. I'm glad the no-ads, easy-to-use experience is landing the way it should. You're right that the free tier caps you at five beats: that's free-tier only, there's no beat limit once you're subscribed. Thanks again for the kind words and support. – Derek

Huge help to a new drummer!

As a new drummer (and an old one at that), I found this app fantastic. I use it for practice every day. Very intuitive to use, I can put down what is in my head, listen and adjust, then take it to the kit and try it out. I have also found I can notate a fill or beat quickly when just messing around, before I lose it. (Mind like a steel sieve.) For me keeping time has been a challenge. Practicing with a basic beat with the click allows me to develop fills that work. I understand syncing between devices is coming, I look forward to that feature. For now, It’s easy to send (I just text myself) a beat from my iPad to my computer plugged into the mixer. Looking forward to new features, nice app!
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Response from developer

Hi msturg, Thank you for this, and for the detail on how Beat Note fits into your daily practice: putting down what's in your head, listening back, adjusting, then taking it to the kit. Catching a fill or beat before you lose it is the kind of everyday moment I want Beat Note to be there for. Your "steel sieve" line got a genuine laugh out of me. You're right that cross-device sync is coming: it's already on the Beat Note Product Roadmap. If you have not already, it would be great if you could upvote that request and add your iPad-to-computer scenario. You can find the roadmap on the website or from within the app under the Settings tab, or reach out anytime using the "Email Derek" option in Settings. Thanks again for the feedback and for helping shape where Beat Note goes next. – Derek

Simple et efficace

L’app est vraiment très bien faite et correspond à mon besoin : noter des patterns lorsque j’ai un idée. Il est dommage que l’app soit aussi chère en abonnement et qu’il n’y ait pas la possibilité de l’acheter une fois pour toute.

Response from developer

Bonjour JDeuxJDeux, Merci pour ce retour et pour les 4 étoiles. La fatigue face aux abonnements est réelle, et je comprends que l'idée d'un achat unique soit plus simple. Beat Note est pensé avant tout pour les personnes qui l'utilisent chaque semaine, que ce soit pour l'enseignement, la pratique régulière ou la création de contenu : l'app est censée faire gagner du temps et devenir un vrai réflexe. Une partie de l'abonnement finance aussi le développement continu, en tant qu'équipe d'une seule personne, guidé par la roadmap et les échanges avec les batteurs qui utilisent l'app. Si votre usage reste occasionnel, il est tout à fait normal qu'un abonnement annuel ne soit pas le bon choix pour vous, et c'est une réponse honnête de ma part. Merci encore d'avoir pris le temps de partager votre expérience. – Derek Hi JDeuxJDeux, Thank you for this, and for the 4 stars. Subscription fatigue is real, and I understand that a one-time purchase feels simpler. Beat Note is built mainly for people who use it every week, whether for teaching, regular practice, or content creation: it's meant to save real time and become part of a routine. Part of that subscription also supports ongoing development as a one-person team, driven by the roadmap and conversations with drummers using the app. If your use stays occasional, it's completely fair that an annual subscription isn't the right fit for you, and that's an honest answer. Thanks again for giving it a real try and for being honest about your experience. – Derek

Not subscription worthy

Great app but the best features are locked behind a monthly subscription. It would be worth a one time purchase, but not monthly payments.

Not a Complete Disaster

First: If someone wants to input and learn a 1 or 2 measure pattern, it’s OK. From there, however, it’s downhill for those who’ve taken drum lessons for years or have learned to read ‘standard’ drum notation / charts from music publishers like Hal Leonard or Alfred Music: 1. Hands should be (by default) stems up and feet should be (by default) stems down. 2. In 4/4 time, four eighth notes should be - especially hi-hats - barred together. 3. The measure lines on the PDFs are too thick and far too close - leading to difficulty reading! 4. Duplicating or creating lengthy sections is an arduous task - at best! Having to input again and again with each new piece is outrageous! This probably explains why the ‘Discover’ lessons are so short. 5. A 4.8 rating and this is version 5.0? Yeah, no. These oversights shouldn’t have existed in version 1.0!
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Response from developer

Hi yinYangMountain, Thank you for taking the time to leave such a detailed review. I appreciate you giving Beat Note a serious look, even though it clearly missed the mark for how you like to work. It comes through that you have a strong background in reading and writing standard drum notation, especially for longer, publisher-style charts. Right now Beat Note is built for quickly sketching and sharing shorter exercises and song parts for teaching and practice, which is why some of the defaults you mentioned around voicing, beaming, and layout feel different from what you'd see in a full engraving tool or a Hal Leonard book. There are already a couple of controls that touch on this, like changing voicing per measure and adjusting how many measures appear per line on PDF export, and there are open requests on the Beat Note Product Roadmap for more flexibility in longer-form and export workflows. If you're open to it, adding your specific scenarios there would help me understand which cases matter most. I appreciate you sharing your perspective, even when it's a tough one to read. – Derek

Fun App with lots of Customization Options

This app allows you to quickly create beats and save notation. The app is easy to use with several options to choose from no matter your style.

Achtung: 7-Tage Probeabo gibt es nicht

Habe ein bisschen die App ausprobiert. Finde sie eigentlich prima.
Aber:
Um mehrere Takte zu erstellen, wollte ich zunächst die 7-Tage Probeversion testen.
Nach Klicken wurde sofort der Jahresbeitrag fällig - nix mit Probeversion.
Ganz schön dreist.

Response from developer

Hallo, vielen Dank, dass du dir die Zeit genommen hast, Beat Note auszuprobieren und dein Feedback zu teilen. Meine Entschuldigung, das ist tatsächlich mein Fehler: in diesem Zeitraum war versehentlich das falsche Abo ohne Probezeit hinterlegt, und du bist genau darauf gestoßen. Das war ein Fehler auf meiner Seite. Bitte melde dich über „Email Derek" im Einstellungen-Tab der App, damit ich das für dich persönlich in Ordnung bringen kann. Danke, dass du dich gemeldet hast, und noch einmal meine Entschuldigung für den holprigen Start. – Derek Hi there, Thank you for taking the time to try Beat Note and share this. My apologies, this one is actually on me: for a period, the wrong subscription was mistakenly configured without the free trial attached, and you ran right into it. This was a mistake on my end. Please reach out through "Email Derek" in the app's Settings tab so I can make this right for you directly. Thanks for letting me know, and my apologies again for the rough start. – Derek

A

A

Beste App für Drum-Notation (mit Verbesserungspotential)

Beste App zum Notieren von Drum-Notationen. An einigen Stellen ist durch späteres Hinzufügen von bisher fehlenden Features noch Verbesserungspotential. Der/die Entwickler verbessern/erweitern die App aber stetig. Sehr coole Sache insgesamt.

Response from developer

Hallo, danke dir für die 4 Sterne und das ehrliche Feedback. Es freut mich sehr, dass du Beat Note als beste App für Drum-Notation siehst, und ich schätze die Ehrlichkeit zum Verbesserungspotenzial. Ich arbeite kontinuierlich an der App und ergänze fehlende Funktionen Stück für Stück. Wenn dir mal etwas Konkretes einfällt, kannst du es gerne auf der Beat Note Product Roadmap eintragen oder eine bestehende Anfrage upvoten. Danke nochmal für dein Vertrauen in Beat Note. – Derek Hi there, Thank you for the 4 stars and the honest feedback. I'm glad you see Beat Note as the best app for drum notation, and I appreciate the honesty about where there's still room to grow. I'm continuously working on the app and filling in missing features piece by piece. If something specific comes to mind, feel free to add it to the Beat Note Product Roadmap or upvote an existing request. Thanks again for trusting Beat Note. – Derek