My favorite ABC player/editor
NOTA has the best player I have used on a mobile device in terms of producing a proper accent and rhythm. It also has a repeat feature I haven’t seen on any other player. There is an increment control that lets you select to repeat a tune any number of times. However if you are playing a set of tunes and you set a number of repeats NOTA will repeat each tune the selected number of times before moving to the next tune. I’ve never seen another player that will do that and it is awesome. NOTA also has a special ABC keyboard you can switch to which has all the ABC commands and symbols used to compose or edit tunes. It’s pretty handy.
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Good ABC editor
Nota can import abc files, make your own edits to customize ornaments or conform to local repertoire, save to tune books and sets. You can also adjust screen width to show while the if it has a lot of parts. Nice.
Response from developer
I am really glad you like the app! All the best!
Useful but confusing
Nice start to a useful app if you use abc. Gives access to The Session database
But you can’t turn off the strong rhythmic stress irregularity on playback (there’s a switch but has no effect) and editing the actual abc input is hidden away (and no instructions are provided)
Can change tempo but not key
With some fine tuning and some built in instructions this could be a five star app
Lyrics?
Tecumseh fitch mandolin piano
But you can’t turn off the strong rhythmic stress irregularity on playback (there’s a switch but has no effect) and editing the actual abc input is hidden away (and no instructions are provided)
Can change tempo but not key
With some fine tuning and some built in instructions this could be a five star app
Lyrics?
Tecumseh fitch mandolin piano
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Response from developer
Hello, thanks for your feedback! About the stress irregularities, they're supposed to be deactivatable (it's the "stress" feature), there might be a bug, I will investigate. I suspect that if you deactivate it stress will not be applied to new tunes, but older tunes will retain their stress; this is because audio is cached. I will look into it. About the key, it is a great idea, I'll add it to the feature requests straightaway. I use Nota ABC mostly to remind myself of tunes and keep track of the ones I learn, so I might have overlooked some of the features I don't use daily.
Great app but some issues with editing
I really like this app but sometimes it makes adding and editing tunes hard work. I’ve found that sometimes tunes don’t have the edit link. This seems to be fairly random although I suspect it may be linked to network signal but why this should be seems illogical. For example, I am adding tunes that are found in the database and then want to add them to a book and add a context note in the ABC. The edit link is simply missing. It isn’t a screen size issue. It is just not there. I’ve not had this problem consistently though hence my suggestion that this is a network issue. If I’m correct this is a weakness of the app as it the tools shouldnt be dependent on network access. Another niggle is the lack of rendering in split screen view on the iPad. The tune list tray can’t be opened in this mode. This is irritating when you are wanting to check that the tune version is the same as one in a document. My work flow is adding tunes by finding ABC files that are similar to ones in a pdf Tunebook. Finally, it would be so much better if when adding a tune the Save feature didnt return the user to the top of the menu and instead stayed on that tune by default.
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Response from developer
Hello, thanks for your feedback, it's really useful. I will definitely investigate on the "Edit link" issue, I don't think it's linked to the network signal, it must be some bug, my bad. About split screen on the iPad, this is definitely a nice idea, I am sure I wil implement it, but I cannot give you a timeframe right now. I use Nota ABC mostly to remind myself of tunes and keep track of the ones I learn, so I migh be guilty of overlooking the editing aspect a bit, but I'll do my best to improve the app. I am also noting down your third suggestion, it makes sense. Cheers, Davide
Great app but some issues with editing
I really like this app but sometimes it makes adding and editing tunes hard work. I’ve found that sometimes tunes don’t have the edit link. This seems to be fairly random although I suspect it may be linked to network signal but why this should be seems illogical. For example, I am adding tunes that are found in the database and then want to add them to a book and add a context note in the ABC. The edit link is simply missing. It isn’t a screen size issue. It is just not there. I’ve not had this problem consistently though hence my suggestion that this is a network issue. If I’m correct this is a weakness of the app as it the tools shouldnt be dependent on network access. Another niggle is the lack of rendering in split screen view on the iPad. The tune list tray can’t be opened in this mode. This is irritating when you are wanting to check that the tune version is the same as one in a document. My work flow is adding tunes by finding ABC files that are similar to ones in a pdf Tunebook. Finally, it would be so much better if when adding a tune the Save feature didnt return the user to the top of the menu and instead stayed on that tune by default.
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A Confusing App With No Documentation.
This may work but I only managed to import an abc file by accident. It is not intuitive to use. The Craic is an abc app that’s easier to use. If Nota gets some documentation it may turn out to be a useful app but as of June 2024 I couldn’t recommend it.
Response from developer
Thanks for your feedback. It'd be great if you could contact me at info@notabc.app so I could understand better your experience and provide more guidance/info for future users. Cheers!
Needs work
I already have 2 apps that perform as this app does, and then some. Keeping track of practice doesn’t hold any value for me.
Would love it if transpose was incorporated. Bpm in increments of 5 rather than 10 would be preferred.
I’ll check back, but for now it’s a pass.
Would love it if transpose was incorporated. Bpm in increments of 5 rather than 10 would be preferred.
I’ll check back, but for now it’s a pass.
Amazing, please release as a Mac app!
Have been holding out on purchasing while hoping for a macOS app, but decided to purchase it today to support the developer in the meantime because the app works great.
But please—at least tap the button in App Store Connect to let Apple Silicon Macs run it in lieu of a proper macOS app! It’s killing me not having this on my Mac.
P.S. Dark mode is considered to be an accessibility feature, yet it’s behind a paywall. I understand you want to provide value for the subscription, but accessibility should not be a paid feature and there are plenty of other reasons to subscribe.
You wouldn’t put Dynamic Type or Screen Reader functionality behind a paywall, so you shouldn’t do it for color options, either.
But please—at least tap the button in App Store Connect to let Apple Silicon Macs run it in lieu of a proper macOS app! It’s killing me not having this on my Mac.
P.S. Dark mode is considered to be an accessibility feature, yet it’s behind a paywall. I understand you want to provide value for the subscription, but accessibility should not be a paid feature and there are plenty of other reasons to subscribe.
You wouldn’t put Dynamic Type or Screen Reader functionality behind a paywall, so you shouldn’t do it for color options, either.
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Response from developer
Hello, thanks for your feedback. I had not considered that dark mode is for some people an accessibility feature, my mistake. I'll make the dark theme free for the next releases. About the Mac, I do have a native Mac app in development, syncing to the same database. I cannot give you a timeframe though.
Not worth the price!!
I use Tunebook for over 10 years and it offres tunelist folder to manage, not just sorting by month! Thé problem with Tunebook is that we canât anymore import abc file from e-mail directly into it since Apple choose to give ABC extension file to another app. It is the same problèm with your app, we canât import from an email, nor from file browser. It is not worth the price you ask. The only IOS app that permit abc file import is Craic, but I prefer Tunebook so Iwill continue use it.
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Beautiful, modern, functional, splendid support
I’ve been looking for an app like this for a long time – the existing offering of native apps for databases of tunes is quite dated, and I wanted something modern, and something with previews in the listing.
Nota caught my eye immediately, with a modern design, and exactly the functionality I was looking for. I couldn’t initially figure out how to populate the database from my current list of tunes, which was just a long note in the Apple Notes app; I contacted the developer who replied within a matter of hours with a very helpful and friendly response, and I was able to follow his clear instructions immediately.
The app did a great job of matching the tune names to the online database and generating the sheet music and previews, and it was easy to manually match the few that weren’t done automatically.
I’m very pleased! This is definitely my new tune database.
Nota caught my eye immediately, with a modern design, and exactly the functionality I was looking for. I couldn’t initially figure out how to populate the database from my current list of tunes, which was just a long note in the Apple Notes app; I contacted the developer who replied within a matter of hours with a very helpful and friendly response, and I was able to follow his clear instructions immediately.
The app did a great job of matching the tune names to the online database and generating the sheet music and previews, and it was easy to manually match the few that weren’t done automatically.
I’m very pleased! This is definitely my new tune database.
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Disappointed
I downloaded to evaluate against Tunebook and The Craic but found Nota lacking.
Unlike Tunebook when you edit the abc of a tune you can’t see the changes to the score until they are saved. There is no shortcut/common musical additions to the pop up keyboard as in Tunebook.
Changing the playback instrument doesn’t take effect until you quit and open the app again. The normal choice of MIDI sounds is restricted to 3 with the extra 2 available only when you subscribe. This is unnecessary - no such restriction on Tunebook or The Craic.
Hiding the sidebar to see more score is cumbersome because you must find the small icon on top left while Tunebook and The Craic both do this when you tap the score.
The playback bar at the foot of the screen is too big and obscures screen space that restricts viewing of more than four lines of notation.
Tunebook & The Craic retain a library and vast store of tunes with links to import from various sources with an initial purchase with no ongoing charge.
There is no ability to export as PDF or share other than in fairly technical formats. In Tunebook I can share by email, Airdrop etc.
Tunebook is by far the most useful app for working with abc files and for storing tunes. I have used it to publish several booklets and use it constantly at sessions and gigs to access my tune library.
Sorry to be so negative but this app will frustrate anyone serious about using an iPad to manage their music. Nota is at best a Beta test app.
Unlike Tunebook when you edit the abc of a tune you can’t see the changes to the score until they are saved. There is no shortcut/common musical additions to the pop up keyboard as in Tunebook.
Changing the playback instrument doesn’t take effect until you quit and open the app again. The normal choice of MIDI sounds is restricted to 3 with the extra 2 available only when you subscribe. This is unnecessary - no such restriction on Tunebook or The Craic.
Hiding the sidebar to see more score is cumbersome because you must find the small icon on top left while Tunebook and The Craic both do this when you tap the score.
The playback bar at the foot of the screen is too big and obscures screen space that restricts viewing of more than four lines of notation.
Tunebook & The Craic retain a library and vast store of tunes with links to import from various sources with an initial purchase with no ongoing charge.
There is no ability to export as PDF or share other than in fairly technical formats. In Tunebook I can share by email, Airdrop etc.
Tunebook is by far the most useful app for working with abc files and for storing tunes. I have used it to publish several booklets and use it constantly at sessions and gigs to access my tune library.
Sorry to be so negative but this app will frustrate anyone serious about using an iPad to manage their music. Nota is at best a Beta test app.
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