# Simple Songwriter LE — Song Writing Assistant

> Free songwriting assistant for generating and recording musical ideas with chord suggestions. (iPhone/iPad app by Christian Inkster.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-songwriter-le/id316218233 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Christian Inkster](https://appshunter.io/developer/310708737)
- Category: Music, Reference
- Price: Free
- Rating: 3.70/5 from 33 App Store ratings · 119 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 9.1 · 15 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2009-08-21
- Data updated: 2026-08-21
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-songwriter-le/id316218233/reviews.md

## What is Simple Songwriter LE?

We're proud to announce Simple Songwriter LE the free version of our popular song writing tool.

Beginners to advanced musicians can use this app to leave thinking behind and bring the fun back into creating music.

All the chords given sound great together and most pop/rock songs will use a combination of these chords.

The touchscreen gives you the perfect environment to quickly and easily generate song ideas. When you have a great song idea, record it for later practice on your chosen instrument.

List view allows you to browse your songs chords, while the song key section can transpose your idea to any key instantly.

-Easily and quickly generate song ideas
-Record song ideas for later playback
-Find Chords that sound great together
-Help identify the key of a song
-Instantly change the key of a song
-Easily examine the chord progressions used by your favourite songs

If after trying you want more features including:

-Loading/Saving songs
-Selecting any key
-High Quality sound upgrade
-Voice/Audio Track Recording 

Please check out the full version of Simple Songwriter.

Have fun and be creative!

## Key features

- Generate song ideas quickly
- Record song ideas for playback
- Find chords that sound great together
- Identify song key
- Instantly change song key
- Examine chord progressions

## What do users think of Simple Songwriter LE?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 👍 Simple and intuitive interface for beginners
- 🎵 Effective chord progression tool for songwriting
- 🎹 Good quality sampled piano sounds
- 📱 Convenient portable songwriting tool
- ⚡ Quick and easy to use for brainstorming
- 🎯 Great for learning music theory basics
- 🔄 Ability to record chord progressions
- 💡 Helpful for developing songwriting skills
- 🎨 Nice graphics and visual design
- 🎪 Fun to experiment with different chord combinations

**Cons**

- 💰 Expensive premium version at $4.99
- 🚫 Limited chord options in free version
- 🔐 No save functionality (major issue)
- ⚠️ Confusing interface for some users
- 🎸 No guitar version available
- 🔊 No volume control for chords vs vocals
- 📊 No staff notation or sheet music display
- 🎼 Missing minor keys in free version
- ❌ Cannot export recordings as audio files
- 🎹 Limited to 3 keys in free version
- 🐛 Crashes on startup for some users
- ⏱️ Slow chord response for faster songs
- 🎤 Not suitable for melody/vocal recording
- 🎚️ Bluetooth audio plays unexpectedly
- 📝 Misleading app description (songwriter vs song maker)

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Save function does not persist songs
- App crashes immediately after clicking new song
- App crashes after recent updates
- Chords near bottom tabs are difficult to hit
- Bluetooth audio plays unexpectedly in car
- Chord response lag during fast playback

**Most requested features**

- Save and load songs functionality
- Export recordings as audio/MIDI files
- More chord options and custom chords
- Minor keys and extended chord variations
- Guitar version of the app
- Lyrics/vocal recording feature
- Staff notation and sheet music display
- Loop functionality for songwriting
- Ability to append chords to existing recordings
- Metronome and count-in feature
- Drum loops and backing tracks
- Different time signatures (not just 4/4)
- Arpeggio options
- Volume mixing controls
- Undo/shake-to-undo feature
- Piano key visualization
- More instrument options beyond piano
- Sustaining pad instruments
- Customizable chord palette
- Display chord numbers during recording

## Recent user reviews (10 of 119)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-songwriter-le/id316218233/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Fun but will not help me write a song

*2022-08-19*

It is helpful but it needs a little bit more options it’s fun to play with but not anything beyond that. I want the better keys that a real Piano gives me and 4.99 is a high price for the better one, I can get a fun game for less then that😕

### 1/5 — Will not save song. Worthless

*2022-05-02*

Really what’s the point of this app if it doesn’t save the song.  Save, Name, Done, but when I come back to load a song, immediately after saving, it’s empty, nothing was saved. 

It’s been like this for years, I though by now they might have fixed it, nope.  And I paid for this crap, I want my money back.

### 1/5 — Аккордов почти всегда не хватает

*2018-06-22*

Аккордов почти всегда не хватает ни в одной тональности

### 3/5 — Has a purpose but...

*2018-01-01*

I can see where this would be fun but for using it not much so. The graphics are amazing. You lost me when I was in my car playing with it and it would play through the Bluetooth in the car. Seriously? Sorta can't believe that in not missing a setting somewhere. Which there was a custom chord palette. Without it it's not useful to me.

### 2/5 — Record and then?

*2017-01-05*

So how do u export?

### 5/5 — OfficialTylerIsFire

*2016-05-09*

Hey guys! It's OfficialTylerIsFire on Instagram! I'm starting songwriting and from what I ca tell this is a good app so I rate it 5 stars! Is this good?

### 5/5 — Loop option

*2016-03-16*

This app is amazing. Outstanding. I would love a loop option. To improve the songwriting experience for lyrics.

### 5/5 — It's cool

*2016-01-13*

I love it it is so cool and it sounds real

### 2/5 — Wrong

*2015-07-27*

As the title may suggest, it says "simple" and "songwriter" both of which are wrong. First of all it is not a songwriter, but a song maker; which I did not want. Secondly, it is not "simple" because as soon as I got on the app I was confused. If you want a simple songwriter app, this is not the one for you.

### 1/5 — I agree this is rubbish

*2015-06-20*

I got this app to help me write song lirycas and a melody what ever you do DO NOT get this app unless you want to write music

## Frequently asked questions about Simple Songwriter LE

### What does Simple Songwriter LE do?

Simple Songwriter LE is a free app designed to help musicians generate song ideas quickly and easily. It suggests chords that sound good together, allows you to record your musical ideas, and helps you identify and transpose songs to different keys.

### What are the key features of this app?

Key features include the ability to quickly generate song ideas, record them for later playback, find chords that harmonize well, identify the key of a song, and instantly transpose your ideas to any key. You can also examine chord progressions used in popular music.

### Is Simple Songwriter LE free to use?

Yes, Simple Songwriter LE is the free version of the popular songwriting tool. It offers core features for idea generation and basic song structuring without any cost.

### Who is this app for?

This app is suitable for musicians of all levels, from beginners to advanced players, who want to bring the fun back into creating music and overcome creative blocks.

### What are some common use cases for this app?

Common use cases include quickly jotting down musical ideas when inspiration strikes, experimenting with different chord progressions, finding suitable chords for a melody, and transposing existing song ideas to a more comfortable key for practice.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.3 — 2017-11-14

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

iOS 11 compatibility

### 2.2 — 2012-12-10

iPhone 5 support.
iOS 6 fixes.

### 2.1.1 — 2011-12-13

-iOS 5 Improvements & Bugfix

### 2.1 — 2011-01-23

-Bugfix Loading and key changes should be 2x faster now.
-UI Updates

### 2.0 — 2010-07-28

Version 2.0:
- Completely revised User Interface
- High Quality Samples
- Completely revised sound playback (Nearly zero latency chord playback)
- 1/4 Beat quantizing
- Song Chord list now editable (timing & chord type / inversion)
- Metronome can now do 3/4 timing if desired
- Display chords as Sharps # or Flats b

## Apps similar to Simple Songwriter LE

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Song Writer AI,Lyric Generator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/song-writer-ailyric-generator/id1466749980) | 4.2 (622) | Free | Music |
| [Scale Numbers Piano](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scale-numbers-piano/id1270369797) | 4.2 (12) | Free | Music |
| [Songwriter's Pad + Lyrics AI](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/songwriters-pad-plus-lyrics-ai/id6462515092) | 4.2 (48) | Free | Music |
| [ChordDetectorInator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chorddetectorinator/id6748886169) | 5.0 (2) | Free | Music |
| [Songbookly: Songbook & Setlist](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/songbookly-songbook-and-setlist/id6739998746) | 4.6 (95) | Free | Music |
| [SongbookPro - Digital Songbook](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/songbookpro-digital-songbook/id1475370014) | 4.7 (2,520) | Free | Music |

## More apps by Christian Inkster

- [Simple Songwriter](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-songwriter/id310708734)
- [EasyBeats Drum Machine MPC](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/easybeats-drum-machine-mpc/id329472198)
- [Guitar Chord Progression Songwriter](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guitar-chord-progression-songwriter/id554498472)
- [EasyBeats 3 Drum Machine](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/easybeats-3-drum-machine/id643525506)
- [LoKey - The Location Sharing Keyboard](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lokey-the-location-sharing-keyboard/id1064787662)

All apps by Christian Inkster: https://appshunter.io/developer/310708737

## Related topics

[simple songwriter le](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/simple-songwriter-le) · [simple songwriter](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/simple-songwriter) · [songwriter buddy](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/songwriter-buddy) · [song writer chords](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/song-writer-chords)

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*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 2026-08-21.*