# Tonality: Music Theory — user reviews > 74 indexed App Store user reviews of Tonality by Bryce Hostetler, rated 4.80/5 from 128 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tonality-music-theory/id1467552236/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tonality-music-theory/id1467552236.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 117 · 4★ 6 · 3★ 3 · 2★ 0 · 1★ 2 ## What do users think of Tonality? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 👍 Excellent for music theory learning - 💡 Versatile tool for songwriting - 🚀 Seamless MIDI integration - 🎵 Great for ear training - 🎹 Useful for practicing chords and scales - 🎨 Intuitive and well-designed UI - 💰 Great value for money - 📱 Works well on iPad and iPhone - 🛠️ Constantly improving with updates - 🗣️ Responsive and helpful developer - 🌐 Comprehensive reference tool - 🎧 Useful AUv3 plugins - 🎚️ Customizable chord pads - 🔍 Effective chord/scale identification - 🎼 Good for beginners and advanced users - ♿ Accessible with VoiceOver **Cons** - 🤔 Can be overwhelming for new users - 🎨 Color scheme can be hard on eyes - 🤷‍♂️ Some features not intuitive - 🎶 App icon appearance noted **Commonly reported bugs** - MIDI mappings reset when switching keys - AUv3 version not showing up in AUM - Difficulty assigning pads to MIDI controller - Trouble identifying inverted chords **Most requested features** - Add pedal function for note release - Add arpeggios - Add fingering diagrams - Ability to set global MIDI mappings on pads - Solfege audio unit (fixed and movable do) - Chord progression generator - Mode for practicing music reading - Mac version - Print out or capture of chord sequences - Sustain hold for chord pads - Octave up/down per chord for pads - Easy triggering of pads from external MIDI keyboard - Presets full of chords - Strummer with omnichord type function (range of octaves) - Ability to play back sequences of chords as progressions ## Newest reviews (15 of 74) ### 5/5 — Tonality *2024-06-21, version 10.1.1* This app is superb and ideal for anybody learning to play piano or any other keyboard instrument. It’s particularly good for training your ear if you are preparing to take an exam. It has all the practicalities you need to know. Brilliant! ### 5/5 — Best music app. I love it even more than ireal *2024-05-11, version 10.1.1* This is incredibly useful for songwriting and transcribing. I use it all the time for so many aspects of my musicianship. Yes, it even edges out ireal pro for all-around usefulness (and we love ireal Pro) ### 5/5 — Still waiting for the Mac version 😁 *2024-04-10* I like to use Tonality app when I want to use real bamboo flutes for my beat. I have some other scale/chord assistant software but this one is best for my workflow, and this one looks great ### 5/5 — Worth Every Penny! *2024-04-07, version 10.1.1* I know I reviewed this app already since I love it so much but didn’t see the review, so here we go again… this app is a full database of all the music theory you might need both generally or even more specifically for piano or guitar. If that wasn’t enough there are 4 AUv3 apps inside this one app. I use the app and the AU’s all the time. The chord pad Au is phenomenal. Completely customizable AU midi pads to setup and play instruments inside any DAW/Host on iOS. You can auto generate chords/notes from a scale or completely customize each pad, resize the grid, basically… all the features. The chord/scale identification is very helpful for figuring out what you’re playing or a midi file. The circle of fifths is another Au midi chord pad type app but based around the circle of fifths and chord inversions. This is one of the best bang for your buck apps on the App Store. You get so much useful knowledge and 4 Audio Units inside one app, for a very very fair price, considering how much is inside this thing. Can’t recommend it enough. Amazing. Cheers! ### 5/5 — The best! The best! The best! *2024-03-02, version 10.1.1* The Greatest! You’re a definite beautiful good soul! I know some might wonder, But, You, My Dear, Friend, Brother, Patron, Have Done This Godforsaken Cruel World a Favour, That is unparalleled. I pray for your eternal blissful life and a very content and loving journey towards the void. Love you, I truly Do. ### 5/5 — Ingenious *2024-02-05* Best music app , all you need to learning and be creative! ### 5/5 — Good developer *2023-12-30* The dev quickly responded to my bug report with a fix. I'm definitely getting my money's worth learning music theory but I am having trouble getting it to identify inverted chords (thought that I would see a difference in notation). If we can get the inverted chords figured out, the only other thing I can imagine wanting for this app (for now) is a solfege (you know, both fixed and movable do) audio unit. I would easily pay twice as much for this app as it already is. Thanks for all the thoughtful features and continued work ### 5/5 — Grandiose App *2023-11-30* Hervorragende App für jeden Musiker. Insbesondere für Einsteiger eine sehr übersichtliche App. Kann ich nur jedem empfehlen. Ich würde mir noch einen Modus zum Notenlesen üben wünschen. Wäre super um unterwegs das vom Blatt lesen zu trainieren. ### 5/5 — A must have app *2023-11-12* The best app for learning music theory, it has everything you need ### 5/5 — Very good program *2023-11-12, version 10.1* This program is proving very useful to me. It’s very interactive and well thought through. Yes it is 5 stars and I would give six if I could. One of the best music theory apps in my opinion. ### 5/5 — Prior version deeper than I could handle, NOW it’s at my level *2023-02-06, version 10.1* Wanted to update my review. Previously, as a Garageband user, I didn’t feel I could get a lot out of the app. I appreciated it for what it could do, it just couldn’t do much for me. Now, I feel like I have access to an infinite midi pack. :) While the learning curve is still a little over my head, being able to hear audio from the app via Soundfonts is a game changer for me and the midi export means I can create a progression using chords that SOUND like I want and bring those into Garageband. I’m probably not making full use of the app as I don’t use AUM and I don’t perform, but I just created my first beat in Garageband using chords from the app and I’m happy! UPDATE: I used Chord ID on a tune I’d tried in other tools (Stir & Mix, Scratchin’ Melodii). Other tools couldn’t quite result in a collection of notes that sounded like what I was hearing (especially on 5 and 6 of the progression). Chord ID actually captured some critical discordant notes which finally matched the sound I hear. I know this may not be the expected use case for this tool, but I look forward to trying it on other tunes other apps couldn’t handle :) ### 5/5 — This app is really great *2023-02-05, version 10.1* One of the best music apps I bought on iPad. It just works, has a nice UI and it’s packed with useful features. ### 5/5 — Perfect! But... *2022-12-13* I miss it ob macOS. ### 5/5 — Indispensable *2022-10-20, version 9.5.2* You need this app if you play or write music. ### 5/5 — Intuitive, interactive Music theory for free ? *2022-10-17, version 9.5.2* An amazing interactive Music theory tuition tool that everyone should get as it's generously offered for free by this creator, though I highly recommend you tip as I did to keep the updates coming and the creator happy. Well thought out and with an intuitive graphic interface that leads you deep into the flavour of your chosen scale or chord I can't praise this enough. I noticed the reviews that claim that the app is too complicated, too much on screen. I've been using it on iphone, which is perhaps the ideal way to use it. There are no 'too complicated' screens for me. The only addition I would ask for would be a Chord Progression generator. Unmissable. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Extremely difficult to assign pads to midi controller *2024-08-15, version 10.1.1* Extremely difficult to assign pads to midi controller. I did it once but I can't figure it out again! ### 3/5 — Wonderful accessibility with voiceover! *2024-06-21* Thank you so much for making an app that is very accessible with the voice over screen reader. Sadly, this is something that is not done often enough by developers. You’re getting a nice tip! keep up the great work :-) ### 4/5 — Great App Feature Suggestion *2025-03-30, version 10.1.1* Alright, so I have just started using tonality for chord generation in AUM and I gotta say I really like the simplicity and use for this feature. There is still so much for me to explore within the app. However, with the features I’ve tried so far, I do have one feature suggestion for the chord and scale note generators in this apps chord auv3. So, I have found it a bit frustrating that every time I switch the key my chords or notes are playing in on my pads that it causes my midi mappings to be reset. If there were an ability to simply set global midi mappings on pads within an instance of the auv3 version of the app that would be amazing! Overall, great product, do recommend so far, I would really enjoy this feature thing for streamlining my workflow! Thanks! ### 4/5 — No arpeggios and fingering? *2025-01-21* Arpeggios and the fingering would be a great addition, and im a bit disppointed they aren’t present. I’d assumed that was a given ### 4/5 — Just downloaded this, Its great👌 *2023-03-04, version 10.1* Btw, if the AUV3 version of this app don’t show up in AUM, just delete Tonality and reinstall and it should appear. Edit: 03/03/23 App not showing in AUM I’m having issues with the app showing up in AUM after the latest update. I deleted and downloaded it a couple of times like the first time I got this app and its doing nothing. ### 4/5 — Very Beginner *2022-08-10, version 9.5.2* I have no idea what is going on here. No explications of how to use the information. Developer provided me with helpful instructions so I upgraded my review. Learning music theory with no background is challenging. ### 4/5 — case of dev ocd *2021-11-16, version 9.3* this app has suffered greatly by a dev that keeps adding more.as a result its only intuitive to himself.finding a feature is pure guess work.symbols are not intuitive and the user becomes lost in needless complexity. i’d ask the dev to think about a first time user experience.please spend some time considering form not just function and maybe spoon feed with a simple narrated how to use video. ### 4/5 — Pretty cool but... *2019-10-09, version 4.5.2* I use this primarily for chord pads. Which works pretty good but please add. - sustain hold i often want chords held an indefinite amount of time as they are triggering arps and long pads. - there is no octave up or down per chord. Or easy invert. - i cant trigger the pads from an external midi keyboard ie atom piano roll inside aum really handy to rearrange chord changes just by using single notes - please have presets full of chords - i think the done button should be on the same page as chord selection in addition to the edit chord window. Itd be a lot faster to dial up a bunch of chords. Thanks! ### 4/5 — Still loving the app, still holding out for more :) *2019-09-05, version 4.2.1* Great app, great dev, lots of useful updates (maybe time to dig out my ukulele again :) ) but still lacking the one thing I would personally find super helpful - a print out or capture, or at least a chord by chord step through of the ‘top line’ name of the chords displayed in the first row of the chord view applet. That way, when I play a random noodling sequence I’ve made in Atom or Fugue Machine or whatever, I can transcribe the resulting chords to a written list, which I can then use to help me plug stuff into other helper apps like Chord Suggester, to work up the noodling into something better. (Yes, I am a musical dunce.) At the moment I’m sort-of doing it by slowing the tempo down and hitting freeze each step. Works, wonkily, but it’d be much cooler if I could get a text dump of the top line somehow. Here’s hoping... ### 5/5 — Best music app working with midi *2026-04-20* I use it a lot while practicing my chords so get instant feedback if I’m playing the right one. I can connect my keyboard to my phone and it just works. The only app I ever bought. No regrets! (Only thing: pedal function could be added, that I can release a a note while my pedal is down and it still gets recognized as being pressed) **Developer response:** The sustain pedal functions this way if you use the AUv3 plugin version! ## Most praised reviews (9 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Optimal & verständlich *2025-11-23* Optimal & verständlich, gefällt mir sehr gut ### 5/5 — gefällt mir auf Anhieb *2025-09-22* Alles drin, um den theoretischen Aufbau zu erkunden und zu verstehen; toll z. B. die schwebende Palette, um mal schnell drei, vier Akkorde für eine Kadenz auszuprobieren. ### 5/5 — Excellent practice & song writing tool *2025-08-12* I’ve been using Tonality for a few months now. It’s become an important part of my guitar practice toolkit. I’m enjoying the Ear Training. The scale & chord look up tools are just fantastic -> and the guitar/keys/guitar+keys view connects tremendously well to supplement any theory training. Particularly favourite… the pitch detection to chord/scale! This app is worth adding to your toolkit. ### 5/5 — Sets the bar in such apps too high *2025-05-09, version 10.1.1* Absolute gem. If only life was this good all the time. Doesn’t matter what skill level you are at, this is a must have app for anyone interested in learning or expanding their musical prowess. At $7.99, it’s a steal. Kudos to the developer of this app. On a scale of between one and five stars, I’d give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Edit on May 9, 2025 - The only small nitpicking I have with this app is the color scheme of the app itself. Black font on teal background on different options is extremely hard on my aging eyes. Other than that, the app is still a grand slam. 😊 Thanks for this wonderful app. ### 5/5 — Sets the bar in such apps too high *2025-03-20* Absolute gem. If only life was this good all the time. Doesn’t matter what skill level you are at, this is a must have app for anyone interested in learning or expanding their musical prowess. At $7.99, it’s a steal. Kudos to the developer of this app. On a scale of between one and five stars, I’d give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. **Developer response:** Many thanks! ### 5/5 — Très bien *2025-02-26* Bien utile pour qui découvre son instrument en tâtonnant… cette appli permettra de progresser bien plus vite en jouant des gammes avec les bons accords. De loin la meilleure application « chords and scales (accords et gammes) » : très complète et sans abonnement. Merci ! Achetée début 2025 - 8.99€ **Developer response:** Merci! ### 5/5 — Amazing *2024-12-19, version 10.1.1* Such a comprehensive app for helping music theory education and ear training. Brings tears to my eyes to find apps like this. ### 5/5 — Fantastic tool for theory *2024-10-13, version 10.1.1* This is a great tool set for music theory. It also includes the AUv3 tools that are very useful. If you want to learn theory and also have practical tools to help you while you produce this is the best app of its kind. ### 5/5 — Très bonne application *2024-07-03* Bravo pour la qualité de cette application et pour son utilité. Excellent ! Merci 🎼🎤🎶 --- *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 2026-09-09.*