Comparison

Scheme Songs vs Down An Escalator

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Scheme Songs

Access musical performance backing tracks from a musical school program. Download tracks for offline playback or stream them online. Ideal for rehearsals and performances where internet access may be unreliable.

Highlights
  • Access all performance backing tracks
  • Download tracks for offline playback
  • Stream tracks online
  • Organized by year and term
  • Searchable A-Z list of tracks
  • Familiar timeline player
Features
Read full description

Scheme Songs is a free app that lets you use your Charanga Musical School login to access all the performance backing tracks from Scheme, wherever you are. Use it to help your class put on a performance or sing a song, in places where you would find it difficult to use the website. All the Scheme backing tracks are available to download and play offline on your iPhone or iPod touch or online over wifi/mobile internet. Scheme Songs is perfect if you can't be sure that there's a reliable internet connection in your performance area, because you can save an entire term's performances in advance. • Includes all the seasonal productions in performance order, including Little Angel Gets Her Wings and Five Gold Rings. • Familiar timeline player from Charanga Musical School Scheme lessons. • Just plug your iPhone or iPod touch into the PA system and you're all set. • Organised by year and term so you can find the performance you're looking for with ease. • If you can't connect to the internet, but you've already got songs saved, you can play them offline. • All seven years of Charanga Musical School Scheme songs, from Reception through to Year 6. • Includes an searchable A-Z list of all our Freestyle performance tracks

About

Down An Escalator

Engage with ten interactive music theory games designed to enhance your understanding of key signatures, scales, intervals, triads, and more. Track your progress with an in-app leaderboard and utilize the 'Show' button for assistance.

Highlights
  • Ten interactive music theory games
  • Covers key signatures and scales
  • Interval and triad recognition
  • Music symbols and terms
  • Time signatures and rests
  • In-app leaderboard
  • Hints available
Features
Read full description

10 Games in one App to improve your Music Theory through play. Fun interactive games. Topics include: Major and Minor Key Signatures Major and Harmonic Minor Scales Recognising and Building Major and Perfect Intervals Recognising Triads Music Symbols and Terms Time Signatures Rests Includes in-App Leaderboard to encourage achievement of High Scores. Some games include ‘Show’ button to display correct answers if you can’t work them out! Based on areas covered in the book ‘Down an Escalator Backwards’, by Belinda J.Byers

Screenshots

Scheme Songs3 screens
Down An Escalator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Scheme Songs at Free against Down An Escalator's $2.99. Scheme Songs also leads on update cadence (every 7 months vs every 39 months) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 12.0). Down An Escalator's advantage is review sentiment (50% vs 40%). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Scheme Songs is free to download; Down An Escalator costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Scheme Songs ships an update every 7 months, Down An Escalator every 39 months. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Scheme Songs versus Down An Escalator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScheme SongsDown An Escalator
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating—1.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.0% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 months — betterEvery 39 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB112 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCharanga LtdBelinda Byers

Customer experience

Scheme Songs

Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%

Down An Escalator

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Scheme Songs

No in-app purchases

None

Down An Escalator

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Scheme Songs free?
Scheme Songs is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Down An Escalator free?
Down An Escalator costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Scheme Songs or Down An Escalator have ads?
Neither Scheme Songs nor Down An Escalator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Scheme Songs or Down An Escalator?
Scheme Songs ships an update every 7 months, and Down An Escalator every 39 months. Most recently, Scheme Songs was updated on October 2, 2026 and Down An Escalator on October 13, 2026.

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