Read Music vs Musical Notes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Read Music
Improve your music reading speed and accuracy with this interactive app. Practice note recognition using your own instrument or a game mode, and track your progress to master musical notation.
- Play with your real instrument
- Name the notes game mode
- Note Finder for intonation accuracy
- 4 preset difficulty levels
- Create and share custom exercises
- Progress tracking with stars
Read full descriptionHide full description
Do you know the notes, but it still takes you too long to recognize them? Are you counting staff lines and spaces, or mixing up pitches? This app helps you learn to read music confidently and fluently—so you can find or name notes on your instrument quickly, without detours. Train your reaction time, your understanding of notation, and the connection between seeing and playing. Track your progress and collect stars—and it’s fun along the way. WHO IS THIS APP FOR? • You have basic music-reading skills and basic skills on your instrument • You can tune your instrument on your own (or have someone to help) • Ideal for lessons, self-study, and daily practice. --- HOW IT WORKS The app shows you a note. As soon as you play it correctly, the next one appears. You have 60 seconds—the number of correctly played notes is your score. Stay motivated: There’s no penalty for wrong notes—but only lots of correct notes within 60 seconds will get you a high score. So you train fast note recognition and automate the connection between notation and fingering. Can you reach 3 stars? • Play with your real instrument • 4 preset difficulty levels • Create your own exercises and share them with friends --- GAME MODE: NAME THE NOTES One note, four possible answers. Do you know the right one? You have 60 seconds to recognize as many notes as possible. Ideal for strengthening your note reading independently of your instrument. --- NOTE FINDER Your helper for practicing: The Note Finder detects the note you are currently playing and, if needed, also shows the note name and how accurate your intonation is. Perfect for checking, practicing on your own, and improving your accuracy. --- OCTAVE DESIGNATIONS TO SUIT YOUR PREFERENCES Choose in the settings how octaves are indicated in note names: • Default: Keeps the existing display for each instrument and each area of the app. • As written: The octave designation follows the written note. • Sounding: The octave designation takes your instrument’s octave transposition into account. “As written” and “Sounding” override the default display throughout the app. Only the octave designation changes, not the note name or accidental. --- SUPPORTED INSTRUMENTS • Piano • Guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar • Violin, viola, cello, double bass • Flute, oboe, clarinet in Bb and A, bassoon • Soprano recorder • Soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone • Trumpet in Bb, A, and C • Tenor and bass trombone More instruments can be created manually. Just enter the clefs, the transposition, and optionally the pitch range. Train exactly what you need. --- QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK? Contact me directly in the app or visit my website.
Musical Notes
Read full descriptionHide full description
Musical Notes soll einem bei dem Lernprozess, des Noten Lesens helfen. Noten lesen kann oftmals Schwierigkeiten bürgen, da es viele verschiedene Notenschlüssel gibt (C-Schlüssel, F-Schlüssel, G-Schlüssel). Mit Musical Notes kann man diese drei Notenschlüssel in verschiedenen Positionen verinnerlichen. Derzeitige Notenschlüssel (Positionen): • Violinschlüssel (G-Schlüssel) • Sopranschlüssel (C-Schlüssel) • Altschlüssel (C-Schlüssel) • Tenorschlüssel (C-Schlüssel) • Bassschlüssel (F-Schlüssel) • Subbassschlüssel (F-Schlüssel) Mit Musical Notes soll man sich aneignen können, die Noten intuitiv richtig zu lesen und diese somit schneller in der Musikstunde benennen oder im Klavierunterricht spielen zu können. Zudem kann man seit der neusten Version auch die Intervalle zwischen zwei Noten lernen.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Musical Notes at Free against Read Music's $4.99. Musical Notes also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (14.5 vs 17.0). 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
Musical Notes is free to download; Read Music costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Read Music ships an update every 4 months, Musical Notes every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Read Music | Musical Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (30 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 83.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 30 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 14.5 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sebastian Mikolai | Damian Ernst |
In-app purchases
Read Music
No in-app purchases
Musical Notes
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Read Music free?
Is Musical Notes free?
Do Read Music or Musical Notes have ads?
Which is updated more often, Read Music or Musical Notes?
Other comparisons















