Comparison

MsyChords vs Chord Memo

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

Head to head
About

MsyChords

Create custom chord tables with precise tone control, including loudness, sustain, inversions, and arpeggios. Select from iCloud or transpose to any key. Offers five presets and intuitive performance controls for a personalized musical experience.

Highlights
  • Custom chord table creation
  • Adjustable loudness and sustain
  • Chord inversions and arpeggios
  • Preset performance controls
  • Transpose to any key
  • iCloud chord table selection
Features
Read full description

The MsyChords app let you create a table with chords with exactly the tones you like to hear. You can control the performance with loudness, sustain, chord inversions and arpeggios. The chord tables also can be selected from the iCloud directory. The tables can be transposed to the wanted key. Performance control Five presets, four buttons and two sliders allow to control the play performance. - Presets -- Five presets can be changed with one finger tip. The preset is configured by touching the white circle on the selector plane. A chord table is selected from a directory, the tone base (key) is set and a the sound can be chosen from a sound font. - Level control -- The sliders allow to adjust the volume at any time while playing. The slider on the left side and on the right side are synchronized and have the exact identical effect. - Play mode & arpeggiator -- The left top button allows to select different play modes by tapping or sliding the button. Mode 1 plays the chords exactly as they are denoted. Mode 2 supports to play inversions of the chord. Mode 3 to mode 7 provide different arpeggio patterns. - Speed control & help -- The right top button has two functions. For play mode 1 and 2, the button provides a help and settings page. In play mode 3 to mode 7, the button allows to control the speed of the arpeggios. The speed can be set by tapping or by sliding the button. - Sustain control -- The left bottom button provides a kind of a damper pedal. If pressed, the played chords continue to sound until the button is released. - Lock sustain and clear -- The right bottom button provides a lock sustain mode. The touched chord continues to sound until a next chord is played. The mode is enabled by pressing the right bottom button while the left bottom button is pressed. Chord tables A chord table is a collection of chords organized in rows and columns. The chord consists of arbitrary tones and a chord name chord. Further the table has an entry for a base tone (key). - Chord tones -- The tones are denoted as duodecimal MIDI numbers. Thereby we have two numbers for one tone. The first number is the octave, the second number is the semitone within the octave. As there are twelve semitones in an octave, the tone A#/Bb is denoted as 'X' and B is denoted as 'T'. ```|0:C|1:C#,Db|2:D| 3:D#,Eb|4:E|5:F|6:F#,Gb|7:G|8:G#,Ab|9:A|x:A#,Bb|t:B|``` - Chord name -- The name of the chords can be chosen arbitrary. But when the first letter is one of ABCDEFG, the letter is used to determine the musical function step in relation to the base tone. In that case the second letter is analyzed in addition if it is a # or b. Also transposing of the chord names is supported then. - Chord table selection -- The selection panel shows files of the MsyChords directory in alphabetical order. New chord tables can be created, renamed and deleted. Editing chord tables The edit mode is started by long pressing the preset selector button the selector button changes to red. - Editing chord tones -- Editing the chord tones is done with a dedicated keyboard showing the numbers 0 .. 9,X,T. - Editing chord names -- Editing the chord names is done with a keyboard providing text symbols supporting arbitrary text. - Add or delete rows or columns -- In edit mode rows and columns can be added or deleted by clicking on '⌑'. Also the position of the chord table button can be changed. - Move cell -- Chord table cells can be moved to other positions by touching '=' and moving the cell. - Save -- If a new table is loaded and the current table was modified, the user is asked to save the table or to ignore the changes. Saving is supported in the full version. - iCloud directory -- Chord tables a can be imported and exported via the MsyChords iCloud directory. Sound font files One sound font with 10 sounds is in-build (from FluidR3_GM.sf2 from Frank Wen). Other arbitrary .sf2 sound font files can be loaded via the MsyChords iCloud directory.

About

Chord Memo

Compose and arrange music by writing and playing back chords. Practice singing or instruments like guitar and piano with this tool. It offers features for fine-tuning timing, exporting to MIDI, and changing instruments.

Highlights
  • Enter chords with dedicated keyboard
  • Control tempo, beat, and modulation
  • Playback entered chords
  • Display chords as degree names
  • Save notes with name and description
  • Export MIDI file
  • Change instrument
Features
Read full description

It's an app that lets you write chords and play them right back! Use it for composing and arranging music, as well as for practicing singing, guitar, piano, etc. Functions: - Enter chords with the dedicated keyboard (including slash and tension chords) - Control tempo, beat, and modulation - Playback the entered chords - Display chords as degree name (I, VI, ...) - Save notes with name and description - Playback with swing - Export MIDI file - Change instrument - Playback with metronome - Place chords fine timings - Copy/paste chords - Zoom score

Screenshots

MsyChords4 screens
Chord Memo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Chord Memo at 5.0 against MsyChords's 4.0. Chord Memo also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1). MsyChords's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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

Both are free to download. MsyChords sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chord Memo asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chord Memo holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of MsyChords's written reviews are positive against 78% of Chord Memo's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MsyChords ships an update every 11 months, Chord Memo every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
MsyChords versus Chord Memo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMsyChordsChord Memo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews77.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings33
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 7 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.2 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBernhard FeitenKiichi Ito

Customer experience

MsyChords

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

Chord Memo

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative22.2%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

MsyChords

One-time1
  • MsyChords-StoreFeature$7.99
None

Chord Memo

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MsyChords free?
MsyChords is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chord Memo free?
Chord Memo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MsyChords or Chord Memo?
Chord Memo is rated higher. MsyChords averages 4.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Chord Memo averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do MsyChords or Chord Memo have ads?
Neither MsyChords nor Chord Memo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MsyChords or Chord Memo?
MsyChords ships an update every 11 months, and Chord Memo every 7 months. Most recently, MsyChords was updated on October 24, 2026 and Chord Memo on October 27, 2026.

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