Fortamento vs Scale and SticKey
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Fortamento
Overcome writer's block with instant musical inspiration. This app generates chord progressions and melodies, allowing for manual editing and MIDI export to your favorite music software. Perfect for musicians, songwriters, and producers looking to kickstart new projects or finish existing ones.
- Generate chord progressions and melodies
- Manual editing of tunes
- MIDI file export
- Tempo and key control
- Save tunes within the app
- Various instrument sounds
- Audiobus integration
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Ever got stuck writing a song, wishing for a spark of inspiration to start a new song or perhaps to come up with a bridge to finish that old project? " You'll be amazed at how good Fortamento's song ideas are " -- Cult of Mac Magazine " ... a refreshing alternative to the more beat-focused musical sketch pads ... “ -- Computer Music Magazine " This is exactly what I was hoping for! Thank you so much for all your work on this app—it’s the perfect songwriter’s tool!" -- Br. Gregory Marshall, O.S.B. " I wish it was a 5 dollar app " -- Jakob Haq Get instant musical ideas at a push of a button with Fortamento - a simple and effective music idea creator, capable of generating 4 bars of chord progression and melody, with the option to edit the idea and save the result. To make life easier, there’s an option to export the tunes as MIDI files for further work in your favorite Digital Audio Workstation software or MIDI sequencer. Fortamento is a great addition to the workflow of musicians, songwriters and producers to overcome the occasional writer’s block. Key features: - MIDI file export - Tempo / key control - Manual editing of generated tunes (chords and melody) - Save tunes within the app - Various instrument sounds - MIDI output - Audiobus integration Let us assist you - contact us at team@fortamento.com for any bug reports or feature requests.
Scale and SticKey
This app simplifies music theory by visualizing concepts like modes, scales, and chords through an interactive 'Note Team' system. Users can explore different musical structures, listen to scales and progressions, and understand key signatures and tonal centers.
- Interactive Note Team (TM) system
- Visualizes modes, key signatures, scales, and chords
- Explore different scale types (pentatonic, blues, bebop)
- Listen to scales and chord progressions
- Understand tonal centers and key names
- Play individual Roman numeral chords
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Scale and SticKey makes understanding music theory simple and enjoyable by synthesizing 5 theoretical concepts (modes, key signatures, scales, chord progressions, and solfa) into the concept of building a Note Team (TM). To get started (clicking the help '?' icon in the app menu will walk you through these steps): 1. Spin the solfa wheel or drag the solfa slider to put 'do' on a new position. 2. Drag the players around the outside of the wheel so that every player lines up with one of the seven solfa positions. (If you get stuck, click the central circle with the '?' to have the app move the players for you.) 3. Once every player is on a solfa position, you have formed a Note Team (TM)! The team captain has an arrow pointing at his solfa symbol, the key signature is shown in the center of the wheel, and the key is named at the top of the screen. 4. To change modes, either double-click on a new solfa name or use the arrows under the key name at the top of the screen. Each time you change modes, you are changing the tonal center (or tonic), which means your team has a new captain. The key name always begins with the name of the team captain. 5. Listen to the scales by clicking the play arrow under the key name. Change the type of scale by selecting a new icon under the key name. Options include: 7-note (heptatonic), 5-note(pentatonic), 6-note (blues), 8-note (bebop) and raised 7th (harmonic or melodic minor) scales. 6. Listen to chord progressions by clicking the arrow under the chord progression. Change the progression style by selecting a new icon under the chord progression, or switch to a new progression using the previous / next arrows next to the play button. 7. Switch to the chords view in the menu to play individual Roman numeral chords. 8.Return all elements to their original positions by clicking the reset button in the menu.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Scale and SticKey at every 3 weeks against Fortamento's every 8 months. Scale and SticKey also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and review sentiment (100% vs 89%). Fortamento's advantage is ratings volume (110 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Fortamento costs $4.99 and Scale and SticKey $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Scale and SticKey holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Fortamento has 110 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Fortamento's written reviews are positive against 100% of Scale and SticKey's.
Fortamento ships an update every 8 months, Scale and SticKey every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Fortamento | Scale and SticKey |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $2.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (110 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 88.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 110 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 143 MB | 80 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yuri Laskin | Laura Gabrielson |
Customer experience
Fortamento
Scale and SticKey
In-app purchases
Fortamento
No in-app purchases
Scale and SticKey
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Fortamento free?
Is Scale and SticKey free?
Which has better reviews, Fortamento or Scale and SticKey?
Do Fortamento or Scale and SticKey have ads?
Which is updated more often, Fortamento or Scale and SticKey?
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