Comparison

sequencism vs touchscaper

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

Head to head
About

sequencism

A music sketchbook tool for creating short, simple musical pieces. It offers traditional track and piano roll editors enhanced with touch-screen capabilities, plus helpful tools like chord helpers. Designed for sketching ideas, not complex productions or live performance.

Highlights
  • Track and piano roll editors
  • MIDI instrument and AUv3 support
  • Chord helper tracks
  • MIDI keyboard with scale support
  • Export to MIDI
  • Audiobus 3 and Ableton Link support
Features
Read full description

Description sequencism is a music sketchbook tool that allows the creation of short and simple pieces of music. It is designed to provide a traditional user interface of track and piano roll editors, while taking advantage of the touch-screen capabilities of the iPad. It also includes other helper tools, such as chord helper tracks. Note that the main goal of this app is to work as a sketchbook, thus it is not recommended to use sequencism to produce complex songs or to play songs live on stage. Features • Simple track mixer and visual mixer (volume, pan) • Multitrack editor: MIDI instrument tracks, chord helper tracks • Support for SF2* and AUv3 instruments (*lightweight SF2 files only) • AUv3 Effects support • AU MIDI support for instruments and effects • Piano roll editor: add, move, copy notes within blocks • MIDI keyboard, supports multiple scales, including user-defined scales • Support for diatonic and chromatic chords, borrowed chords (modal interchange) • Automatic transposing when changing chords or scales • Supports Audiobus 3 and Ableton Link • Support for MIDI keyboards, including Bluetooth keyboards • Export to MIDI Planned features • Undo, Redo • Automation • Import MIDI files (improve existing support) --------- AUv3 instruments requires iPad Mini 2, iPad 4 or newer. AU MIDI requires iOS 11 or newer.

About

touchscaper

Create music on your iPad by simply touching the screen. This app offers a semi-generative engine to guide note selection and allows for deep customization of chords, keys, and scales. Explore a variety of built-in sounds and effects to craft unique musical pieces.

Highlights
  • Multi-touch interface with radar, ribbon, and keyboard surfaces
  • Semi-generative engine for note selection
  • Full control over chords, keys, and scales
  • Layerable built-in sounds and effects
  • Chord navigator and looper with Ableton Link
  • Sequencer for touch, drums, and synth automation
  • Inter-App Audio and MIDI out support
Read full description

Touchscaper is an instrument designed for anyone who wants to make music on their iPad simply by touching the screen. You don’t have to be a serious musician to enjoy touchscaper, but if you are, touchscaper is highly configureable under the hood. Main features: • Multi-touch based interface with “radar”, “ribbon” and keyboard surfaces • Touch the screen to play a note, move your fingers to change the sound • Semi-generative engine selects the “good notes” for you • Touch movement can control volume and pan for each individual note • Total control over chords, keys and scales (fully chromatic) • Multiple chords can be generated from keys and scales to create “scenes” • Chord "navigator" helps you create inspiring chord progressions • 40 built-in sounds can be combined in 2 layers to create “instruments” • Built-in sounds include samples from moodscaper, pianoscaper, numerous analog synths and guitars • Comes with preset example scenes and instruments • Random instrument generator function with one tap of a button • Hold and orbit modes for hands-free evolving soundscapes • Ribbon style keyboard with touch vibrato • Chord looper with Ableton Link support • Arrangement view for longer / more complex chord progressions • 16 step probability-based sequencer for touch, drums, percussion and synth automation • "jam grid" sequencer view for live performances • Supports file sharing for scenes and instruments • Built-in effects including ping-pong delays, reverb, limiter and EQ • Supports IAA (Inter-App Audio) as a generator • Control other music apps using MIDI out and CCs with optional MPE support There are several demo videos in circulation which should give you a better idea of what touchscaper can do - just search for “touchscaper”. *** Please note that this app is now in maintenance mode / updates for bug fixes only. This is due to the heavy dependency on deprecated technology such as IAA ***

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: sequencism at Free against touchscaper's $4.99. sequencism also leads on iOS requirement (9.3 vs 12.0). touchscaper's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 3.9) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). 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

sequencism is free to download; touchscaper costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

touchscaper holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: touchscaper has 147 ratings behind it against 18, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of sequencism's written reviews are positive against 93% of touchscaper's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

sequencism ships an update every 2 months, touchscaper weekly. The most recent releases landed on June 5, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
sequencism versus touchscaper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametersequencismtouchscaper
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating3.9 (18 ratings)4.9 (147 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews93.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings18147 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS9.3 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB359 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRodrigo RomanRob Jackson

Customer experience

sequencism

All ratings18 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral11.1%
Negative22.2%

touchscaper

All ratings147 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.4%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews73 reviews
Positive93.2%
Neutral1.4%
Negative5.5%

Bugs and requests

sequencism

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

touchscaper

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Does not show up as an available audio unit in Logic or GarageBand
  • Cannot get any MIDI connectivity to work
  • MPE via MIDI out does not work if there is no MIDI out for the app
  • Pops when adding more than 2 sounds
  • Hold Mode design is awkward, especially for note placement
Show 1 more
  • App lost its mind and control animations ran wild after 10 hours of use

Requested features

12 requests
  • AUv3 version/compatibility
  • More sophisticated mixer
  • Second bank of patterns
  • Panels to tweak oscillators, LFOs, etc.
  • Orchestral type sounds
Show 7 more
  • Light background theme in UI
  • Attack vector like ADSR function
  • Variable Release function
  • Mixer for each drum line
  • MIDI out functionality (mentioned multiple times)
  • Toggle on/off for Hold Mode
  • Ability to nudge/fine-tune node placements in Hold Mode

In-app purchases

None

sequencism

No in-app purchases

None

touchscaper

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is sequencism free?
sequencism is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is touchscaper free?
touchscaper costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, sequencism or touchscaper?
touchscaper is rated higher. sequencism averages 3.9 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while touchscaper averages 4.9 from 147 ratings.
Do sequencism or touchscaper have ads?
Neither sequencism nor touchscaper shows ads.
Which is updated more often, sequencism or touchscaper?
sequencism ships an update every 2 months, and touchscaper weekly. Most recently, sequencism was updated on June 5, 2026 and touchscaper on September 23, 2026.

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