ChordPainter vs Play 'n' Practice Pro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ChordPainter
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Chordpainter creates songbooks of piano songs as chord diagrams without any knowledge of music notes. What has always been standard for guitarists, Chordpainter now also creates this for piano players. Simply input chords via midi or enter them manually. The chords are automatically recognized and can be edited or renamed as desired. Then simply print or export as pictures, by email or into Dropbox. All features in an overview: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Creation of chord images with up to 10 notes per chord - Automatic recognition of chords separated for the left and right hand - Input chords manually or via MIDI keyboard - Automatic detection of Midi inputs and display of the Midi source - Bluetooth Midi adapters from Yamaha or QuiccoSound are also supported - Transfer a chord to the current song via button or MIDI trigger - Piano is fully playable with sound, either manually or via MIDI input - Clear button to remove all entered notes - Free definable Midi trigger (setting is stored) - Complete online manual available in the App - Notes, program changes or controller (pedal) are accepted as Midi trigger - Midi Analyzer in the main display for all incoming MIDI events - Intelligent mode to assign chords to the right and left hand - Display of the intervals, separated for chords of the right and left hand - All chords in the song can be sorted using Drag & Drop - Language in the APP can be switched between English and German - Chords can be edited, renamed or deleted also after creation - Optimized user interface for all iPad sizes - When naming the chords, there are buttons for common chord suffixes - Chord images optimized for high-resolution printing on laser printers in grayscale - Songbook view to display all the chords of a song large on one page with Midi scrolling - PDF Export for all songs and demo songs to printout or for use in other APPs - Sound output with real sampled piano sounds including velocity - Sound can be enabled or disabled (setting is saved) - Export der Akkordbilder in die Bilder Gallery oder Dropbox - Constantly expanded list of demo songs, partial with songbook PDFs - Song library with an unlimited number of songs - List view with all songs plus number of chords in the song - Songs can be created, copied, renamed or loaded for editing - Export of chord images to the Gallery or Dropbox - You can also export by email (default email address stored) - Automatic backup of the song library when export by mail or dropbox - Restore the song library with "Open in" function in iOS
Play 'n' Practice Pro
Manage your music repertoire and track practice sessions with this comprehensive journal. Structured workouts and detailed statistics help you improve your musical skills effectively. Features include automated time tracking, rich text notes, and a built-in sheet music viewer.
- Automated practice time tracking
- Structured workout templates
- Repertoire management with database access
- Integrated sheet music viewer
- Progress review and statistics
- Rich text notes and annotations
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Play ‘n’ Practice is a music instrument journal to manage your repertoire and track your music instrument practice. While offering all required information about the current practice session, Play ‘n’ Practice has been designed for a non-intrusive user experience during your instrument practice. The management of even complex repertoires is supported by offering several criteria for grouping work by playlists, genre, level and status. Structured workouts aims to raise the effectiveness of even the shortest practice session by automatically selecting pieces you didn’t play for a long time, scales and arpeggios, individual playlists and more. Finally the diary and statistics supports reviewing your progress, tracking your practice and experience and continuously improving your skills. Play ‘n’ Practice features in detail MUSIC INSTRUMENT JOURNAL Automated tracking of music instrument practice time Time tracking based on the individual learning phases of a piece Comprehensive richt text notes about the practice progress Long term progress tracking within the integrated diary Calendar based overview on your daily practice Progress review, rating and notes on individual practice sessions WORKOUTS / PRACTICE *Pro* Workout templates editor to create structured practice sessions Definition of parts and pieces based on their current learning phase or individual playlists Automatic selection of pieces, which weren’t practiced for a long time Automatic time based rotation of pieces in the repertoire Automatic selection of scales and arpeggio exercises based on the workout structure Playlist based workouts to practice for a special event Selection of individual measures on a MusicXML score to focus on difficult passages *Pro* Integrated recording over the microphone or any other audio device available Teaching metronome for gradual improvement of difficult passages Integrated YouTube media player to view referenced videos and tutorials during a workout Quick navigation between pieces in the workout list Capability to add other pieces you want to practice on-the-fly during your workout Inline and full-screen sheet music viewer REPERTOIRE MANAGEMENT Over 3000 pieces registered within the inbuilt database Predefined ABRSM levels (piano grade) on most pieces Access to millions of classic and modern works from the MusicBrainz database Integrated navigator through the registered repertoire based on genre, form, status etc. Playlist management to group pieces according to the users preferences Comprehensive description of genre, form and period for easier selection Reference management for sheet music, videos and web sites also made available during practice Additional user defined rich text notes Direct play to immediately start a piece based practice session and track practice time SHEET MUSIC VIEWER Integrated sheet music viewer, no need to switch to a different app Individual annotations, text, freehand and shapes for PDF sheet music on the fly Selection of individual measures when using MusicXML 3.0 sheet music Selectable Inline-viewer for individual measures Top-bar timer and control complication in full screen view Support for bluetooth foot pedal for page flipping *PDF only, select iOS viewer* STATISTIC Table and charts statistics showing practice time by selectable date spans Individual piece statistics for practice time and learning phases Integrated navigation from a chart item to the daily pieces statistics
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Play 'n' Practice Pro at Free against ChordPainter's $2.99. Play 'n' Practice Pro also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 22 months) and device support (3 vs 1). ChordPainter's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On ads and in-app purchases 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
Play 'n' Practice Pro is free to download; ChordPainter costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ChordPainter ships an update every 22 months, Play 'n' Practice Pro weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ChordPainter | Play 'n' Practice Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | — | 4.4 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 5 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 22 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 195 MB | 80 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Stefan Arnhold | Arno Pernozzoli |
In-app purchases
ChordPainter
No in-app purchases
Play 'n' Practice Pro
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ChordPainter free?
Is Play 'n' Practice Pro free?
Do ChordPainter or Play 'n' Practice Pro have ads?
Which is updated more often, ChordPainter or Play 'n' Practice Pro?
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