Comparison

Practice by Musopen vs Beam

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

Head to head
About

Practice by Musopen

This app helps musicians track their practice time and progress. Set weekly goals, record sessions for feedback, and join a community for support. Discover new music and earn badges to stay motivated.

Highlights
  • Record practice sessions
  • Track daily/weekly progress
  • Set practice goals
  • Community support
  • Discover new music
  • Earn motivation badges
Features
Read full description

Practice by Musopen turns everyday practice into visible momentum. Track your time, focus on the music you’re learning, and see steady progress across your goals, repertoire, and practice history. With Practice, you can: • Use a focused practice timer and save each session • See daily and weekly practice trends at a glance • Set goals for total practice time or individual pieces • Build streaks, manage to-dos, and stay motivated • Organize repertoire, follow piece progress, and keep favorites close • Add notes and recordings to capture feedback and celebrate growth • Connect with a community of musicians learning together Whether you are preparing for a performance or building a steady habit, Practice helps you make your next session count.

About

Beam

This app provides ensembles with tools to organize, annotate, and perform music collaboratively. It streamlines rehearsal processes, allowing for easy score management and shared annotation layers for different roles. Access a library of free sheet music and integrate with other tools for attendance and drill management.

Highlights
  • Interactive music organization
  • Score annotation tools
  • Customizable annotation layers
  • Sheet music library access
  • Attendance tracking integration
  • Seamless page management
Features
Read full description

Beam transforms rehearsal into an interactive experience, giving ensembles powerful tools to organize, annotate, and perform music together. Built for bands, orchestras, choirs, drum corps, and performing ensembles of every kind, Beam makes it easy to keep every performer on the same page, whether you’re in rehearsal, on the field, or on stage. NEW * Completely redesigned interface now integrated with the full Arc ecosystem * Update licenses or access in Beam, and changes are reflected across all Arc products * Easily upload, re-order and crop scores in the re-designed upload center * Create and save customizable annotation tools Features for Members * One login grants you access to Beam, UDBapp, and Geo * Check-in with Geo without ever leaving Beam, no more interrupted rehearsals * Discover free sheet music in the Beam Public Library Features for Admins and Staff * Easily add, edit, or delete scores in your ensemble's account directly from the app * Assign collections, set lists and songs based on subject, group or subgroup * One tap access to UDB for drill, and Geo for attendance * Discover royalty free sheet music in the Beam Public Library ready to perform or record Integrated with the Arc Ecosystem As part of the Arc ecosystem, Beam integrates seamlessly with UDBapp and Geo, so your music, drill, attendance, and rehearsal tools all work together. With Arc, Beam now offers: * A single login for all your Arc apps: Directors, staff, and performers can access everything they need in one connected platform. * Seamless page management: Edit one or multiple pages at a time with the crop, cut, and delete tools. Reorder, or duplicate pages, and assign a single page to multiple parts all from the upload screens. * Custom Annotation Layers: Role-dependent layers offer directors, students and staff managed access to annotations and notes. * Calendar & Attendance Integration with Geo: See full rehearsal and performance schedules, check-in to events with multiple locations, and track attendance throughout the season. Use Live Attendance to get a real-time view of who is at rehearsal and who is not.

Screenshots

Practice by Musopen4 screens
Beam4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Practice by Musopen at 68% against Beam's 12%. Practice by Musopen also leads on ratings volume (35 vs 4) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). Beam's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 3.9) and update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Beam holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Practice by Musopen has 35 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 68% of Practice by Musopen's written reviews are positive against 12% of Beam's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Practice by Musopen ships an update fortnightly, Beam every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Practice by Musopen versus Beam: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPractice by MusopenBeam
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (35 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews67.6% of reviews — better11.6% of reviews
Number of ratings35 — better4
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size58 MB108 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMusopen.orgUltimate Drill Book

Customer experience

Practice by Musopen

All ratings35 ratings
Positive74.3%
Neutral5.7%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive67.6%
Neutral5.9%
Negative26.5%

Beam

Written reviews43 reviews
Positive11.6%
Neutral7.0%
Negative81.4%

In-app purchases

None

Practice by Musopen

No in-app purchases

None

Beam

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Practice by Musopen free?
Practice by Musopen is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Beam free?
Beam is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Practice by Musopen or Beam?
Beam is rated higher. Practice by Musopen averages 3.9 out of 5 from 35 ratings, while Beam averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Practice by Musopen or Beam have ads?
Neither Practice by Musopen nor Beam shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Practice by Musopen or Beam?
Practice by Musopen ships an update fortnightly, and Beam every 5 days. Most recently, Practice by Musopen was updated on November 2, 2026 and Beam on October 31, 2026.

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