BlueScalesTrainer vs Tating
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BlueScalesTrainer
Learn guitar scales with your own songs. Analyze music to find keys and display matching scales. Practice with visual fretboard views, adjustable speed, and effects. Supports foot pedal control and integrates with your iTunes library.
- Song key analysis
- Visual scale patterns
- Fretboard note display
- Adjustable playback speed and pitch
- Built-in audio effects
- Foot pedal control support
- Playlist management
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The BlueScalesTrainer was created by good motivation targets for 2019. Not loosing weight this year, but finally know where notes are on which fretboard position on my guitar to play solos. Like everywhere, this require a lot of practice and I started direct in the AppStore looking for suitable apps. Although there is a lot dealing with Scales, it is either too much, visually too small and often not helpful for practicing. The features I missed are now available in the BlueScalesTrainer: * The scales should be displayed while playing, so it needs a music audio player * New songs should be analyzed because I'm not able hear the key of a song * The scales should then be displayed individually in large size and as an overview, matching the selected song * Overview and single view of scale patterns should be switched by foot pedal * A fretboard view provides a complete overview and should also be able to hide notes. Thanks to my app BlueJamPlayer, I already had the basis for the audio player, song analysis and control via foot pedal. I also took over the effect section, so that you can use the 7 audio effects in the BlueScalesTrainer as well. Here are the extensive functions that I have integrated in the BlueScalesTrainer and everything without subscription, InApp Purchase or advertising: - The main Scales are included: Major, Minor, Pentatonic Major, Pentatonic Minor, Blues Major and Blues Minor - In total 360 scales for your training target to master your guitar solos - Per scale type each of the 12 keys and their 5 patterns according to the CAGED system could be selected - Scale view in 3 modes: Pattern single, Summary and Zoom view - New added large fretboard view, where either root notes, chord notes or all notes of the scale are displayed - Switchable display of the notes or note position in the scale - The player can also be controlled via Bluetooth from PagerTurner foot pedals - Alternative scale views can be switched via foot pedal - The pitch can be adjusted without changing the speed - Also the speed is adjustable without changing the pitch - Free configurable effects (reverb, delay, flanger, equalizer, filter) to improve the sound - All songs in your iTunes library can be used - Songs are analyzed for the key, so that the matching scale will be selected automatically - The BPM will also be analyzed and effects Delay/Flanger will be set to this BPM - In order to sort your session better, there is a playlist management with 16 playlists - Especially for practicing difficult passages, the A->B Play mode is optimal - For the direct start 14 loop songs of different styles already available Hope you enjoy learning Scales with BlueScalesTrainer!
Tating
This app allows drummers to easily create, notate, and play back drum grooves using a touchscreen interface. It supports a wide range of drum sounds, rhythmic complexities, and practice tools for refining timing and feel. Users can also organize their creations and share them with others.
- Touchscreen drum groove creation
- Real drum sound playback
- Proper notation display
- Extensive drum vocabulary support
- Flexible time signature and grid options
- Practice tools (looping, tempo changes, groove drop-out)
- Gig chart creation
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Tating is a drum notation editor built for a touchscreen and for drummers. Tap out a groove on the grid, hear it played back with real sounds, and read it as proper notation. No account, no sign-in, and no signal needed. BUILT FOR FINGERS Tap a cell to place a note. Press, hold and drag to paint a run of them. Flick up from a cell for that row's second sound — the open hat under the closed one, the ghost note under the backbeat. Press and hold a note for that drum's other sounds, with the full list one tap further. A DRUMMER'S VOCABULARY Ghost notes, accents, flams, drags, buzz strokes, cross stick, open, closed and tight hi-hats, hi-hat with the foot, ride and ride bell. Stickings are written under the staff and can be tapped in on a row of their own. Useful kit sounds, including hand percussion — congas, bongos, djembe, clave, woodblocks, shaker, tambourine and more — playable from the tom rows. EVERY METER, PROPERLY Time signatures from 4/4 to 7/8, 9/16 and 13/16, on straight or triplet grids, quarter notes down to 32nds. Odd meters are beamed and counted the way drummers group them, not the way a spreadsheet would. PLAY ALONG A click, a count-in, and swing. Mute the snare and play it yourself while the rest of the kit keeps time. PRACTICE PROPERLY Loop a couple of bars. Climb the tempo every few bars, or wind it down. Have the groove drop out for a bar or two and find out whether you are still with it when it comes back. Set the feel from straight to deep in the pocket and hear a laid-back backbeat before you try to play one. A counter tells you which bar you are on and how long you have played. WORK A RUDIMENT ROUND Write a paradiddle, then have Tating turn it over every 2, 4 or 8 bars while you keep playing — every inversion in one pass, without a hand leaving the sticks. Displace the whole groove instead and the backbeat moves against the barline. Fill a sticking row with all rights, all lefts or alternating hands in one press. WRITE THE SONG DOWN Gig charts: a song as its form — intro, verse, chorus, the repeats and the road map — for a music stand, beside your grooves. POCKETCHECK Play the groove on a real kit and see where every hit actually landed against the beat. It measures the speaker-to-microphone round trip first, so the reading is honest. It reports placement rather than marking you: sitting behind the beat is a feel, and what matters is how tight the cloud is. The microphone is used only while this screen is open. Nothing is recorded, saved or sent — the sound is analyzed completely on the phone. READ IT A real notation view: noteheads, stems, beams, cross noteheads for cymbals, stems up for hands and down for feet. The grid is for writing; the staff is for reading while you play. KEEP IT Save grooves to a library on the phone, with search, tags and favorites. Send a groove to another drummer as a link they can open straight into Tating, and open the links they send you. Import MIDI on the standard drum map, and export it with the unlock so grooves move out to a DAW. MAKE IT YOURS Point any drum at a recording of your own kit. Light or dark, and a choice of accent colors. FREE AND PAID The free version is a complete tool. Every meter, every grid, playback, the click, the count-in, the play-along mutes and the notation view all work without paying, and so do all forty standard rudiments. What the free version limits is how much you can keep — ten saved grooves — and PocketCheck, which is free for five takes so you can hear it work before deciding. One purchase unlocks everything, once, with no subscription: - An unlimited library, with folders - The full starter library — grooves, fills, exercises and the hybrid rudiments - PocketCheck with no take limit - Export sheet music as a PDF, a picture for a chat, or a MIDI file for a DAW - Every color theme
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Tating at Free against BlueScalesTrainer's $2.99. Tating also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 months). BlueScalesTrainer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.4). On ratings volume, ads 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
Tating is free to download; BlueScalesTrainer costs $2.99 up front. Tating sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. BlueScalesTrainer asks for nothing beyond the download.
Tating holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
BlueScalesTrainer ships an update every 5 months, Tating every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BlueScalesTrainer | Tating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Stefan Arnhold | Robert Crawford |
Customer experience
BlueScalesTrainer
Tating
In-app purchases
BlueScalesTrainer
No in-app purchases
Tating
- Holiday Pack$4.99
- Tating$9.99
Questions
Is BlueScalesTrainer free?
Is Tating free?
Which has better reviews, BlueScalesTrainer or Tating?
Do BlueScalesTrainer or Tating have ads?
Which is updated more often, BlueScalesTrainer or Tating?
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