Comparison

Music Reader vs ABLooplay

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

Head to head
About

Music Reader

This app is a comprehensive tool for sheet music. It allows users to view, learn, listen, mark, and play musical scores. It supports various music genres and instruments, acting as a portable songbook and powerful player.

Highlights
  • View and play sheet music
  • Mark and annotate scores
  • Import MusicXML and NotationPad files
  • Supports dark mode
  • Transposition (PRO)
  • Change instrument parts (PRO)
Features
Read full description

Music Reader provides all you need about sheet music. You could view, learn, listen, mark and play music notes and notations as you want. it is your portable songbook and a powerful sheet music reader & player. A easy-to-use painting system for you to draw any marks on sheets. From classic to popular, from rock to country, from piano to symphony, all kinds of music played well in Music Reader. *Compatible with dark mode *Supports importing MusicXML(.xml) and NotationPad(.ecz) file PRO ACCESS SUBSCRIPTION - No Ads - Transposition - Change instrument for parts - Support layers for painting marks - The subscription price is $4.99/monthly, $14.99/yearly - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that service, where applicable - Terms of use: https://service.notationpad.com/sheetmusicplus/terms_service.html

About

ABLooplay

Features
Read full description

Paste a link from a video app and loop any scene from A to B, as often and in as many spots as you like. The sentence you can’t catch, the riff you can’t play yet: slow it to 0.5× at the same pitch. “Loop This Sentence” loops one sentence at a time, no A/B needed. Record yourself and compare. No ads. ■ From here to there, again and again Watch the waveform and tap A and B — only that part repeats. Pause to pick the gaps by eye, and add a pause between repeats to say it back. Missed a sentence? Tap “Loop This Sentence”: it finds the pauses around it and loops it, no A or B needed. ■ Auto-split by sentence (Pro) Auto-split › By sentence cuts wherever the sound stops for 1 second or more, making a section for every sentence at once. Set “Plays before moving on” to 3 and long lessons play through on their own. Pro also adds unlimited sections and an equalizer to bring bass, vocals, drums, guitar or piano forward. ■ Compare with your voice Record yourself with “Record Voice”, then tap “Original → You” to hear both back to back and catch differences in pronunciation and intonation. ■ Half speed, same pitch From 0.5× to 2× without changing the pitch. “Speed up a little each loop” adds 0.05× per play up to 1×, and the key shifts up to ±6 semitones to match your instrument. Zoom to 3 s and slide the waveform to land on the first word or note, or nudge A and B by ±0.1 s. ■ A–B loops for videos, too In the Videos tab, paste a video link and it plays in the app; tap “A Start” and “B End” to loop the part in between. Your own videos (MP4, MOV) from the Files app are listed by folder, with a waveform for setting sections. Play counts, pauses, speed and voice comparison work as for songs. Videos from a link have no waveform or Auto-split, and videos stop when you leave the app. ■ Practice log and favorites Each day you practice 1 minute or more in AB Repeat gets a stamp on the Log tab’s calendar (a star on goal days). Tap a day to see your time and loops, and set a practice reminder there. Tap the star next to “Section 1 of 3” to save a section to a folder, then loop it right away from “Favorite Sections”. ■ An everyday music player, too Tap a song in the Music tab and a large player slides up; swipe down to browse while it plays. ≡ gives you up next, shuffle, repeat, speed and a sleep timer, and the speech bubble shows lyrics. Search by title, artist or album, and control it from the Lock Screen. ■ Adding audio Import MP3s from the Files app, singly or by folder, or copy them in from a computer. m4a, wav, aiff, unprotected songs from your music library, podcast episodes and audio from videos in Photos work too. Tracks are sorted by editable ID3 tags (artist → album → song), and empty tags are filled from file and folder names. ■ Also • LRC scripts and subtitles (SRT, VTT) show each sentence and check your dictation • A hands-on tutorial with 8 English sentences • Two columns and keyboard control on iPad; a vertical tab strip on the foldable iPhone Duo • Speed, sections and key are saved per song • No ads. Your files and recordings stay on your device; the app only goes online for podcasts and videos from a link ■ Without Pro, and Pro Without Pro you get the basics: up to 3 sections per song or video, Loop This Sentence, ±0.1 s, speed, key, speed-up, pauses, repeat counts, voice comparison, the practice log, favorites, 2 playlists, and unlimited videos, both your own and from a link. ABLooplay Pro adds auto-split, unlimited sections, the equalizer and unlimited playlists. Choose an auto-renewing subscription or a purchase that never renews. • Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase • Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the period • Manage or cancel in Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions • Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ • Privacy Policy: https://tatsu456.github.io/ablooplay/privacy.html

Screenshots

Music Reader4 screens
ABLooplay4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: ABLooplay at every 4 days against Music Reader's every 4 months. Music Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Music Reader sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and ABLooplay sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Music Reader ships an update every 4 months, ABLooplay every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Music Reader versus ABLooplay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMusic ReaderABLooplay
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (192 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews51.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings192 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS11.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size183 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer嵩 张TAKAYUKI TAKEMOTO

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Music Reader

Subscriptions3
  • Pro Access$2.991 Month
  • Pro Access7 Days trial$14.991 Year
  • Pro Access$14.991 Year
3 purchases

ABLooplay

Subscriptions2
  • Pro (Monthly)$1.991 Month
  • Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro (Lifetime)$17.99

Questions

Is Music Reader free?
Music Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ABLooplay free?
ABLooplay is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Music Reader or ABLooplay have ads?
Both Music Reader and ABLooplay show ads.
Which is updated more often, Music Reader or ABLooplay?
Music Reader ships an update every 4 months, and ABLooplay every 4 days. Most recently, Music Reader was updated on October 26, 2026 and ABLooplay on October 24, 2026.

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