Note vs AxeChords
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Note
Master the fretboard of your string instrument by learning the location of every note. This app offers multiple learning modes and supports a wide variety of instruments, tunings, and practice configurations to help you improve your musical skills.
- Learn note locations on fretboard
- Multiple learning modes
- Supports various instruments and tunings
- Progress tracking
- Customizable practice options
- Cross-device sync via iCloud
- Left-handed mode
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Learning the location of all of the notes on your string instrument can help you become a better player. It makes it easier to find alternate chord voicings, break out of scale boxes, learn note relationships, and find notes that “fit” when improvising. Note-orious will help you learn the location of every note on the fretboard for the guitar (6, 7, and 8 string and tenor guitar), bass (4, 5, and 6 string), ukulele, banjo, mandolin, or bouzouki (3 and 4 string). Note-orious supports a variety of tunings for each instrument. Features Include: • Three different learning modes: Find all occurrences of a note on the fretboard, name the note shown on the fretboard, and a mix of the two. • Choose from a variety of instruments (Guitar, Bass, Banjo, Ukulele, Mandolin, and Bouzouki) with different tunings available for each instrument. • Keep track of your progress overall, as well as for individual strings and notes. • Choose which strings to practice. • Choose which notes to practice. • Choose how sharps and flats are presented (only sharps, only flats, or a random mix). • Set the practice time or choose an open-ended practice. • Syncs your progress across multiple devices via iCloud. • Left handed mode! • Multiple fretboard materials and inlay options. • Progress tracking is based on practice configuration, so you can keep track of your progress with different instruments, tunings, and other options. • Support for Dark Mode. • Buy it once and get Note-orious on the Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Supported Instruments and Tunings Include: • 6 String Guitar: Standard, 1/2 Step Down, Whole Step Down, Drop D, Drop C#, Drop C, Drop A, Drop D, Drop E, Drop G, Baritone, DADGAD, All 5ths, All 4ths, Terz • 7 String Guitar: Standard, 1/2 Step Down, Whole Step Down, Drop A, Drop G#, Drop G, Drop D+B • 8 String Guitar: Standard, Standard w/Low E, Hybrid • Tenor Guitar: Standard, Guitar, Baritone Guitar, Irish, Ukulele • 4 String Bass: Standard, 1/2 Step Down, Whole Step Down, Drop A, Drop D, Drop C#, Drop C, B-E-A-D, Tenor • 5 String Bass: Standard, Drop A, Tenor • 6 String Bass: Standard, Drop A, Guitar • 4 String Banjo: Open G, Open D, C Tuning, Double C, G Modal (Sawmill), Tenor (All 5ths), Tenor (Irish), Cello Tuning • 5 String Banjo: Open G, Open D, C Tuning, Double C, G Modal (Sawmill), Cello Tuning • Ukulele: Standard (Concert), Soprano, All 5ths, Low G, Low C, Baritone • Mandolin: Standard (All 5ths), Mandola (Alto), Octave (Tenor), Mandocello • Bouzouki: Greek Tetrachordo, Greek Trichordo, Irish
AxeChords
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Learn all the basic Major and Minor Chords on Guitar using the CAGED System. (A system based on the open C, A, G, E, and D chords). Learn the foundation of all Jazz Chords with Shell Chords. (Root, 3rd, 7th). Master advanced Chords and their Inversions with Drop 2 and Drop 3 Chords. (2nd or 3rd highest note of a closed position Chord dropped an octave to spread out the voicing). Select any of 12 different Root Notes for each chord form, providing thousands of different combinations! Shows the scale degree of each chord note, as well as the suggested fingerings for each chord. Play each chord to hear how it sounds, choose from several different guitar types with strummed or picked chords. Context sensitive help available on each screen. Plus, you can also add your own custom User Chords!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: AxeChords at every 3 days against Note's every 28 months. Note's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.2). On price, 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
Note costs $1.99 and AxeChords $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Note ships an update every 28 months, AxeChords every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Note | AxeChords |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | $1.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 28 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Binary Formations, LLC | Joseph Svantner |
In-app purchases
Note
No in-app purchases
AxeChords
No in-app purchases









