Comparison

ScaleMate vs Scale and SticKey

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

Head to head
About

ScaleMate

This app provides an interactive reference for understanding music scales and jazz harmony. It allows users to hear, visualize, and manipulate scales to deepen their comprehension of musical concepts. Features include expert write-ups, practical usage tips, and animated transformations between scales.

Highlights
  • Hear scales as melodies
  • Visualize scales on circle of fifths
  • Expert scale write-ups
  • Manipulate scales and hear changes
  • Full library of scales
  • Automatic scale recognition
  • Animated scale transformations
Features
Read full description

ScaleMate is a modern, interactive reference to jazz harmony. ScaleMate lets you… HEAR SCALES conventionally or as random melodies. VISUALIZE SCALES in ways that help you understand them deeper. READ & LEARN through built-in, expert scale write-ups & use tips. MANIPULATE SCALES while you listen. Hear the effects instantly to understand how scales differ. ————————————————— ScaleMate is a reference that shows you & plays for you any scale you wish…. But that's just the beginning. ScaleMate helps you hear & understand scales and harmony more deeply… by teaching you to visualize scales in ways that match what they sound like. Imagine… Wouldn't it be nice to have a single image to understand all the modes of the major scale? Ever wonder why the modes are ordered so oddly, hopping between major & minor & dominant? Or notice that the Altered Scale is the "darkest", most minor sounding of all possible dominant scales? Or that its tritone-substitution, the Lydian Dominant Scale, is the "brightest" of them all? Ever notice that the minor pentatonic scale is a mode of the major pentatonic scale and wonder whether there were any other useful pentatonic modes? Ever notice that the major pentatonic scale (and its modes) are the only 5-note scale that doesn't contain any half steps or tritones? ScaleMate shows you scales in a way that makes these observations natural and immediate… and plays you the results too. Or ever just wonder what the definition of a dominant chord is and which common scales can be used for them? ScaleMate's got you covered. ——————— FEATURES ——————— USE IT RIGHT AWAY Use ScaleMate right now! Built-in help is there for you whenever you want it. LISTEN ScaleMate lets you hear what scales sound like, by playing them up & down, or by playing random melodies that use them. VISUALIZE WHAT YOU HEAR ScaleMate shows every scale both linearly (for melodic understanding) and on the circle of fifths (for harmonic understanding). FULL LIBRARY OF SCALES ScaleMate knows all the scales you're ever likely to encounter. A WELLSPRING OF KNOWLEDGE Extensive info pages on 60+ of the most common & important scales, including practical advice and usage tips. (Over 15,000 words of content.) USE IT TO TEACH ScaleMate is perfect for projecting on a screen or sharing over zoom while you teach. Its animations let you show how one scale transforms into another, and it has special features (pointing, hiding/revealing) for educators. AUTOMATIC SCALE RECOGNITION Build your own scales and ask yourself "what if I make this change…" Whenever you produce a conventional scale, ScaleMate will automatically identify it for you by name and tell you about it. ANIMATED IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES Change between one scale and another and see the differences between them, visually animated before you. SMART SPELLING ScaleMate notates perfectly, for every scale in every key. NOTE ROLES Next to each note, ScaleMate displays its function—in numbers (3, 5, b7) or in solfege (Mi, Sol, Te) or not at all, according to your preference. SIMPLE OR ADVANCED NOTATION ScaleMate shows you double flats and double sharps whenever they're called for… unless you'd rather see simpler note names. Prefer never to see notes like Cb and E#? You can have ScaleMate show them as B and F. DIMINISHED HARMONY Choose the option to color the notes in three colors so you can see which diminished seventh chord every note belongs to. Great for understanding diminished scales & chords and seeing how they relate to other scales too. JAZZ CRED ScaleMate is created by Anton Schwartz. An award-winning saxophonist & composer as well as an expert educator, he is also the creator of the highly rated RANDOM ROOTS app. Terms and conditions: https://scalemate.app/terms-conditions Privacy policy: https://scalemate.app/privacy

About

Scale and SticKey

This app simplifies music theory by visualizing concepts like modes, scales, and chords through an interactive 'Note Team' system. Users can explore different musical structures, listen to scales and progressions, and understand key signatures and tonal centers.

Highlights
  • Interactive Note Team (TM) system
  • Visualizes modes, key signatures, scales, and chords
  • Explore different scale types (pentatonic, blues, bebop)
  • Listen to scales and chord progressions
  • Understand tonal centers and key names
  • Play individual Roman numeral chords
Features
Read full description

Scale and SticKey makes understanding music theory simple and enjoyable by synthesizing 5 theoretical concepts (modes, key signatures, scales, chord progressions, and solfa) into the concept of building a Note Team (TM). To get started (clicking the help '?' icon in the app menu will walk you through these steps): 1. Spin the solfa wheel or drag the solfa slider to put 'do' on a new position. 2. Drag the players around the outside of the wheel so that every player lines up with one of the seven solfa positions. (If you get stuck, click the central circle with the '?' to have the app move the players for you.) 3. Once every player is on a solfa position, you have formed a Note Team (TM)! The team captain has an arrow pointing at his solfa symbol, the key signature is shown in the center of the wheel, and the key is named at the top of the screen. 4. To change modes, either double-click on a new solfa name or use the arrows under the key name at the top of the screen. Each time you change modes, you are changing the tonal center (or tonic), which means your team has a new captain. The key name always begins with the name of the team captain. 5. Listen to the scales by clicking the play arrow under the key name. Change the type of scale by selecting a new icon under the key name. Options include: 7-note (heptatonic), 5-note(pentatonic), 6-note (blues), 8-note (bebop) and raised 7th (harmonic or melodic minor) scales. 6. Listen to chord progressions by clicking the arrow under the chord progression. Change the progression style by selecting a new icon under the chord progression, or switch to a new progression using the previous / next arrows next to the play button. 7. Switch to the chords view in the menu to play individual Roman numeral chords. 8.Return all elements to their original positions by clicking the reset button in the menu.

Screenshots

ScaleMate4 screens
Scale and SticKey3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Scale and SticKey at 5.0 against ScaleMate's 4.8. Scale and SticKey also leads on price ($2.99 vs $3.99) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.5). ScaleMate's advantage is ratings volume (24 vs 1). On review sentiment, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ScaleMate costs $3.99 and Scale and SticKey $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Scale and SticKey holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ScaleMate has 24 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ScaleMate ships an update fortnightly, Scale and SticKey every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
ScaleMate versus Scale and SticKey: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScaleMateScale and SticKey
Price$3.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.8 (24 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings24 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.514.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB80 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAnton SchwartzLaura Gabrielson

Customer experience

ScaleMate

All ratings24 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Scale and SticKey

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

ScaleMate

No in-app purchases

None

Scale and SticKey

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ScaleMate free?
ScaleMate costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Scale and SticKey free?
Scale and SticKey costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ScaleMate or Scale and SticKey?
Scale and SticKey is rated higher. ScaleMate averages 4.8 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while Scale and SticKey averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do ScaleMate or Scale and SticKey have ads?
Neither ScaleMate nor Scale and SticKey shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ScaleMate or Scale and SticKey?
ScaleMate ships an update fortnightly, and Scale and SticKey every 3 weeks. Most recently, ScaleMate was updated on October 24, 2026 and Scale and SticKey on October 24, 2026.

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