Comparison

Violin Sight vs MTB Exams

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

Head to head
About

Violin Sight

This app offers 155 specially composed sight-reading pieces for violin at Grades 1-5. Unlock them by playing fun games that improve your ability to recognize musical patterns, rhythms, and pitches before playing. It helps musicians learn new pieces quickly and accurately.

Highlights
  • 155 graded sight-reading pieces
  • Preparatory games for pattern recognition
  • Rhythm Match game
  • Pitch Patterns game
  • Quick Fire Five and What's the Difference games
  • Practice streak tracking
  • Exam preparation guidance
Features
Read full description

ABRSM Violin Sight-Reading Trainer contains 155 brand new specially composed pieces of sight-reading for Violin at Grades 1 to 5. But, before you can play them you have to unlock them!   Each piece is preceded by a series of games designed to improve your ability to spot the features, patterns and characteristics of the music before you play it. Test yourself and see if you can achieve a three-star score in these fun games: Rhythm Match - hear rhythms from the piece of Sight-Reading and identify the corresponding notation. Pitch Patterns - focus on a small section of the music and answer questions about pitches, patterns and fingering. Quick Fire Five and What’s the Difference - study the whole piece and answer a series of questions about it. Learn how to make the 30 seconds of preparation time you have in your exam really count! Complete the challenges to unlock the pieces and start a practice streak. Strong sight-reading skills empower musicians to communicate with one another through the language of music, as well as to learn new pieces quickly and accurately. Regular practice with ABRSM Violin Sight-Reading Trainer will help you avoid the pitfalls and achieve sight-reading success! Hey, phone users! Music notation is complex and phone screens are small. This app is best viewed on an iPad but there's still lots you can learn and enjoy if you’re using the app on a smaller phone. Make sure you check out the preview screenshots in the App Store.

About

MTB Exams

Record and submit instrumental music exams with audio or video. This app facilitates the submission process for qualifications from grades 1 to 8, offering flexibility and convenience for learners and teachers.

Highlights
  • Record audio and video exams
  • Review and delete recordings
  • Scan and submit free choice music
  • Submit exams for marking
  • Save exams for later submission
  • Access guidance and help
  • Recording safety features
Features
Read full description

Record and submit your MTB instrumental exam using this app. This is the newest version of the MTB app and should be used for submission of all exams from February 2021 onwards. The Music Teachers’ Board are a UK based exam board providing an exciting new way to access instrumental qualifications from grades 1 to 8 in over 25 different instruments. Our exams are recorded by either the teacher or learner, submitted online and marked by our specialist examiners. As there is no visiting examiner, unlike other boards, our exams offer: - Complete flexibility over exam dates - Reduced stress levels for pupils and teachers - Optimised rate of progress - Lower costs - Specialist examiners - Convenience Visit www.mtbexams.com to learn more and find recording advice. This app is for use by both audio and video MTB centres and self-learners. To sign up as an approved MTB centre you will need to have signed up as an ‘Individual Music Teacher’ or ‘Organisation’ on our website: https://www.mtbexams.com/sign-up/. Exams can be conducted in video without a teacher or centre present. App Features: - Record in both audio and video: Using your phone or tablet you can use this app to record your MTB exam. MTB will assign you video or audio exams based on whether you centre is an audio or video centre, exam type (practical/performance) and whether you have a teacher overseeing the exam. - Review: You can listen to or watch your recording and either delete the recording or save the exam for submission. - Scan: You can scan/photo your free choice music to submit alongside your exam. - Submit: You can submit your exam recording directly to MTB for marking. You will receive your result & marksheet within 2 weeks by email and a certificate will follow in the post. - Save for later: You can save your exam for later submission. (To retake the exam, you will need to delete this saved exam). - Guidance & help: The app includes useful information and guidance before you start the exam and has a range of information to help teachers/learners with the exam process. - Recording safety features: You will be able to check your recording quality, that you have sufficient space available on your device and place your phone on to airplane mode for the duration of the exam recording to ensure your exam is not interrupted. You will also be able to add additional clips should your exam be interrupted. - Identity verification: Video exams will require you to photo the candidates ID with the MTB app during submission. - Share: Share submitted exam recordings.

Screenshots

Violin Sight4 screens
MTB Exams4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: MTB Exams at 100% against Violin Sight's 13%. MTB Exams also leads on price (Free vs $4.99) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 15 months). Violin Sight's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On 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

MTB Exams is free to download; Violin Sight costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Violin Sight ships an update every 15 months, MTB Exams every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Violin Sight versus MTB Exams: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterViolin SightMTB Exams
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating1.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews12.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 15 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size118 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (Publishing) LimitedMTB Exams Ltd

Customer experience

Violin Sight

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive12.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative87.5%

MTB Exams

Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Violin Sight

No in-app purchases

None

MTB Exams

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Violin Sight free?
Violin Sight costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MTB Exams free?
MTB Exams is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Violin Sight or MTB Exams have ads?
Neither Violin Sight nor MTB Exams shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Violin Sight or MTB Exams?
Violin Sight ships an update every 15 months, and MTB Exams every 2 weeks. Most recently, Violin Sight was updated on October 28, 2026 and MTB Exams on October 14, 2026.

Other comparisons