Comparison

Drum Notation by Beat Note vs Simmons Drums 2

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

Head to head
About

Drum Notation by Beat Note

Create, practice, and share drum music notation with ease. This app transforms sequenced beats into professional sheet music, offering tools for composition, transcription, and interactive teaching. Enhance your drumming journey with customizable practice sessions and high-quality export options.

Highlights
  • Sequencer to notation conversion
  • Compose and transcribe drum beats
  • Customizable practice sessions
  • Interactive teaching tools
  • High-quality PDF and image export
  • Multiple notation voicing options
Features
Read full description

Beat Note — Drum Notation for Drummers, Teachers, and Content Creators The fastest way to write, hear, practice, and share drum notation. Built by a drummer, for drummers. FOR DRUMMERS — FROM YOUR HEAD TO THE PAGE IN SECONDS You have a groove idea. Beat Note gets it down before you lose it. Tap the sequencer grid to build beats. Watch them turn into clean, professional drum notation in real time. Hit play and hear exactly what you wrote — at any tempo, with a click track, on loop. - Transcribe songs to check your ear and lock in what you hear - Compose your own grooves, fills, and exercises from scratch - Count in with a visual on-screen "1, 2, 3, 4" so your eyes and ears are ready together - Use Beat Note as your in-ear metronome during rehearsals — your beats, not just clicks "Been waiting a long time for an app like this. Clearly built by a drummer." — App Store review FOR TEACHERS — WRITE IT, PLAY IT, SEND IT What used to take 30 minutes in a desktop notation program now takes 2 minutes on your phone or iPad. Write exercises on the fly — during the lesson, not after it. Play back the notation so students hear exactly how it should sound. Share a link so they can listen at home. Export a PDF they can print and bring to the kit. - Use the sequencer as a live music whiteboard, in person or online - Build a library of exercises organized by tag, ready for any student - Send a shareable link or export a high-quality PDF in one tap "What would normally take 30 minutes on a computer has become 2 minutes from my mobile device. My students love it." — App Store review FOR CONTENT CREATORS — PROFESSIONAL NOTATION VIDEOS, IN MINUTES Export your beat as an animated MP4 — portrait for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, or landscape for YouTube and Vimeo. Choose 720p, 1080p, or 4K. Pick a color theme. Preview before you export. PDF, PNG, WAV or AAC audio, shareable link, and animated MP4 — all from one app. NOTATION THAT LOOKS RIGHT Professional drum notation, consistent across every format you export. What you see on screen is what your students get in the PDF, what your followers see in the video, and what you hear in playback. - All standard drums, cymbals, and articulations - Subdivisions from 8th notes to 32nd notes, plus triplets, quintuplets (5s), and septuplets (7s) - Common and compound time signatures, including 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8 - Linear, split hands/feet, or split drums/cymbals voicing - Sticking annotations (R, L) - Single-measure repeat symbol (%) — renders automatically when measures repeat ORGANIZE AND DISCOVER - Tags, search, and sort to manage your beat library - Discover tab: curated educational beats for all skill levels - Beat templates to get started fast - Customize tempo, click track, count-in, and timer MADE BY A DRUMMER, SHAPED BY THE COMMUNITY Beat Note was built by me — an independent developer with 35+ years behind the kit. But the direction comes from the community. Every major feature on the roadmap has been voted on, requested, and refined by drummers, teachers, and creators just like you. Join the conversation at roadmap.beat-note.app — vote on upcoming features, share ideas, and see what's coming next. I'm here to make sure it all comes together into something that actually works. Premium subscription required for full access. Educator and Creator tiers available. Free trial included. Payment is charged through your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period via iTunes Account Settings. Terms and Privacy Policy: https://www.beat-note.app/privacy-and-terms

About

Simmons Drums 2

Control your Simmons electronic drum kit with an expanded interface. Adjust sounds, effects, and mix settings. Learn new beats with a play-along tool, metronome, and practice features.

Highlights
  • Expanded drum module settings display
  • Kit selection and sound/effect customization
  • Mix and trigger setting adjustments
  • Play-along tool with music library integration
  • Tempo control and looping for practice
  • Metronome
  • Titan-series Practice tool control
Features
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Simmons Drums 2 brings iOS control to Simmons electronic drum kits. The app provides a wider display of drum module settings to help you select kits, choose new sounds and effects, change the mix, adjust trigger settings and more. The play-along tool plays music from your library or Apple Music, slowing down or looping sections so you can learn new beats. Additional learning tools include a metronome and control over the Titan-series Practice tool. Compatible with Simmons Titan 70, Titan 50, Titan 20, SD200, SD300, SD350, SD500, SD550, and SD600 drum modules.

Screenshots

Drum Notation by Beat Note4 screens
Simmons Drums 24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Drum Notation by Beat Note at 83% against Simmons Drums 2's 30%. Drum Notation by Beat Note also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.1) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months). Simmons Drums 2's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Drum Notation by Beat Note sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $6.69 per month. Simmons Drums 2 asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Drum Notation by Beat Note holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 83 and 31 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Drum Notation by Beat Note's written reviews are positive against 30% of Simmons Drums 2's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drum Notation by Beat Note ships an update every 9 days, Simmons Drums 2 every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Drum Notation by Beat Note versus Simmons Drums 2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrum Notation by Beat NoteSimmons Drums 2
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (83 ratings) — better3.1 (31 ratings)
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews — better30.0% of reviews
Number of ratings83 — better31
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.6 — better17
Further details — not scored
Size87 MB249 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKick Snare Hat Apps, LLCSimmons Innovations Ltd

Customer experience

Drum Notation by Beat Note

All ratings83 ratings
Positive89.2%
Neutral4.8%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews120 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral7.5%
Negative9.2%

Simmons Drums 2

All ratings29 ratings
Positive48.3%
Neutral13.8%
Negative37.9%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive30.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative45.0%

Bugs and requests

Drum Notation by Beat Note

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Preview rarely matches notes on staff
  • Sometimes doesn't play any notes
  • Sounds not always appropriate for instrument voicing
  • Editing measures is inconvenient
  • Free trial charged immediately
Show 3 more
  • iCloud data sync issues for subscription confirmation
  • Not stable in loopings, slow delay on first note
  • Measure lines on PDFs too thick and close

Requested features

27 requests
  • 7/8 time signature support
  • Syncing between devices
  • Web version
  • Native Mac/Windows apps
  • Add text or notes to notations
Show 22 more
  • Cowbell instrument
  • More drum samples and pitch control
  • Ability to work on spaces longer than a measure
  • Add 32nd notes
  • Duplicate multiple bars at once
  • Copy/paste large sections
  • Option to drag duplicated bars to the end
  • Add melody track
  • More instrument options
  • Ability to manage volumes of different instruments
  • Add quintuplets and sextuplets to a bar
  • Add repetition options for measures
  • Add text to music sheets
  • Improve loop stability and reduce delay
  • Allow monthly subscription option
  • More free beats/unlimited free version
  • Add sticking for grace notes
  • More advanced editing options for multiple bars
  • Improve PDF export readability
  • Add virtual drum kit for accessibility
  • AI-powered automatic notation
  • Auto-sync to track

Simmons Drums 2

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Drum Notation by Beat Note

Subscriptions5
  • Educator Tier Monthly (No Trial)$6.691 Month
  • Creator Tier Monthly (No Trial)$13.491 Month
  • Educator Tier Annual (No Trial)$59.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Educator Tier Annual + Free Trial7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Creator Tier Annual + Free Trial7 Days trial$119.991 Year
None

Simmons Drums 2

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Drum Notation by Beat Note free?
Drum Notation by Beat Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Simmons Drums 2 free?
Simmons Drums 2 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Drum Notation by Beat Note or Simmons Drums 2?
Drum Notation by Beat Note is rated higher. Drum Notation by Beat Note averages 4.7 out of 5 from 83 ratings, while Simmons Drums 2 averages 3.1 from 31 ratings.
Do Drum Notation by Beat Note or Simmons Drums 2 have ads?
Neither Drum Notation by Beat Note nor Simmons Drums 2 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drum Notation by Beat Note or Simmons Drums 2?
Drum Notation by Beat Note ships an update every 9 days, and Simmons Drums 2 every 2 months. Most recently, Drum Notation by Beat Note was updated on September 19, 2026 and Simmons Drums 2 on September 21, 2026.

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