Drum Notation by Beat Note vs DTX Touch
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
DTX Touch
This app provides intuitive control for tuning, muting, EQ, and effects on compatible electronic drum kits. It allows users to create custom drum kits with extensive mixing and layering options, offering a PA engineer-like experience.
- Intuitive tap and swipe tuning
- Graph-based sound adjustment
- Seamless kit selection and editing
- Extensive mixing and effect functions
- Layering up to 10 tones simultaneously
- Flexible routing options
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*To use the application, you will need to connect your smart device to DTX using a USB cable and adapter. Please refer to our connection manual for details. *DTX Touch is compatible with firmware version 2 of DTX-PRO / DTX-PROX or later. 1. Tune it up like an acoustic kit Tap and swipe operations allow intuitive tuning, mute, EQ and effect adjustments. The graph allows customization to adjust the sound output in relation to the strength of the pad hit. 2. Simple and clear operation The UI features a flat design and ample use of photos and graphs, allowing users to edit items without hesitation. The normal flow of kit adjustment tasks, such as selecting a kit, editing the kit, adding effects, and mixing, can be performed seamlessly. 3. Let's create your own special kit! The DTX-PRO/PROX, comes enabled with a wide variety of mixing and effect functions, that allow the user to operate like a PA engineer. The DTX-PRO/PROX also offer a wealth of customizable materials, such as a layer function that allows up to 10 different tones to be pronounced simultaneously with highly flexible routing. Please try these functions with the DTX Touch.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: DTX Touch at none against Drum Notation by Beat Note's 5. DTX Touch also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 83%). Drum Notation by Beat Note's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 12 months) and ratings volume (87 vs 2). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Drum Notation by Beat Note sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $6.69 per month. DTX Touch asks for nothing beyond the download.
DTX Touch holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drum Notation by Beat Note has 87 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Drum Notation by Beat Note's written reviews are positive against 100% of DTX Touch's.
Drum Notation by Beat Note ships an update every 9 days, DTX Touch every 12 months. Both last shipped on October 13, 2026.
| Parameter | Drum Notation by Beat Note | DTX Touch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (87 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 83.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 87 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 12 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 88 MB | 150 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | Kick Snare Hat Apps, LLC | Yamaha Corporation |
Customer experience
Drum Notation by Beat Note
DTX Touch
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
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- 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
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- 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
DTX Touch
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Drum Notation by Beat Note
- Educator Tier Monthly (No Trial)$6.691 Month
- Creator Tier Monthly (No Trial)$13.491 Month
- Educator Tier Annual (No Trial)$59.991 Year
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- Educator Tier Annual + Free Trial7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Creator Tier Annual + Free Trial7 Days trial$119.991 Year
DTX Touch
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Drum Notation by Beat Note free?
Is DTX Touch free?
Which has better reviews, Drum Notation by Beat Note or DTX Touch?
Do Drum Notation by Beat Note or DTX Touch have ads?
Which is updated more often, Drum Notation by Beat Note or DTX Touch?
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