Comparison

Drum Notation by Beat Note vs Beat Blocks

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

Beat Blocks

This app offers a fun and interactive rhythm training experience for musicians. It features three distinct visualization modes to help users master timing and sight-reading, with a custom rhythm editor for advanced practice.

Highlights
  • Three unique rhythm visualization modes
  • Custom rhythm editor (premium)
  • Curated rhythm benchmarks
  • Professional metronome
  • One-time unlock for lifetime access
Features
Read full description

Beat Blocks is an interactive rhythm practice app built for players at every level. See the beat, build your own patterns, play along, and strengthen your timing with multiple ways to visualize rhythm. 4 Unique Visualization Modes: - Beat Blocks Mode: The signature dot-grid view. Notes and rests become clear geometric blocks, making rhythm structure easy to see and feel. - Circles Mode: Each beat becomes a colorful circle divided into slices for its subdivisions, then lights up in time as the rhythm plays. - Staff Mode: Practice with standard musical notation and connect your rhythm training to real-world sight-reading. - Jianpu (Numbered) Mode: A clean numbered-notation view for players who prefer Jianpu. Key Features: - Custom Rhythm Editor: Build and save your own rhythms in 4/4, 3/4, and 6/8. Create eighth-note patterns, triplets, dotted rhythms, syncopations, rests, and multi-measure exercises. - Expanded 6/8 Practice: Explore a dedicated set of 6/8 rhythm patterns designed for compound-meter training. - Course & Starter Library: Practice with ready-made rhythm groups, from basic pulse control to more advanced subdivision and syncopation. - Loop & Tap-Along: Loop any rhythm to internalize it, or test your timing with tap-along scoring and per-beat feedback. - Professional Metronome: Use high-quality sounds, count-in, tempo control, visual pulse, and flexible loop playback to keep practice precise. - Share & Import: Export custom rhythms as text and import rhythms created in Beat Blocks, including existing 4/4 exercises from earlier versions. - One-Time Unlock: Start with free practice content, then unlock full course and custom-rhythm playback with a one-time purchase. No subscription. No ads. Whether you are building a steady foundation or practicing complex meters, Beat Blocks turns rhythm training into a visual, creative, hands-on experience. See it. Build it. Feel it. Master the beat.

Screenshots

Drum Notation by Beat Note4 screens
Beat Blocks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Drum Notation by Beat Note at 83% against Beat Blocks's 17%. Drum Notation by Beat Note also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.9). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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 and Beat Blocks sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Drum Notation by Beat Note holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 83 and 35 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Drum Notation by Beat Note's written reviews are positive against 17% of Beat Blocks's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drum Notation by Beat Note ships an update every 9 days, Beat Blocks weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Drum Notation by Beat Note versus Beat Blocks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrum Notation by Beat NoteBeat Blocks
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (83 ratings) — better3.9 (35 ratings)
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews — better16.7% of reviews
Number of ratings83 — better35
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.6
Further details — not scored
Size87 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKick Snare Hat Apps, LLC鑫 孟

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%

Beat Blocks

All ratings35 ratings
Positive65.7%
Neutral11.4%
Negative22.9%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive16.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative75.0%

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

Beat Blocks

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
1 purchases

Beat Blocks

One-time1
  • Full Access$4.99

Questions

Is Drum Notation by Beat Note free?
Drum Notation by Beat Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Beat Blocks free?
Beat Blocks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Drum Notation by Beat Note or Beat Blocks?
Drum Notation by Beat Note is rated higher. Drum Notation by Beat Note averages 4.7 out of 5 from 83 ratings, while Beat Blocks averages 3.9 from 35 ratings.
Do Drum Notation by Beat Note or Beat Blocks have ads?
Neither Drum Notation by Beat Note nor Beat Blocks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drum Notation by Beat Note or Beat Blocks?
Drum Notation by Beat Note ships an update every 9 days, and Beat Blocks weekly. Most recently, Drum Notation by Beat Note was updated on September 23, 2026 and Beat Blocks on September 26, 2026.

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