Fretboard Learning vs Note Bubbles
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Fretboard Learning
Master the guitar fretboard with interactive games and comprehensive learning tools. Practice your ear, learn hundreds of chords and scales, and customize your learning experience with various tunings and modes. Track your progress with detailed statistics and explore music harmony.
- Educational games for fretboard notes
- Learn over 500 chords
- Master all scales in different boxes
- Customizable tunings
- Left-handed mode
- Interactive Circle of Fifths
- Metronome
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Are you new to the guitar? Or maybe you're a seasoned player who's looking for a little help getting your ear back in shape. Either way, Fretboard Learning is your best bet for learning the notes on your guitar. Fretboard Learning offers the best educational games to learn the notes on your guitar. You can practice your musical ear, learn more than 500 chords all over the fretboard, learn all scales in all the different boxes, and customize your experience by selecting your favorite tuning or creating a new one of your own! Left-handed mode is also available. The app includes: - Differents game modes - More than 500 chords all over the fretboard - All scales in all the differents boxes - Custom tunings or create your own - Left handed mode - Different notes notation - Circle of fifths: an interactive and fun tool to explore music harmony - Metronome - Statistics of your results - Detailed heat map of the fretboard
Note Bubbles
This game challenges you to listen to melodies and replicate them on a keyboard to pop bubbles. It's designed for all skill levels, from beginners to experienced musicians, offering a fun way to improve ear training and melody memory.
- Listen to musical sequences
- Replicate melodies on a keyboard
- Pop bubbles to clear the board
- Evolving difficulty challenges
- Unlock new worlds and sounds
- Improve ear training and melody memory
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Note Bubbles is a colorful music puzzle where you listen to melodies, play them back on a keyboard, and pop bubbles. No musical background? No problem. Whether you’re a seasoned musician or have never touched a piano, Note Bubbles offers a satisfying challenge that’s easy to pick up and fun to master. HOW TO PLAY LISTEN: Tap bubbles to hear a musical sequence. PLAY: Repeat the melody on the keyboard in the same order. POP: Clear the board in as few turns as possible. GAME FEATURES EVOLVING CHALLENGES: Move forward along a colorful path as the difficulty grows. UNLOCKABLE CONTENT: Discover new worlds, notes, and sounds as you play. EAR TRAINING THROUGH PLAY: Build melody memory, pitch recognition, and listening skills. QUICK SESSIONS: Perfect for short breaks, commutes, or longer sessions. Just trust your ears and play! Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.ensemble-education.com/privacy-policy-note-bubbles
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Note Bubbles at none against Fretboard Learning's 2. Fretboard Learning's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 10 days). On price, rating, review sentiment and chart position 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. Fretboard Learning sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Note Bubbles asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Fretboard Learning against 4.7 for Note Bubbles. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Fretboard Learning has 485 ratings behind it against 51, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of Fretboard Learning's written reviews are positive against 75% of Note Bubbles's.
Fretboard Learning ships an update every 3 days, Note Bubbles every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Fretboard Learning | Note Bubbles |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (485 ratings) | 4.7 (51 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 69.8% of reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 485 — better | 51 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Every 10 days |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #129 | #82 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 18.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 38 MB | 276 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mustapha AOUAS | Ensemble Education |
Customer experience
Fretboard Learning
Note Bubbles
Bugs and requests
Fretboard Learning
Reported bugs
9 issues- Identify by sound produces no audio or disturbing beep sound
- Notes on lower half of fretboard not selectable
- Missing button for sharps/flats (D# not available when shown)
- Low E string gets stuck on D in custom tuning setup
- Broken links to Twitter and website in about section
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- Screen cutoff in horizontal orientation
- Enharmonic errors in some scales
- Pro access lost after app reinstall
- Incorrect answer options not provided for some questions
Requested features
14 requests- Octave differentiation (C1, C2, C3, etc.)
- Support for different number of strings and instruments (bass)
- Actual guitar note sounds instead of generic beep
- Horizontal/landscape orientation support
- Ability to select specific frets and notes in all game modes
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- Single string isolation practice mode
- Backing tracks for practice
- CAGED system mapping
- Unlimited practice mode option
- Show correct answer after wrong selection
- Chord support for alternate tunings
- Share button for scales and chords
- Full fretboard view with scrolling instead of limited sections
- Customizable game progression pace
Note Bubbles
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Fretboard Learning
- All Access Package$1.491 Month
- All Access Package$9.99
Note Bubbles
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Fretboard Learning free?
Is Note Bubbles free?
Which has better reviews, Fretboard Learning or Note Bubbles?
Do Fretboard Learning or Note Bubbles have ads?
Which is updated more often, Fretboard Learning or Note Bubbles?
Which is more popular, Fretboard Learning or Note Bubbles?
Other comparisons
