Comparison

Progressions vs Strum

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

Head to head
About

Progressions

Generate unique chord progressions beyond traditional scales using mathematical algorithms. Control complexity and freedom to explore new harmonic territories. Features include arpeggiators, strumming patterns, and humanization for expressive musical output.

Highlights
  • Generate unique chord progressions
  • Adjust complexity and freedom levels
  • Block Chord, Arpeggiator, and Strummer modes
  • Supports open and closed chords with selectable voicings
  • Humanize chord and note timings
  • Integrated ARP and STRUM pattern editor
  • Sync multiple instances
Features
Read full description

Progressions is an AUv3 MIDI plugin for your favourite DAW. It can be used to generate a unique set of chords that are unrelated to traditional scales, which become predictable and repetative over time. Instead, Progressions uses a unique way of mathermaically generating a series of related chords using only a root note and mode (major or minor). Chord sequences are limited by the selected complexity and freedom levels, which mimic the way traditional composers of old would wander away from tonality and back again. The complexity level start off at Basic, which uses only the most common chords (I, IV, V and relative minor ii, iii, and vi triads). As you progress through the levels, you can add parallel majors and minors, sus and dom chords etc. At level 3 we start to introduce 6th and 7th chords, and then 9ths chords, all the way to 11ths, 13ths, Quartals and all their variations. The freedom level allows us to specify how far to drift away from tonality (the root), even allowing you to create never ending randomized soundscapes. Progressions allows you to quickly randomize a toolbox of chords, that can be played in a variety of modes (block chords, arpeggiated, or strummed). These can be synced to a host application, triggered remotely or pieced together into a song. Song mode allow you to change play modes on the fly as well as being able to control many features of the app in real time. Progressions supports open and closed chords with selectable voicings. It has an intelligent algorithm that attempts to align top notes of chords, add additional bass, and open chord padding to give equal weight to chords with only 3 notes. You can even play with rootless voicings. The Humanize section allows you to control chord and note timings, as well as set velocity variations to ensure things don't get too robitic. Progressions also features an integrated arpeggiator and strummming pattern editor. You can load up to 6 arp and 6 strum patterns at the same time and seemlessly switch between them manually, remotely, or using song mode. If you run multiple instances, Progressions allows you to sync your chord pads, song chain, arpeggiator / strum patterns between instances. Progressions can be loaded as a MIDI plugin or as an Instrument for those programs that don't support MIDI plugins (such as GB). Additionally when loaded as an instrument, you can use either internal sounds (soundfonts) or send MIDI directly to other MIDI instruments. Features • Block Chord, Arpeggiator and Strummer modes. • Supports open and closed Chords. • Varying complexity levels of chords. • Freedom levels control how far from the root key you can go. • Rootless voicing mode. • Open chord padding support. • Additional bass note mode. • Supports all common chord types. • Edit the preferred chord list to exclude certain chord types. • Input MIDI control for chords and play modes. • Automatic top note alignment of chords. • Hold Pedal support. • Built in ARP and STRUM editor. • Humanize options for chord and note velocity and timings. • Comprehensive Song Mode with 256 steps and looping. • Randomize chord progressions, arps and strumming patterns. • Route Chord/Arp/Strum modes & MIDI thru to any of 4 output ports. • Supports soundfonts when loaded as an Instrument plugin. • Sync multiple instances of Progressions. • AUv3 compatible MIDI plugin supporting Sync to Host.

About

Strum

Features
Read full description

Strum is a clean, focused tablature editor for ukulele, guitar, and electric guitar. Write a song, drop in chords, set a strum pattern, and hear it back on a real recorded instrument, all on one screen, laid out the way fretted-instrument players think about a song. » Tab-first editing › Choose what you see: standard staff, tablature, beat counters, chord boxes, chord names, strum directions, and lyrics. › Tap a beat to add a chord or frets, then step on to the next without closing. Copy a measure and paste it anywhere, or duplicate whole sections. › Section labels, repeat barlines, and per-section time signatures: a 5/4 bridge inside a 4/4 song is a two-tap change. » Capo, written the way songbooks write it › Set a capo on any song and playback moves to the real sounding pitch, while the tab keeps showing the frets you actually hold. › Chord names do not change (a C shape is still "C"), and a "Capo 3" badge sits on the song and on exported PDFs. › Standard notation follows the capo, because notation shows what you hear. › The tuner knows too: tune the open strings, then check the capoed pitches. » Real instruments, not a synth › In Instrument mode nothing you hear is synthesised. The ukulele was recorded note by note for this app, so chords ring and fade like the real thing, body taps and chucks included. › Guitar and electric guitar are sampled from real instruments too. If you would rather have the lighter built-in synth, it is one switch in Settings, set per device. » Pay once, play forever › No subscriptions, no accounts, no ads. Buy Strum once, and it's yours. » Every tuning, and a tuner that knows them › Ukulele: high-G, low-G, Baritone. Guitar and electric guitar: Standard, E-flat Standard, Drop D, Drop C, each with its own full chord library. › Build a custom tuning at any open-string pitch, or hide the ones you never use. Copy a song into another tuning with the same chord shapes. › The built-in tuner handles all of them, custom ones included, and can set a custom tuning by ear from a plucked string. › An adaptive noise gate learns your room's background noise, so the needle stays steady. › Concert pitch from 415 Hz to 446 Hz: an ensemble at 442 or a baroque group at 415 is one tap away. » Practice › Follow tab highlights the current beat and chord as it plays, auto-scrolling your tab hands-free. › The in-song metronome locks to your sheet music's time signature and subdivision, so it never drifts out of phase. › Rhythm Training builds speed with automated tempo ramps and a live progress dashboard. › Drop-Out Training mutes the click after a few measures, to test whether you drift. » Chords and strum patterns › A library of common ukulele and guitar shapes ready to drop into a beat, plus your own built in the multi-fret finger editor. › Change a fingering globally, or long-press a chord in the beat editor to override it for one song. › Build strum patterns from up and down strokes, arpeggios, fingerstyle, chucks, mutes, and rests. Save them, browse the built-in library by time signature, or set per-song and per-section overrides. » iPhone, iPad, and Mac › Strum scales from a quick lookup on your phone to a full editing surface on iPad or Mac. Your library syncs through your private iCloud account, so a song you wrote on the couch is waiting on your iPad at practice. › Sort each folder by title, artist or last edit, or drag songs into your own order, such as a setlist. » PDF export and sharing › Export any song as a clean PDF or image to print and share, or send the native .strum file to other players. It opens straight from Mail, Messages, AirDrop or Files. » Private by default › Songs, folders, sections, custom chords, tunings, patterns, and preferences sync through your private Apple CloudKit database. › The microphone is used only for tuning. Audio is processed on-device and never recorded or sent anywhere. › No analytics, no third-party servers. Your songs never leave Apple's infrastructure.

Screenshots

Progressions4 screens
Strum4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Strum at $3.99 against Progressions's $6.99. Strum also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). Progressions's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). 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

Progressions costs $6.99 and Strum $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Progressions ships an update every 2 weeks, Strum every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Progressions versus Strum: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterProgressionsStrum
Price$6.99$3.99 — better
Rating4.1 (34 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings34 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size117 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer4Pockets.comMateusz Dabrowski

In-app purchases

None

Progressions

No in-app purchases

None

Strum

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Progressions free?
Progressions costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Strum free?
Strum costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Progressions or Strum have ads?
Neither Progressions nor Strum shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Progressions or Strum?
Progressions ships an update every 2 weeks, and Strum every 5 days. Most recently, Progressions was updated on October 30, 2026 and Strum on October 28, 2026.

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