Ocarina vs Harp Real
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ocarina
Transform your device into a virtual flute and create music with intuitive touch and breath controls. Explore a global community of players, share your performances, and access a vast library of popular song scores.
- Virtual ocarina instrument
- Breath and touch controls
- Global player community
- Performance sharing
- Online songbook
- Customizable keys and modes
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One of Apple's All-Time Top 20 Apps, Smule’s Ocarina turns your iPhone into an ancient flute. With no musical training required, you'll blow away your friends and family with your new talent. "If everyone had the Ocarina app there would be no more wars" - David Pogue "One of the most original entertainment programs to emerge from the App Store" - Wall Street Journal "Ocarina is one of the most magical programs I've ever seen" - NY Times ___________________________ Sensitive to your breath, touch and movements, Ocarina is more versatile than an actual flute: • Blow air into your mic to create music • Touch combinations of holes to play notes • Tilt to change vibrato rate and depth • Advanced users can change keys and modes, including C-Major and Zeldarian mode With Ocarina, you can also hear people learning to play around the world: • Listen in on Ocarina players all over the world just by tapping the globe icon • Rate your favorite performances • Name your Ocarina so others can listen to you play • Share your favorite performances with family and friends via e-mail • Record and archive your favorite performances on your own “My Ocarina” web page ___________________________ Ocarina fans from all over the world have posted hundreds of free easy–to-read scores for popular songs. Just go to http://ocarina.smule.com and click on 'Songbook'. Top Songs: Theme from Zelda Amazing Grace Theme from Harry Potter My Heart Will Go On Mario Brothers Theme Zelda's Lullaby Poker Face ___________________________ Watch some great (and not so great) Ocarina performances on YouTube: www.youtube.com/smuleage Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/smule Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/smule Try other Smule apps: iPad: Magic Fiddle, Magic Piano & Glee Karaoke iPhone/iPod: I Am T-Pain, Glee Karaoke, Leaf Trombone, Sonic Lighter & Zephyr
Harp Real
This app simulates a 27-string lever harp, offering a realistic playing experience with a wide frequency range. Practice songs with adjustable speed and transposition, or play in real-time. Record and share your music.
- 27-string lever harp simulation
- Frequency range C3 to A6#
- Offline and online song practice
- Adjustable song speed and transposition
- Reverb effect
- Normal and RealTime play modes
- Autoplay option
- Record, playback, and share functionality
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The Harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps have been known since antiquity in Asia, Africa and Europe, dating back at least as early as 3500 BC. The instrument had great popularity in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, where it evolved into a wide range of variants with new technologies, and was disseminated to Europe's colonies, finding particular popularity in Latin America. Although some ancient members of the harp family died out in the Near East and South Asia, descendants of early harps are still played in Myanmar and parts of Africa, and other defunct variants in Europe and Asia have been utilized by musicians in the modern era. Harps vary globally in many ways. In terms of size, many smaller harps can be played on the lap, whereas larger harps are quite heavy and rest on the floor. Different harps may use strings of catgut, nylon, metal, or some combination. While all harps have a neck, resonator, and strings, frame harps have a pillar at their long end to support the strings, while open harps, such as arch harps and bow harps, do not. Modern harps also vary in techniques used to extend the range and chromaticism (e.g., adding sharps and flats) of the strings, such as adjusting a string's note mid-performance with levers or pedals which modify the pitch. The pedal harp is a standard instrument in the orchestra of the Romantic music era (ca. 1800–1910) and the contemporary music era. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harp) The Harp Real is Lever Harp (Celtic Harp) 27 strings simulation app with lever feature. Frequency range: C3 -> A6#. More offline and online songs for practice (With the ability to change speed, transpose, reverb). Play with 2 modes: - Normal - RealTime You can choose autoplay for listening songs. Record feature: record, play back and share to your friends. ** Songs is updated regularly
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Harp Real at 4.7 against Ocarina's 3.6. Harp Real also leads on ratings volume (649 vs 138). Ocarina's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 15 months). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Harp Real holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 138 and 649 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 78% of Ocarina's written reviews are positive against 68% of Harp Real's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Ocarina ships an update every 2 months, Harp Real every 15 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ocarina | Harp Real |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (138 ratings) | 4.7 (649 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.4% of reviews — better | 67.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 138 | 649 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 15 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 97 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Smule | Son Truong Ngoc |
Customer experience
Ocarina
Harp Real
User reviews
Ocarina
From 138 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great for Zelda fans
- 👍 Easy to use and learn
- 👍 Impressive global community
- 👍 Versatile and customizable
- 👍 Excellent value for money
Room to improve
- 🐛 Microphone/touch sensitivity issues
- 🔋 Potential damage to device microphone
- 🔋 Low volume on newer devices
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes
- 🔍 Lack of advanced features
Harp Real
From 649 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎵 Realistic harp sound quality
- 💰 Free app with premium features
- 🎛️ Adjustable parameters (reverb, room size, tuning levers)
- 🎼 Built-in songs included
- 😌 Relaxing and enjoyable to play
Room to improve
- 📢 Unexpected ads during gameplay
- 📖 Lack of instruction manual/documentation
- 🔊 Sound issues for some users
- 🎵 Pitch accuracy problems reported
- ❌ Missing second hand notes for some songs
Bugs and requests
Ocarina
Reported bugs
5 issues- Microphone not working properly
- Buttons not registering properly
- Frequent crashes on newer devices
- Compatibility issues with iPhone 4/4S
- Random notes playing unexpectedly
Requested features
5 requests- Add more instrument sounds
- Implement recording and sharing features
- Provide in-app song sheets and tutorials
- Add more holes/notes for better playability
- Improve global community features
Harp Real
Reported bugs
4 issues- No sound output for some users
- Volume control not easily accessible
- Incorrect pitches in some instances
- App not functioning properly on some devices
Requested features
4 requests- Background play functionality
- Transpose button
- Second hand notes for all songs
- Better documentation/tutorial
In-app purchases
Ocarina
No in-app purchases
Harp Real
No in-app purchases









