Fingering Strings vs Tenuto
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Fingering Strings
An interactive fingering guide for string instruments, offering detailed hand positions and visual aids for violin, viola, cello, and double bass. It helps users identify optimal fingerings for notes and intervals, with options to display beginner tapes and switch between written notes and piano keys.
- Comprehensive hand position guides
- Double stop fingering
- Beginner tape display
- Switch between written note and piano key
- Multiple clef support
- Playable concert pitch audio
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The highest rated and most comprehensive fingering guide available for Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass (Simandl and Rabbath positions). Includes double stops! Decide which hand position would be best for the interval or passage. Instantly switch between written note and piano key at the touch of a button. Support for Key Signatures to more easily find a fingering in the music you're working on. • Hand Positions: 15 positions on the Violin, 15 positions on the Viola, 16 positions on the Cello, and 12 Simandl positions or 6 Rabbath positions on the Double Bass. • Display "beginner tape" on the fingerboard as well as string names and colors. • Notate one or two notes in Treble, Alto, Tenor or Bass clef. How to Use: Pick a written note (touch the staff) and have the fingering displayed and concert pitch played. Touch a button and reveal the note on the piano. Play a concert pitch on the piano, and have that pitch's fingering displayed. Touch a button and reveal the transposed note written on the staff. Written and concert pitches are the same for all but the double bass, which transposes, sounding an octave below what is written. • Use the ‘Play' button to repeatedly hear the note or interval being displayed. Selecting a Pitch: Using the Staff (transposed for the current instrument): Simply touch and slide up and down on the staff to select the note, slide to the right or left of the note for sharps and flats. Using the Piano (concert pitch): drag in the area below the keyboard to move the keyboard, touch to play notes, touch & slide to change the pitch. When you glissando up the keyboard, notes will be notated as a raised value (sharps), when you glissando down, notes will be notated as lowered values (flats). Use the up and down arrows to move chromatically up and down without touching the music staff or piano keyboard.
Tenuto
Enhance your musicality with a comprehensive suite of 24 customizable theory exercises and six essential musical calculators. Practice note and chord identification, ear training, and construct musical elements. Tools include accidentals, intervals, scales, chords, analysis symbols, and twelve-tone matrices.
- 24 customizable theory exercises
- Note and chord identification
- Ear training for intervals and scales
- Musical construction exercises
- Accidental calculator
- Interval calculator
- Chord calculator
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Tenuto is a collection of 24 highly-customizable exercises designed to enhance your musicality. From recognizing chords on a keyboard to identifying intervals by ear, it has an exercise for you. Tenuto also includes six musical calculators for accidentals, intervals, scales, chords, analysis symbols, and twelve-tone matrices. A short description of the exercises and calculators follows. –––––– • Note Identification • Key Signature Identification • Interval Identification • Scale Identification • Chord Identification Tap the button corresponding to the written staff line. For example: if shown a C, E, and G with a sharp; tap the "Augmented Triad" button. –––––– • Note Construction • Key Signature Construction • Interval Construction • Scale Construction • Chord Construction Construct the specified label by moving notes and/or adding accidentals. For example: if shown a C and an "Augmented 4th" label, move the second note to F and add a sharp. –––––– • Keyboard Reverse Identification Tap the piano key corresponding to the written note on the staff. While similar to Note Identification, this exercise uses a piano keyboard rather than note name buttons. • Keyboard Note Identification • Keyboard Interval Identification • Keyboard Scale Identification • Keyboard Chord Identification Tap the button corresponding to the highlighted piano key(s). If the C and G keys are highlighted, tap the "P5" (Perfect 5th) button. –––––– • Fretboard Note Identification • Fretboard Interval Identification • Fretboard Scale Identification • Fretboard Chord Identification Tap the button corresponding to the marked fretboard position(s). If the 2nd fret of the D string is marked, tap the "E" button. –––––– • Keyboard Ear Training • Note Ear Training Listen to the played reference and question notes. Select the piano key or note button corresponding to the question note. • Interval Ear Training • Scale Ear Training • Chord Ear Training Tap the button corresponding to the played notes. If E and F are played, tap the "Minor 2nd" button. –––––– • Accidental Calculator Display the accidental for a note and key. • Interval Calculator Display the interval for a note, type, and key. • Chord Calculator Display the scale for a tonic and scale type. • Chord Calculator Display the chord for a note, type, and key. • Analysis Calculator Display the chord for a symbol and key. • Matrix Calculator Display the twelve-tone matrix for a specified tone row.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Tenuto at 4.8 against Fingering Strings's 4.1. Tenuto also leads on review sentiment (94% vs 64%) and ratings volume (652 vs 23). Fingering Strings's advantage is price ($3.99 vs $4.99). On ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Fingering Strings costs $3.99 and Tenuto $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Tenuto holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tenuto has 652 ratings behind it against 23, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Fingering Strings's written reviews are positive against 94% of Tenuto's.
Fingering Strings ships an update every 10 months, Tenuto every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Fingering Strings | Tenuto |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.1 (23 ratings) | 4.8 (652 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 63.6% of reviews | 94.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 23 | 652 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #4 — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 15.8 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 58 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Patrick Q. Kelly | musictheory.net |
Customer experience
Fingering Strings
Tenuto
Bugs and requests
Fingering Strings
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Tenuto
Reported bugs
5 issues- Sound cuts out
- Unresponsive at times
- Freezes up
- Doesn't work well for guitar
- Incorrect chord/key associations
Requested features
20 requests- Cadences and inversions for ear training
- Chord progressions for ear training
- Melodic and harmonic minor modes for scale recognition
- 6th, 9th, 11th and 13th chord extensions for chord recognition
- Melodic dictation
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- Rhythm exercises
- Fretboard reverse identification
- Chord inversions for chord identification
- Scales written on staff using various clefs
- Rhythm, melodic, and harmonic dictation exercises
- Part writing exercises
- Exercises for form, cadences, etc.
- MIDI support
- Autoplay function
- Ability to input notes/chords on fretboard
- Chord progression ear training
- Inversion options for chord and interval identification
- Melodic and harmonic minor scale identification
- Extended chord identification
- Rhythmic dictation
In-app purchases
Fingering Strings
No in-app purchases
Tenuto
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Fingering Strings free?
Is Tenuto free?
Which has better reviews, Fingering Strings or Tenuto?
Do Fingering Strings or Tenuto have ads?
Which is updated more often, Fingering Strings or Tenuto?
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