Mouth Harp vs Hand Drums
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mouth Harp
This app simulates the sound of a mouth harp, a folk instrument. By touching the screen to your lips and adjusting your mouth cavity, you can alter the instrument's sound, similar to a "wah wah" pedal effect on a guitar. An in-app guide helps new users learn to play.
- Mouth harp sound simulation
- Touchscreen interface
- Adjustable mouth cavity effect
- Interactive "hot spots" guide
- Folk instrument sounds
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The mouth harp is a small folk instrument also known as a jaw harp or jew's harp. When you hold it to your mouth and change the size of your mouth cavity, the sound of the instrument changes, similar to a guitar played through a "wah wah" pedal. To play the mouth harp app: 1) Touch the iPhone screen to your lips. 2) Tap the thin end of the mouth harp to hear a "twang" sound. 3) Move your lips further apart or closer together to change the frequency response of the sound. If you're having trouble, tap the (?) icon to show the "hot spots" on the screen. To see how the app works before you buy it, to send feedback or to request help, please visit http://www.mouthharpapp.com. >>> If you have a problem or a suggestion, please contact me before writing a bad review. I have no way to respond or help you if you publish your complaints in a review, but I respond promptly to all emails. <<<
Hand Drums
Explore a collection of 25 professionally recorded hand drums, including bongos, congas, and djembes. Play along to a metronome, custom beats, or your own music library. Record and share your drumming creations.
- 25 professionally recorded hand drums
- Play along to metronome, beats, and loops
- Record and share drumming sessions
- Pitch and roll controls
- Play along with iPod music
- Visual 3D effects
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If you've always wanted to play the bongos, conga, or any other hand drum, or already know how, Hand Drums Free is for you! Easy to use, extremely fun and entertaining, Hand Drums Free features 25 unique hand drums, including Bongos, Conga, Djembe, Doumbek, Cajon, Tabla and more, all professionally recorded in high quality 16 bit stereo. You can play alone, to a metronome, or to unique Pocket Beats and Loops. You can even play along to the music on your iPod right from within Hand Drums Free. With features including pitch control, ability to share and export your recordings (optional in-app purchase), metronome, drum rolls, drum loops, and more, you'll sound like a pro from the moment you start playing! FEATURES: • 25 different hand drums, all professionally recorded in high-quality 16-bit stereo: Bendir, Bongo, Bongo Jam, Boudran, Cajon, Conga, Djembe, Doumbek, Duff, Electronic Drums, Frame Drum, Frame Drum with Bells, Mini Djembe, Pakhawaj, Snare & Bass, Tabla, Talking Drum, Tambourine, Timbale, and Tom Tom, with more to follow. • 4 Unique Playing Zones on each drum create a realistic drumming experience. • Share your recordings through email, Facebook, and Twitter • Export your recordings to your computer (optional in-app purchase) • Visual 3D effect when drums are hit maximizes the drumming experience • Metronome with 43 sounds to choose from and variable speed switch (BPM) • 67 Pocket Beats and Loops to play along to • PlayAlong Beats: 16 new loops with basic bass drum, hi-hat or snare beats, to play along for added rhythmic expression! • Slide your finger between the drums • Shake your device to play sounds to your favorite music • Play drum heads simultaneously • Play along with your favorite music by easily accessing your iPod music right from within Hand Drums Free • Volume controls for both the drum sounds and music • Pitch control allows for unlimited drum sounds • Rolls on drums with variable speed adjustment (BPM) • Using headphones will allow you to fully enjoy the high quality sounds of Hand Drums Free PRIVACY POLICY: http://codyrotwein.com/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Hand Drums at 4.0 against Mouth Harp's 3.3. Hand Drums also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 19 months). Mouth Harp's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume 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. Hand Drums sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Mouth Harp asks for nothing beyond the download.
Hand Drums holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 11 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 40% of Mouth Harp's written reviews are positive against 17% of Hand Drums's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Mouth Harp ships an update every 19 months, Hand Drums every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mouth Harp | Hand Drums |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (4 ratings) | 4.0 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 40.0% of reviews — better | 16.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 11 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 19 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 62 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Arlo Leach | Drum Starz |
Customer experience
Mouth Harp
Hand Drums
In-app purchases
Mouth Harp
No in-app purchases
Hand Drums
- Hand Drums Upgrade$0.99
- Exporting$0.99









