Guitar Sight Reading Trainer vs Compás Builder Lite & Play
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Guitar Sight Reading Trainer
Enhance your music reading skills with this app, focusing on fretboard note identification and positional playing. It offers various practice modes, supports numerous scales and tunings, and tracks your progress. Ideal for guitarists looking to improve their ability to read sheet music.
- Note identification on fretboard
- Positional playing focus
- Practice and test modes
- Key signature and scale support
- Customizable fret groups
- Alternate tuning support
- Left-handed guitar support
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Sight-reading skills open the door to reading written music and familiarizing yourself with various music styles. Sight-reading is not a daunting task, and with sufficient practice, anyone can develop this valuable skill. Our app is designed to help you quickly identify notes across every part of the fretboard, with a special focus on positional playing. By enhancing your sight-reading abilities, you'll find it easier to focus on other musical aspects like harmony and rhythm. Features: PRACTICE & TEST MODE - Four different modes of use: 1. Locate notes on the fretboard based on the notes in staff. 2. Locate notes on the fretboard based on note name and pitch. 3. Find the names of notes on the staff (without the fretboard) 4. Identify the names of notes presented on the fretboard. - Automatic detection of problematic notes. KEY SIGNATURES & SCALES - Key signature support, from 1 to 6 sharps or 1 to 6 flats. - Automatic selection of the enharmonic notes for each scale to prevent double sharps or double flats in the key signature. - Scales include major, minor, melodic minor, harmonic minor, blues, pentatonic, and all modal scales. FRETS, STRINGS & NOTE SELECTION - Frets are grouped to limit the number of notes to practice and test. - Predefined fret groups, e.g., 0-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, 0-12, 13-17, etc. - You can define custom fret groups. - The highlighted fret group is displayed on the fretboard. - Your sight-reading progress is tracked per fret group. - The longest streak record per fret group measures your sight-reading accuracy. - You can select specific strings for the highlighted area. - Test notes can be limited to naturals or notes from a selected scale. READ AHEAD - Reading ahead is a crucial skill for effective sight-reading. - You can adjust the number of notes to read ahead. OTHER - More than 15 alternate guitar tunings e.g., drop D, NST (new standard tuning) and all fourths tuning. - Support for left-handed guitars. - Option to display the fretboard in perspective (in landscape mode). - A universal app compatible with iPhone, iPhone Duo, iPad. - Supports all screen sizes. - No ads or in-app purchases. - Dark mode support (iOS 13+). - Tested on iOS and iPadOS 27
Compás Builder Lite & Play
A flamenco music tool offering solo compás playback with an advanced metronome and guitar tuner. It supports all traditional flamenco styles (palos).
- Solo compás playback
- Enhanced metronome
- Guitar tuner
- Supports all palos
- Flamenco music tool
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Flamenco tool to play solo compás, with enhanced metronome and guitar tuner. All palos are supported.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Guitar Sight Reading Trainer at 4.9 against Compás Builder Lite & Play's 3.0. Guitar Sight Reading Trainer also leads on review sentiment (91% vs 50%) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). Compás Builder Lite & Play's advantage is iOS requirement (13.4 vs 26.6). On ads, 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
Guitar Sight Reading Trainer costs $1.99 and Compás Builder Lite & Play $8.99 up front. Compás Builder Lite & Play sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Guitar Sight Reading Trainer asks for nothing beyond the download.
Guitar Sight Reading Trainer holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Guitar Sight Reading Trainer has 16 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Guitar Sight Reading Trainer's written reviews are positive against 50% of Compás Builder Lite & Play's.
Guitar Sight Reading Trainer ships an update every 2 months, Compás Builder Lite & Play every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Guitar Sight Reading Trainer | Compás Builder Lite & Play |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $8.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (16 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.6% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 16 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 9 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.6 | 13.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rolfs Apps | Herbert Dapper |
Customer experience
Guitar Sight Reading Trainer
Compás Builder Lite & Play
Bugs and requests
Guitar Sight Reading Trainer
Reported bugs
3 issues- Sound does not work (resolved by turning off mute)
- Bug for lefties: string isolation incorrect
- App does not launch on iPhone 3g
Requested features
34 requests- Ukulele version
- See whole fretboard at once in landscape
- Disable timer altogether
- Choose any range of fretboard for testing
- Use sheet music for actual sight reading
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- Standalone chord trainer
- Real guitar interface to play notes
- Option to see whole fretboard at once
- Pause button
- Smarter re-testing of weak points
- Play answers back on a real guitar without touching screen
- Generate short musical phrases for sight reading
- Add intervals mode
- Chords or double stops
- Scales mode
- Save and restore settings
- Better visualization of stats
- Tweak random generator to avoid repeated notes
- Concentrate on problem notes
- Moveable SOL-FA
- Option to only display note on selected string
- Melody trainer
- Easier to touch open string options
- Bass guitar version
- Fretless bass version
- Option to leave sharps and flats off
- Review lesson showing notes on certain strings
- Test on more than one note at a time
- Pick a key or scale to be tested in
- Dark mode
- Advanced analytics dashboard
- Option to change fretboard presentation
- Bass guitar support (5 string)
- Switch to bass clef
Compás Builder Lite & Play
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Guitar Sight Reading Trainer
No in-app purchases
Compás Builder Lite & Play
- Compás Builder Upgrade$17.99
Questions
Is Guitar Sight Reading Trainer free?
Is Compás Builder Lite & Play free?
Which has better reviews, Guitar Sight Reading Trainer or Compás Builder Lite & Play?
Do Guitar Sight Reading Trainer or Compás Builder Lite & Play have ads?
Which is updated more often, Guitar Sight Reading Trainer or Compás Builder Lite & Play?
Other comparisons
