Comparison

Band vs First 5 Notes

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

Head to head
About

Band

Create professional backing tracks for songs in minutes by simply entering chords. Explore thousands of musical styles and generate realistic accompaniments with real musicians. Visualize your music through notation, tabs, and interactive instrument displays.

Highlights
  • Instant backing track generation
  • Thousands of musical styles
  • RealTracks with real musicians
  • Chord sheet and notation display
  • Interactive instrument visualizations
  • Generated solos for improvisation
  • Seamless file management and export
Features
Read full description

Band-in-a-Box® for iOS – Your Personal Backing Band! Band-in-a-Box for iOS is a powerful music creation tool that works as a standalone version of the popular award-winning desktop software. Now, you can create, play, generate, and transfer songs directly on your iPhone or iPad—anytime, anywhere! Includes chords, professional lead sheet and notation display and print out of chords, melody, lyrics, tab and more! Create A Professional Arrangement in Two Minutes Building a song from scratch takes less than two minutes! Simply type in any chord progression using standard chord symbols (e.g., D, B7, C/E), choose from thousands of styles, and press play—Band-in-a-Box instantly generates full backing tracks that sound incredible, thanks to our industry-leading RealTracks, featuring real musicians playing real instruments. Not only can you hear your song, but you can see it too—watch it play on the guitar fretboard, in tab, or in standard notation. Key Features: Band-in-a-Box® for iOS is so easy to use! – Create, play, and arrange great sounding songs easily. Includes chords, professional lead sheet notation, and the ability to display and print chords, melody, lyrics, tabs, and more. Thousands of Styles – Choose from an extensive library of genres: jazz, rock, pop, country, blues, hip-hop, EDM, punk, Americana, world, and more! Instant Backing Tracks – Generates MIDI and RealTracks accompaniments in seconds. RealTracks & RealStyles – Enjoy high-quality, real-instrument backing tracks. Generated Solos – Band-in-a-Box not only creates backing tracks, but will also generate solos based on your custom chord progression—an excellent tool for learning and improvisation! Chord Sheet & Notation – View songs on the chord sheet, professional notation, tablature, and drum notation. Interactive Instrument Displays – Watch MIDI notes being played on the guitar fretboard or piano keyboard in real-time. Seamless File Management – Load and save individual or zipped song files. Export, print, and share via AirDrop, Messages, Email, and more. Customizable Display Options – Works in both portrait and landscape mode, with a choice of dark mode or light mode. Record Your Own Melodies – Capture your ideas by recording directly to the melody or soloist track using a MIDI controller. Mixer & Editing Tools – Adjust instrument volume, edit chords, and fine-tune your tracks with the Chord Sheet Editor. Song Demos – Browse and listen to demo songs in different styles to find the perfect sound for your track. Built-in Help & Tips – A handy HELP button provides guidance and useful tips on using the app. …and much more! Perfect for Musicians, Songwriters, and Educators Band-in-a-Box for iOS is the perfect tool for practicing improvisation and music theory, songwriting, and music production. Whether you’re learning your favorite songs, experimenting with different musical patterns, or composing new tracks in minutes, this app is for you! Band-in-a-Box® for iOS – Your Ultimate Songwriting & Practice Companion!

About

First 5 Notes

Learn to read, finger, and play the first five notes on ten different band instruments. This app offers a clear learning path for beginners, with the first five notes available for free forever. Unlock additional notes and fingerings with a one-time purchase per instrument.

Highlights
  • Learn first five notes
  • Supports ten band instruments
  • Read, finger, and play notes
  • Tuner locks in pitch
  • One-time purchase for full range
  • No internet connection needed
Features
Read full description

Just got your instrument? Start here. First 5 Notes helps beginning band students learn to read, finger, and play their first five notes for free. Then keep going: keys, songs, rhythm, and games that use every note you know. First 5 Notes also runs free in any web browser, including school Chromebooks, at first5notes.virtunity.io, in English and Spanish. Choose from 16 instrument options: alto sax, baritone (bass clef), baritone (treble clef), baritone sax, bass clarinet, bassoon, bells, Bells - Low Octave, clarinet, flute, French horn, oboe, tenor sax, trombone, trumpet, and tuba. ONE PAGE FOR YOUR INSTRUMENT Pick your instrument and everything is in five sections: Notes, Keys, Songs, Rhythm, and Arcade. Practice today puts together a 5, 10 or 15 minute plan from the steps you have reached. NOTES: A LEARNING PATH BUILT BY A BAND DIRECTOR 1. NAME THE NOTE - read each note on the staff and choose its name. 2. KNOW THE FINGERING - study the fingerings, match them to notes, and listen to a reference pitch. Trombone uses slide positions. 3. PLAY THE NOTE - play into the microphone and hold the note steady until the tuner confirms the pitch. Then learn a song on your first five notes and open the arcade. KEYS Practice four notes at a time in the band keys, starting with the notes you already know. Each key uses the same three steps, and its games open when you finish them. SONGS Every song in one place: familiar songs like Ode to Joy and Hot Cross Buns, plus 28 folk songs from around the world. Tap any song to hear it. Familiar songs come with a band: hear it, play along, then play it on your own. Each song shows the lessons you need before you can learn to play it, then walks you through it one phrase at a time. RHYTHM 21 rhythm levels, from the steady beat to the rhythms in the songs. Tap the beat, tap the rhythm, then play it on your instrument. Levels 1 to 4 are free; the rest open with your instrument's Full Range or a First 5 Notes Classroom program. ARCADE Five short games: Note Rush, Call and Response, Fingering Flash, Long Tones, and Dynamics. They start with every note you know. Each game keeps your Best, so there is always a score to beat. THE FIRST FIVE NOTES ARE FREE Every instrument option includes its first five notes with no trial or time limit. No student account is needed for free practice. GOING FURTHER? A one-time $4.99 Full Range purchase opens the remaining lessons, keys, rhythm levels and song practice for your instrument. Individual instrument purchases have no subscription. Family Sharing is supported for App Store purchases. Prices may vary by country or region. SCHOOL PROGRAM ACCESS If your band program provides First 5 Notes Classroom access, enter your director's program code and shared passphrase to open the full ranges included in the app while your program access is active. No individual student account or roster is required. FOR PARENTS AND DIRECTORS - No ads or advertising tracking. - Microphone audio is analyzed on the device. It is not recorded, saved, or uploaded. - A parental gate comes before purchases and adult account controls. - Optional parent sign-in restores website purchases. - Free practice works offline after installation. Purchases, sign-in, and access checks need internet. Website purchases require a check-in within 30 days; school-program access requires a check-in within 24 hours and an active program term. - Progress and practice plans stay on this device, with separate progress for each instrument option. RECORDED INSTRUMENT SOUNDS With thanks to the Philharmonia Orchestra in London for making its instrument recordings freely available. We edited the samples for short notes and sustained practice. Not every instrument or note uses these recordings. https://philharmonia.co.uk/resources/sound-samples/ Built by a band director and private lesson teacher who teaches beginners every week. From the maker of Virtunity: virtunity.io.

Screenshots

Band4 screens
First 5 Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: First 5 Notes at 5.0 against Band's 4.0. First 5 Notes also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). Band's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ratings volume (40 vs 4). On price and ads 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

Both are free to download. First 5 Notes sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Band asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

First 5 Notes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Band has 40 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Band ships an update every 2 months, First 5 Notes weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Band versus First 5 Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBandFirst 5 Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (40 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews23.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings40 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size771 MB482 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPG Music Inc.Justin Berchtold

Customer experience

Band

All ratings40 ratings
Positive67.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews232 reviews
Positive23.7%
Neutral6.5%
Negative69.8%

First 5 Notes

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Band

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • App crashes when saving songs
  • Changes to chords, styles, and form not applied to playback
  • Cannot generate RealTracks, only MIDI output
  • Notation feature shows whole bar rests instead of arrangements
  • Playback sync lag with chord display (2+ measures behind)
Show 12 more
  • Cursor position out of range during playback
  • App freezes when touching song title area
  • Files not saving to local storage or Files app
  • Song data loss after updates
  • Instrument settings not persisting
  • Server connection failures and timeouts
  • Transpose function disappeared in recent updates
  • Style gets stuck and won't change
  • Inconsistent RealTracks generation
  • Pick server option missing in some versions
  • Screen controls hidden on iPhone due to notch design
  • App doesn't rotate to landscape mode

Requested features

16 requests
  • Loop function for specific song segments
  • Transpose functionality for practice in all keys
  • Multiple chords per measure entry
  • Ability to change key automatically for transposing instruments
  • Mute individual instruments
Show 11 more
  • Change instrument types (electric to acoustic)
  • Adjust instrument volume levels
  • Go To and Loop conductor features
  • Change number of choruses on mobile device
  • Landscape orientation support
  • Offline editing capabilities without server connection
  • Manual and comprehensive documentation
  • Export to email and messaging apps
  • Better Mac OS compatibility
  • Rotate portrait orientation 180 degrees
  • Standalone functionality without desktop BIAB required

First 5 Notes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Band

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

First 5 Notes

One-time10
  • Trumpet Full Range$4.99
  • Tenor Sax Full Range$4.99
  • Baritone Full Range$4.99
Show 7 more
  • French Horn Full Range$4.99
  • Tuba Full Range$4.99
  • Bells Full Range$4.99
  • Bassoon Full Range$4.99
  • Bass Clarinet Full Range$4.99
  • Oboe Full Range$4.99
  • Baritone Sax Full Range$4.99

Questions

Is Band free?
Band is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is First 5 Notes free?
First 5 Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Band or First 5 Notes?
First 5 Notes is rated higher. Band averages 4.0 out of 5 from 40 ratings, while First 5 Notes averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Band or First 5 Notes have ads?
Neither Band nor First 5 Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Band or First 5 Notes?
Band ships an update every 2 months, and First 5 Notes weekly. Most recently, Band was updated on November 10, 2026 and First 5 Notes on October 31, 2026.

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