Comparison

E vs Essential Guitar Note Trainer

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

Head to head
About

E

Learn acoustic guitar basics and chords with interactive lessons. Progress from fundamental techniques to playing full songs, even if you have no prior musical experience. Features hands-free practice with auto-scrolling tablatures.

Highlights
  • 12 original lessons
  • Theory, explanations, tablatures, and video
  • Auto-scrolling tablature
  • No prior musical knowledge required
  • Hands-free practice
  • Learn chords and fingerings
Features
Read full description

Play and understand the basics of acoustic guitar chords and fingerings in less than two months! - No musical knowledge is required to use this app - Includes 12 original lessons of increasing difficulty: theory, explanations, tablatures and video for each lesson - Auto-scrolling tablature (hands-free practice) - Lesson 1: Take your Guitar - How to hold your guitar - Notes on the neck, tuning - Reading tablatures: Boogie in E - Lesson 2: Arpeggios - Right hand fingering - Simple arpeggios with bass note melody - Lesson 3: What is a chord? - Play E minor and A minor chords - Fingering - Chord charts - Lesson 4: Play with a pick - The C major chord - Downstrokes and upstrokes picking - Lesson 5: The Folk rhythm - The G major chord - From C → G, and addition of notes to chords - Hammer-on - Lesson 6: Three beats rhythm - The D major chord - Progression: G → D → Am → C - Lesson 7: Chords arpeggios - The D minor chord - Thumb plays the root note of the chord - Lesson 8: Palm mute - The E major and A major chords - Back and forth playing - Mute sound with your palm - Lesson 9: Minor barred chords - Learning notes on the neck - The A and E minor barred positions - Swing rhythm - Lesson 10: Country Club - The E major barred position - Add a 7th note to your chords - Lesson 11: The C barred chord - The A major barred positions - Variation on the D chord - The C9 chord - Lesson 12: 12-bar Blues (in E) - Classic acoustic shuffle - A more organic shuffle feel - A groovy, more rhythmic blues - Apply chords, rhythm and simple embellishments Enjoy this app!

About

Essential Guitar Note Trainer

Master the guitar fretboard with focused, adaptive practice sessions. Learn every note on every string using spaced repetition to build lasting recall. Track your progress through five mastery stages and customize your learning experience.

Highlights
  • Spaced repetition learning
  • Adaptive practice sessions
  • Five mastery stages
  • Customizable fret range and strings
  • Offline functionality
  • No ads or accounts
Features
Read full description

Stop guessing where the notes live. Essential Guitar Note Trainer turns the fretboard into something you actually know — not something you have to think about. Short, focused sessions teach you every note on every string with spaced repetition, the same memory technique used by serious language learners. Open the app, tap START, and a single note appears. Find it on the fretboard. The app remembers what you got right, what you guessed, and what's slipping — and brings each note back exactly when you need to see it again. WHAT YOU GET • A guided path through all 6 strings in standard tuning • Spaced repetition that adapts to how well you actually know each note • Five mastery stages — New, Learning, Building, Strong, Mastered — so you can see your progress instead of guessing at it • A full fretboard map that fills in as you learn • Short, long, or continuous practice rounds — fit it into a coffee break or a longer session MAKE IT YOURS • Pick your fret range (5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 17, 19, or all 24) • Choose which strings to drill • Filter to naturals only, or pick your own notes • Labels in sharps, flats, both, or random — train the way you think • Choose an optional Time Pressure - count down or count up. HONEST AND SIMPLE • Start free with every note up to the 3rd fret. Subscribe to unlock the entire fretboard and learn the notes everywhere — cancel anytime. • No ads. No accounts. No data harvesting. • Works offline. • Your progress stays on your device. Built for guitarists at every level — from people picking up the instrument for the first time to players who've been winging it for years and finally want to stop. Practice ten minutes a day and the fretboard becomes a map you can read. Terms of Use (EULA): https://antair.com/essential-guitar-note-trainer-terms-of-use.html Privacy Policy: https://antair.com/essential-guitar-note-trainer-privacy-policy.html

Screenshots

E4 screens
Essential Guitar Note Trainer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: E at 5.0 against Essential Guitar Note Trainer's 4.0. E also leads on monetization model (free vs freemium). Essential Guitar Note Trainer's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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. E sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Essential Guitar Note Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

E holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

E ships an update every 2 months, Essential Guitar Note Trainer every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
E versus Essential Guitar Note Trainer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEEssential Guitar Note Trainer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size192 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid PalmerioAntair Corporation

Customer experience

E

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Essential Guitar Note Trainer

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

E

One-time1
  • Unlock All Lessons$3.99
1 purchases

Essential Guitar Note Trainer

One-time1
  • Full Fretboard — Lifetime$4.99

Questions

Is E free?
E is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Essential Guitar Note Trainer free?
Essential Guitar Note Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, E or Essential Guitar Note Trainer?
E is rated higher. E averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Essential Guitar Note Trainer averages 4.0 from 2 ratings.
Do E or Essential Guitar Note Trainer have ads?
Neither E nor Essential Guitar Note Trainer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, E or Essential Guitar Note Trainer?
E ships an update every 2 months, and Essential Guitar Note Trainer every 6 weeks. Most recently, E was updated on November 1, 2026 and Essential Guitar Note Trainer on November 5, 2026.

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