Comparison

iImprov vs ScalePlay

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

Head to head
About

iImprov

This app helps jazz musicians of all levels master modal improvisation. It offers detailed explanations of theory, scale relationships, and practical exercises with audio and JAM-A-longs in various keys and styles. Tailored for modal tunes, it covers minor modal, 7 sus 4, and Major 7#4 progressions.

Highlights
  • Modal improvisation theory
  • Scale and chord relation explanations
  • Pentatonic scale usage
  • Audio and visual scale examples
  • Interactive JAM-A-longs
  • Adjustable tempo and instrument balance
  • Transposition selection
Features
Read full description

iImprov-Modal is the 2nd release from Jazz Apps Mobile LLC. It is part of a series created for jazz musicians of all levels to help them take on specific challenges that any improvising musician will encounter. Each one contains a full explanation of all the concepts and theory involved as well as written and audio examples and exercises. Each app contains JAM-A-longs in all keys with adjustable tempo and control of instrument balance. Each iImprov app also allows you to select the correct transposition for your instrument. iImprov-Modal specifically provides the tools for confidently playing over modal tunes. The main focus of the app is playing over minor modal tunes, however we have also covered playing over 7 sus 4 modal tunes and Major 7#4 tunes. Exercises and JAM-A-longs specific to each of these types of tunes are included. Features- Full explanation of the concepts involved. Detailed theory of note to chord relations and use of modal scales. Detailed theory of how to use pentatonic scales, including how to play “outside.” Audio and visual representation of the related scales. Audio playback of the scales played over the appropriate chords. Exercises that include live audio examples from saxophonist Tony Bray. JAM-A-longs for Minor Modal (Swing and Funk). JAM-A-longs for 7 sus 4. JAM-A-longs for Major 7#4. Each JAM-A-long was recorded individually in order to give variation for each key. Mixer control for the JAM-A-Long instruments. Tempo control for each JAM-A-long. Unlimited JAM-A-long loop length.

About

ScalePlay

This app generates intricate musical patterns and sequences using complex scale theory. It's a powerful tool for both music production and education, offering scale references, virtual instruments, and interactive playback features.

Highlights
  • Generates intricate ostinatos and sequences
  • Applies complex scale patterns
  • User-defined songforms and chord changes
  • Scale references for hundreds of scales
  • Nine virtual instruments and 128 sounds
  • Visualizes scale relations
  • Interactive playback with generated patterns
Features
Read full description

ScalePlay is a generative music app capable of producing the most intricate ostinatos and sequences by applying complex scale patterns over user defined songforms and chord changes. It can be used in music production and is also a fantastic tool for music education. It includes scale references for hundreds of scales, nine virtual instruments and 128 instrument sounds. Its unique set of features allows the musician to visualize scale relations and to play along with generated patterns. Modern musicians often practice playing scales according to organizing principles like thirds. What is meant by that is to play a scale tone, then its third, then the second scale tone, the third on top of that one and so forth. The exercise would result in the scale tones 1, 3, 2, 4, 3, 5, etc. Not an easy feat at first, because before even getting started, one has to know the base scale. Playing patterns through different keys and scale types finally is a demanding task even for advanced musicians. ScalePlay constructs patterns like these and much more complicated ones by using two simple grids. Grids have been around in music apps for years, but they are based on half-tone steps and include all available notes of the spectrum. That leaves one difficulty on the table, namely that of correctly identifying the notes of a scale. These grids also don’t easily allow for patterning as in our scale in thirds. So a different solution is called for and ScalePlay provides just that and so much more. In the application songs are used as metaphor to organize different scale types into a harmonic context. They are constructed with chords which in turn determine what scale types are available at a given time. During playback the app then cycles through these virtual chords or as with TouchPlay allows to call them up at will. This architecture is very helpful for superimposing ScalePlay patterns over existing pieces and even practicing improvising over changes. For practicing ScalePlay shows a pattern's progression on the built-in instrument and also provides a music notation reference. One can slow things down to need and play along. With the pattern lock feature all patterns can be kept in the same general vicinity. So instead of raising all scale tones when a base chord moves from C to G for example, patterns stay in place. This allows guitarists to practice scale patterns over changes while remaining in the same position. ScalePlay is also a fabulous generative music app. That is because of the magic that happens when these self-repeating scale structures are put in motion. Fantastic music occurs. Since ScalePlay supports virtual MIDI and can be recorded into any iOS based DAW. It also features TouchPlay for advanced looping. With TouchPlay scale structures can be looped endlessly and out of order. The TouchPlay environment is superimposed over ScalePlay's main interface and allows live switching between different scale types with the tap of a finger in continuous or full pattern mode. Of course ScalePlay supports multi-app multitasking as well as split-view and split-screen to make this feature even more useful. Instruments • Banjo, Bass, Cello, Double Bass, Guitar, Mandolin, Piano, Viola, Violin Some other Features: • 211 scale types • Virtual MIDI • Advanced looping with TouchPlay • Full general MIDI instrument library

Screenshots

iImprov4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ScalePlay at 4.9 against iImprov's 3.0. ScalePlay also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 28 months) and ratings volume (10 vs 2). iImprov's advantage is price ($3.99 vs $9.99) and device support (3 vs 1). On review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

iImprov costs $3.99 and ScalePlay $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ScalePlay holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ScalePlay has 10 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of iImprov's written reviews are positive against 71% of ScalePlay's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iImprov ships an update every 28 months, ScalePlay every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
iImprov versus ScalePlay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriImprovScalePlay
Price$3.99 — better$9.99
Rating3.0 (2 ratings)4.9 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.4% of reviews71.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings210 — better
Update frequencyEvery 28 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJazz Apps Mobile LLCRoGame Software

Customer experience

iImprov

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive68.4%
Neutral5.3%
Negative26.3%

ScalePlay

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral28.6%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

iImprov

No in-app purchases

None

ScalePlay

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iImprov free?
iImprov costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ScalePlay free?
ScalePlay costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iImprov or ScalePlay?
ScalePlay is rated higher. iImprov averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while ScalePlay averages 4.9 from 10 ratings.
Do iImprov or ScalePlay have ads?
Neither iImprov nor ScalePlay shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iImprov or ScalePlay?
iImprov ships an update every 28 months, and ScalePlay every 3 months. Most recently, iImprov was updated on October 7, 2026 and ScalePlay on September 24, 2026.

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