Pro Band vs Drum Notation by Beat Note
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pro Band
Play along with high-quality, professionally produced backing tracks featuring live musicians. This app allows you to adjust key and tempo, record and share your solos, and access detailed chord charts and scale fingerings for practice and learning.
- High-quality live musician backing tracks
- Adjustable key and tempo
- Record, mix, and share solos
- Detailed chord charts and scale fingerings
- In-app track store with bundles
- Play through effects apps or Audiobus
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Pro Band Backing Tracks will give you the amazing experience of playing along with pro musicians on a wide variety of styles, grooves and tempos. These high quality, professionally produced tracks are not midi or sequencer-based. They have been produced with real live studio musicians, so the feel is real. Join the 100,000+ users of Pro Band!!! "This product is superb! The backing tracks are very well produced." "The quality of the tracks are awesome and the ability to change key and tempo creates endless variety. Awesome app!" "I rarely write reviews, but this is an app that deserves a great review. If you're looking for an app to practice with, this is it! " "Mark Fitchett and the app developer have done a great job continuing to develop and support the app. It is a perfect companion for jamming and practicing. " "I purchased all the bundles and use this app to practice every day, definitely worth every penny!!" "Best app to learn scales." "What a great app this is! It is simple to use, with a clean interface." Pro Band makes it easy to record, mix and share your solos! Play and record through any effect App or use Audiobus. Share you solos with the Pro Band Community, Facebook, Twitter or iTunes in just one step! Find shared solos directly from within the Pro Band app, tap on the like button! You can browse shared solos by popularity and by date! Like no other App, you can re-mix and re-play your solo in any key and tempo! And you can do the same for any solos shared by other Pro Band users. There's truly no limit to what you can do with Pro Band! Much thought and consideration has been put into each one of the tracks to make them representative of the many diverse elements found in guitar-driven music. Tracks specifically for Bass players and Drummers are available too! PRO BAND OFFERS THE GREATEST RANGE OF BACKING TRACKS AVAILABLE ANYWHERE! All Pro Band tracks can be PLAYED IN ANY KEY AND TEMPO. It includes detailed CHORD CHARTS for every track in every key with a synchronized cursor that follows the progression, so you can follow it while you play. Mark has selected appropriate SCALE FINGERING for each track, so you'll see exactly how to start to build up your skills, including following scale changes throughout the track. The Pro Band Track Store has over 100 tracks to purchase in many bundles for guitar players, bass players and even drummers! You can hear a sample of every track available at the Pro Band Track Store. Bundles include: - Pentatonic Blues - Classic Other Blues, inspired by R&B, Gospel, Country, Latin - Pentatonic Rock - Modes - Acoustic Blues - Jazz - Blues & Rock for Bass Players (no bass) - Blues & Rock for Drummers (no drums) - Eclectic Pro Band comes with two tracks: Stevie's House and Run That Way. Dozens of other tracks are available as in-app purchases individually or in our popular lower-priced bundles of tracks that can save up to 60%! Buy a bundle, save a bundle! Note from producer Mark Fitchett: Being a guitarist myself, I know what I like when it comes to jamming with a band so it is with utmost confidence that I can say that Pro Band Backing Tracks groove and inspire. I'll admit that I am biased, after all I did create them, but I absolutely love playing and practicing to them myself and use them all the time.
Drum Notation by Beat Note
Create, practice, and share drum music notation with ease. This app transforms sequenced beats into professional sheet music, offering tools for composition, transcription, and interactive teaching. Enhance your drumming journey with customizable practice sessions and high-quality export options.
- Sequencer to notation conversion
- Compose and transcribe drum beats
- Customizable practice sessions
- Interactive teaching tools
- High-quality PDF and image export
- Multiple notation voicing options
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Beat Note — Drum Notation for Drummers, Teachers, and Content Creators The fastest way to write, hear, practice, and share drum notation. Built by a drummer, for drummers. FOR DRUMMERS — FROM YOUR HEAD TO THE PAGE IN SECONDS You have a groove idea. Beat Note gets it down before you lose it. Tap the sequencer grid to build beats. Watch them turn into clean, professional drum notation in real time. Hit play and hear exactly what you wrote — at any tempo, with a click track, on loop. - Transcribe songs to check your ear and lock in what you hear - Compose your own grooves, fills, and exercises from scratch - Count in with a visual on-screen "1, 2, 3, 4" so your eyes and ears are ready together - Use Beat Note as your in-ear metronome during rehearsals — your beats, not just clicks "Been waiting a long time for an app like this. Clearly built by a drummer." — App Store review FOR TEACHERS — WRITE IT, PLAY IT, SEND IT What used to take 30 minutes in a desktop notation program now takes 2 minutes on your phone or iPad. Write exercises on the fly — during the lesson, not after it. Play back the notation so students hear exactly how it should sound. Share a link so they can listen at home. Export a PDF they can print and bring to the kit. - Use the sequencer as a live music whiteboard, in person or online - Build a library of exercises organized by tag, ready for any student - Send a shareable link or export a high-quality PDF in one tap "What would normally take 30 minutes on a computer has become 2 minutes from my mobile device. My students love it." — App Store review FOR CONTENT CREATORS — PROFESSIONAL NOTATION VIDEOS, IN MINUTES Export your beat as an animated MP4 — portrait for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, or landscape for YouTube and Vimeo. Choose 720p, 1080p, or 4K. Pick a color theme. Preview before you export. PDF, PNG, WAV or AAC audio, shareable link, and animated MP4 — all from one app. NOTATION THAT LOOKS RIGHT Professional drum notation, consistent across every format you export. What you see on screen is what your students get in the PDF, what your followers see in the video, and what you hear in playback. - All standard drums, cymbals, and articulations - Subdivisions from 8th notes to 32nd notes, plus triplets, quintuplets (5s), and septuplets (7s) - Common and compound time signatures, including 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8 - Linear, split hands/feet, or split drums/cymbals voicing - Sticking annotations (R, L) - Single-measure repeat symbol (%) — renders automatically when measures repeat ORGANIZE AND DISCOVER - Tags, search, and sort to manage your beat library - Discover tab: curated educational beats for all skill levels - Beat templates to get started fast - Customize tempo, click track, count-in, and timer MADE BY A DRUMMER, SHAPED BY THE COMMUNITY Beat Note was built by me — an independent developer with 35+ years behind the kit. But the direction comes from the community. Every major feature on the roadmap has been voted on, requested, and refined by drummers, teachers, and creators just like you. Join the conversation at roadmap.beat-note.app — vote on upcoming features, share ideas, and see what's coming next. I'm here to make sure it all comes together into something that actually works. Premium subscription required for full access. Educator and Creator tiers available. Free trial included. Payment is charged through your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period via iTunes Account Settings. Terms and Privacy Policy: https://www.beat-note.app/privacy-and-terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Drum Notation by Beat Note at 4.6 against Pro Band's 2.9. Drum Notation by Beat Note also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (83% vs 62%). Pro Band's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.6). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Pro Band sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Drum Notation by Beat Note sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $6.69 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Drum Notation by Beat Note holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 34 and 87 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of Pro Band's written reviews are positive against 83% of Drum Notation by Beat Note's.
Pro Band ships an update every 2 months, Drum Notation by Beat Note every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pro Band | Drum Notation by Beat Note |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.9 (34 ratings) | 4.6 (87 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 61.8% of reviews | 83.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 34 | 87 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 90 MB | 88 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ENCLAYVE GROUP LLC | Kick Snare Hat Apps, LLC |
Customer experience
Pro Band
Drum Notation by Beat Note
Bugs and requests
Pro Band
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Drum Notation by Beat Note
Reported bugs
8 issues- Preview rarely matches notes on staff
- Sometimes doesn't play any notes
- Sounds not always appropriate for instrument voicing
- Editing measures is inconvenient
- Free trial charged immediately
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- iCloud data sync issues for subscription confirmation
- Not stable in loopings, slow delay on first note
- Measure lines on PDFs too thick and close
Requested features
27 requests- 7/8 time signature support
- Syncing between devices
- Web version
- Native Mac/Windows apps
- Add text or notes to notations
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- Cowbell instrument
- More drum samples and pitch control
- Ability to work on spaces longer than a measure
- Add 32nd notes
- Duplicate multiple bars at once
- Copy/paste large sections
- Option to drag duplicated bars to the end
- Add melody track
- More instrument options
- Ability to manage volumes of different instruments
- Add quintuplets and sextuplets to a bar
- Add repetition options for measures
- Add text to music sheets
- Improve loop stability and reduce delay
- Allow monthly subscription option
- More free beats/unlimited free version
- Add sticking for grace notes
- More advanced editing options for multiple bars
- Improve PDF export readability
- Add virtual drum kit for accessibility
- AI-powered automatic notation
- Auto-sync to track
In-app purchases
Pro Band
- Practice Looper$1.99
- 8 Blues Tracks$3.99
- Eclectic Styles Bundle #1$3.99
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- Acoustic Blues Bundle$3.99
- 8 Rock Tracks$3.99
- 14 Track Mode Bundle: Parallel and Derivative$4.99
- Jazz Bundle Volume 1$4.99
- Emi Pentatonic - All 16 Tracks$5.99
- Blues Volume #2: 18-Track Bundle$5.99
- Bass Bundle$5.99
- Super Mode Jams!$5.99
- Ultimate Blues Package$12.99
Drum Notation by Beat Note
- Educator Tier Monthly (No Trial)$6.691 Month
- Creator Tier Monthly (No Trial)$13.491 Month
- Educator Tier Annual (No Trial)$59.991 Year
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- Educator Tier Annual + Free Trial7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Creator Tier Annual + Free Trial7 Days trial$119.991 Year
Questions
Is Pro Band free?
Is Drum Notation by Beat Note free?
Which has better reviews, Pro Band or Drum Notation by Beat Note?
Do Pro Band or Drum Notation by Beat Note have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pro Band or Drum Notation by Beat Note?
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