Comparison

Flashnote Derby vs StaffWars Live

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

Head to head
About

Flashnote Derby

This app transforms music note learning into an engaging game for young musicians. It offers various ways to practice and play, with customizable drills to suit any student's level. Track progress and make learning fun, whether at home or in lessons.

Highlights
  • Gamified note recognition races
  • Practice mode with no timer
  • Play notes on instrument or MIDI
  • On-screen piano keyboard input
  • Customizable clefs and note ranges
  • Multiple engaging themes
  • Teacher tools for assignments and progress tracking
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Flashnote Derby is a fun, effective way for kids to learn to read music through fast-paced note flashcard games. Perfect for piano, guitar, band, orchestra, and general music students, this teacher-created app turns note recognition into an engaging game that works equally well at home or in music lessons. ———— Learn to Read Music — Fast Each race is a fast-paced challenge: identify notes correctly as you learn to read music faster and speed your horse toward the finish line. Missed or slow answers allow the other horse to catch up. After each round, students can review the notes they missed— turning every race into a meaningful learning opportunity. ———— New! Practice Mode (No Timer, No Stress) Students can now choose a relaxed 'practice mode' with unlimited time for each note. Perfect for beginners, this mode builds accuracy and confidence before racing competitively. ———— Multiple Ways to Answer Players can answer flashcards in a variety of ways: • Play the note on any instrument. Flashnote Derby listens and recognizes what you play (including transposing instruments). • Use a MIDI instrument • Tap on-screen letter names • Or play notes on the on-screen piano keyboard ———— Fully Customizable for Any Student Tailor each drill to match your student’s level: • Treble, bass, alto, or tenor clef • Select specific note ranges or individual notes • Add sharps, flats, or full key signatures • Adjust time limits (or remove them entirely in Practice Mode) • Expand difficulty all the way up to five-and-a-half ledger lines above and below the staff. As skills grow, you can increase the challenge. Higher difficulty earns higher scores—keeping students motivated. ———— Multiple themes keep practice fresh In addition to the classic horse race, students can take flight with the whimsical Pretty Pegasus course, blast through an arcade-style space challenge in Ecliptic Encounter, or switch to the seasonal Reindeer Race during the holidays. ———— Built for Teachers, Loved by Students Flashnote Derby is designed to fit easily into lessons: • Quick to set up and perfect for a 1–2 minute warm-up • Send homework assignments directly to students • Track progress automatically • See which notes need more review Teachers see real improvement. Students stay engaged. Parents appreciate the progress. ———— Why Flashnote Derby Works Many students struggle because drilling note names feels boring and difficult. Flashnote Derby turns this essential skill into a game—one they’ll want to keep playing. A little daily practice adds up quickly, and students learn to read music with confidence. ———— Get on the road to confident music reading today! Download Flashnote Derby and help your young musician master notes with joy—not frustration.

About

StaffWars Live

Enhance instrumental practice with this engaging game. Play notes as they appear on the staff to score points and improve your skills. Customize your practice experience with various instruments, scales, and key signatures.

Highlights
  • Instrumental practice aid
  • Customizable instrument, key, and scale
  • Adjustable note range and speed
  • Score tracking
  • Transposition practice
  • MIDI device support
Features
Read full description

Built on the success of the original 'StaffWars', StaffWars Live offers game play designed to aid students in instrumental practice. Choose your instrument, key signature, scale and note range, then play the notes that appear on the staff with your instrument to destroy them before they damage you clef. Notes get faster with every ten correct and you get three lives. Press the "Settings" button to change your instrument, scale, key signature and adjustable note range. All notes are in the instruments' written pitch (i.e. Clarinet in C major would be concert Bb Major) All your scores are saved when exiting the game, so you can track your improvement. Scales include Major, Major Blues, Minor Blues, Chromatic Need to practice transposition? StaffWars Live has got you covered. All notes are in the instruments’ written pitch, so you can be a french horn player and select ‘Trumpet' to practice transposing to Bb. Connect any MIDI device to trigger the game with MIDI. Note range = from 4 Spaces Below to 4 Spaces Above Clef Start speed adjustable. ***NOTE*** - Make sure your instrument is in tune prior to playing StaffWars Live. Always play with good attacks and good tone. Game sounds may trigger the pitch detection so it is a good idea to turn your iPhone\iPad volume down while playing with the sound turn on.

Screenshots

Flashnote Derby4 screens
StaffWars Live4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: StaffWars Live at 4.4 against Flashnote Derby's 3.8. StaffWars Live also leads on ratings volume (880 vs 105) and price ($2.99 vs $4.99). Flashnote Derby's advantage is review sentiment (71% vs 58%) and chart position (#46 vs unranked). On update cadence, 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

Flashnote Derby costs $4.99 and StaffWars Live $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

StaffWars Live holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: StaffWars Live has 880 ratings behind it against 105, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 71% of Flashnote Derby's written reviews are positive against 58% of StaffWars Live's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Flashnote Derby ships an update every 6 months, StaffWars Live every 4 months. Both last shipped on September 28, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Flashnote Derby versus StaffWars Live: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlashnote DerbyStaffWars Live
Price$4.99$2.99 — better
Rating3.8 (105 ratings)4.4 (880 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.7% of reviews — better58.1% of reviews
Number of ratings105880 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#46 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size110 MB123 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLuke BartolomeoTMI Media, LLC

Customer experience

Flashnote Derby

All ratings105 ratings
Positive64.8%
Neutral11.4%
Negative23.8%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive70.7%
Neutral6.0%
Negative23.3%

StaffWars Live

All ratings880 ratings
Positive85.0%
Neutral3.1%
Negative11.9%
Written reviews105 reviews
Positive58.1%
Neutral9.5%
Negative32.4%

User reviews

Flashnote Derby

From 105 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Engaging gamified learning experience with racing themes
  • 🎵 Effective tool for learning note reading and music literacy
  • 🎨 Customizable themes and visual designs
  • ⚙️ Highly customizable settings for notes, speed, and difficulty
  • 👨‍🏫 Teacher-friendly features with student tracking and presets

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and app freezing issues
  • 🔊 Harsh negative feedback sounds (booing) discourages learners
  • 🎵 Inaccurate note detection, especially for E note and lower instruments
  • 📱 Poor mobile responsiveness and slider controls on phones
  • ⚠️ Data loss after updates without warning

StaffWars Live

From 880 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for practicing notes
  • 🚀 Great for improving sight reading
  • 💡 Customizable to different instruments
  • 😊 Fun and engaging game-like experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Note recognition issues, especially for certain instruments
  • 🐛 Problems with bass clef and transposing instruments
  • 🔧 Difficulty settings could be improved
  • 🔧 Occasional crashes and bugs

Bugs and requests

Flashnote Derby

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • App crashes on launch or during use
  • White screen on startup that auto-closes
  • Note recognition fails, particularly for E note
  • Low instrument octave recognition issues
  • Data and student names lost after updates
Show 10 more
  • Settings menu disappears or becomes inaccessible
  • Speed selection buttons unresponsive
  • Email preset sending feature non-functional
  • Password reset system broken
  • Master device cloning feature not working
  • Audio detection marks answers before notes are played
  • Incorrect display scaling on iPad and tablets
  • Slider controls difficult to use on mobile devices
  • App incompatible with Safari and some browsers
  • Family sharing not recognized despite being enabled

Requested features

16 requests
  • Restore previous speed options (Walk, Trot, Canter, Gallop)
  • Option to customize number of test notes (return 10/20 options)
  • Remove or tone down negative feedback sounds
  • Add more theme options (animals, seasonal themes)
  • Untimed mode without racing element
Show 11 more
  • Two-octave keyboard display for better note differentiation
  • Support for sharps and flats
  • Alto and tenor clef options
  • Female jockey character option
  • Combined treble and bass clef exercises
  • Better search visibility in app stores
  • Family sharing support improvements
  • External audio interface compatibility
  • Improved mobile responsiveness for sliders and controls
  • Better instructional videos with audio/visual note examples
  • Personalized high scores for multiple users

StaffWars Live

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes not registering correctly
  • Bass clef not working as expected
  • App crashing on launch for some users
  • Misalignment of note graphics

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for more instruments, including piano
  • Implement a speed/difficulty slider
  • Add an option for the grand staff
  • Improve bass clef and transposition accuracy

In-app purchases

None

Flashnote Derby

No in-app purchases

None

StaffWars Live

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Flashnote Derby free?
Flashnote Derby costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is StaffWars Live free?
StaffWars Live costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Flashnote Derby or StaffWars Live?
StaffWars Live is rated higher. Flashnote Derby averages 3.8 out of 5 from 105 ratings, while StaffWars Live averages 4.4 from 880 ratings.
Do Flashnote Derby or StaffWars Live have ads?
Neither Flashnote Derby nor StaffWars Live shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Flashnote Derby or StaffWars Live?
Flashnote Derby ships an update every 6 months, and StaffWars Live every 4 months. Most recently, Flashnote Derby was updated on September 28, 2026 and StaffWars Live on September 28, 2026.

Other comparisons