Comparison

Music Drawing Notation vs Guitar Notation

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

Head to head
About

Music Drawing Notation

Easily compose music on a staff using your finger. Add notes, chords, rests, sharps, and flats. Save your creations and export them as MIDI or MP3 files via email.

Highlights
  • Draw notes on music staff
  • Move and edit notes
  • Change note duration
  • Add sharps, flats, and chords
  • Save and archive compositions
  • Export as MIDI or MP3
Features
Read full description

The Music Drawing Notation by Virtual Sheet Music has been specifically designed to write music by putting notes on a music staff, the easiest way. Any musician will be easily able to put down melodies "on the go" ad share it via email as MIDI or Mp3 files. You can write music by simply using your finger to put notes on the music staff, move notes around, change the notes' pitches by just moving them up and down, and modify their duration by selecting the corresponding value button. Rests may also be added, as well as sharps and flats. You can also write note chords by adding notes one over another. At any time, you can play, pause, and save the music you created into an archives section of the application, which allows you to retrieve previously saved songs. At any time, you can send or export your created music as a MIDI or Mp3 file via email. About Virtual Sheet Music: Virtual Sheet Music® offers the highest-quality digital sheet music with MIDI and Mp3 audio files to download and enjoy instantly. Many of the Virtual Sheet Music items also include Mp3 music accompaniment files, which allow you to play along with your computer, iPhone, or iPod (over 80,000 files). Get more info on the Virtual Sheet Music® website at: http://www.virtualsheetmusic.com For Feedback and Questions: support@virtualsheetmusic.com Enjoy learning, playing, and composing great music!

About

Guitar Notation

This app allows guitar enthusiasts to read, compose, edit, and play back guitar sheet music. It supports multi-track tabs, chord charts, and various notation elements, enabling users to create music on the go.

Highlights
  • Read, compose, and edit guitar sheet music
  • Playback functionality with high-quality sound
  • Multi-track tab support
  • Chord chart configuration
  • Export in MusicXML, MIDI, PNG, and PDF formats
  • Supports up to 8 staff for editing
Features
Read full description

A great guitar tabs and chords notation app on iOS. For any guitar music lover, Guitar Notation gives you the ability to read, compose, edit, and playback guitar sheet music scores. With it you can be a talented composer and great musician anywhere. As long as you have a little knowledge of sheet music, you can write music composition simply by touch and move. Of course it could help you to learn guitar notations. It can handle multi-track tabs, also it supports for chord chart configuration. With the help of it you could easily record the flashes of inspiration wherever they strike. Are you ready to compose music in a simple way? ----------------------- Features: -Export in the industry-popular MusicXML file format, allowing for exchanging sheet music with other software (Finale, Sibelius, Encore, MuseScore, etc). -Export MIDI file. -Export PNG image and PDF document. -High quality sound for playback. -Support editing up to 8 staff at the same time. -Support many kinds of guitar and bass instrument. ----------------------- Supported notation: *A variety of note types, from whole note to 128th note and dotted note *Chord chart configuration *A variety of time signatures *All standard key signatures *Adjustable tempo *All accidentals (sharps, flats, double sharps, double flats, and naturals) *Tie, slur, and tuplet *Many types of ornament *A wide range of dynamics ----------------------- UNLIMITED ACCESS SUBSCRIPTION - Support up to 8 staff - Config parts(add, delete, reorder) - Config chord freely - Change beat type and tempo - A wide variety of guitar types - Config sound for each part - No watermark image export - No Ads - Support 2nd voice part - Config capo for each line - Import data file - The subscriptions are $9.99 monthly - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that service, where applicable - Terms of use: https://service.notationpad.com/terms_service.html

Screenshots

Music Drawing Notation4 screens
Guitar Notation4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Music Drawing Notation at none against Guitar Notation's 6. Guitar Notation's advantage is review sentiment (58% vs 31%) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 11 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Guitar Notation sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. Music Drawing Notation asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Music Drawing Notation ships an update every 11 months, Guitar Notation every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Music Drawing Notation versus Guitar Notation: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMusic Drawing NotationGuitar Notation
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.0 (248 ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.4% of reviews58.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—248 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better13
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB153 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVirtual Sheet Music LLC嵩 张

Customer experience

Music Drawing Notation

Written reviews51 reviews
Positive31.4%
Neutral13.7%
Negative54.9%

Guitar Notation

All ratings246 ratings
Positive75.6%
Neutral4.5%
Negative19.9%
Written reviews191 reviews
Positive58.1%
Neutral6.3%
Negative35.6%

Bugs and requests

Music Drawing Notation

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Guitar Notation

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Audio playback only works through Bluetooth
  • Can't create a D chord, forces barre chord
  • Freezes on login screen
  • Incompatible with older devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add ability to change tuning
  • Add palm muting feature
  • Add more examples
  • Add instructions/tutorial
  • Add ability to transpose
Show 1 more
  • Add ability to input chord symbols

In-app purchases

None

Music Drawing Notation

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Guitar Notation

Subscriptions3
  • Unlimited Access7 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Unlimited Access Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Unlimited Access Yearly$49.991 Year
One-time3
  • Guitar Instrument Group$0.99
  • Bass Instrument Group$0.99
  • Extras Package$14.99

Questions

Is Music Drawing Notation free?
Music Drawing Notation is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Guitar Notation free?
Guitar Notation is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Music Drawing Notation or Guitar Notation have ads?
Neither Music Drawing Notation nor Guitar Notation shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Music Drawing Notation or Guitar Notation?
Music Drawing Notation ships an update every 11 months, and Guitar Notation every 4 months. Most recently, Music Drawing Notation was updated on October 18, 2026 and Guitar Notation on October 24, 2026.

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