Comparison

Music Drawing Notation vs MusicSketch

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

MusicSketch

Capture musical ideas, write lyrics, add chords, and sketch melodies. Generate shareable lead sheets with studio-quality audio playback and built-in rhythms. Collaborate with others and export to your favorite DAW.

Highlights
  • Write lyrics and chords
  • Compose melodies
  • Studio-quality audio playback
  • Expanded instrument and rhythm library
  • Organize song structure
  • Instant collaboration
  • Export MIDI to DAW
Read full description

MusicSketch: A Creative Suite for Songwriters MusicSketch gives you a simple, powerful way to capture your ideas and quickly turn them into songs. On iPhone and iPad, write lyrics, add chord progressions, sketch melodies, and generate interactive lead sheets you can share or play back with your full audio mix. With studio-quality sounds, expressive instruments, built-in rhythms, and easy collaboration, MusicSketch makes songwriting fast, clear, professional, and fun. With MusicSketch, you can: Write Lyrics & Chords — Place chords above your lyrics to create beautiful lead sheets with guitar charts. Compose Scores — Easy note entry and clean layout make melody writing fast and intuitive. Hear Studio-Quality Playback — Listen to your melodies, chords, bass lines, and rhythms with rich, hi-definition audio. Explore More Instruments & Rhythms — Use an expanded sound and rhythm library to shape your sound. Organize Complete Songs — Format verses, choruses, and bridges as your song develops. Collaborate Instantly — Share your live lead sheets, ideas, and mixes with co-writers, bandmates, teachers, or students Create at Any Skill Level — Perfect for beginners, musicians, bands, and music lessons at all levels. Export to a DAW — Drag MIDI from MusicSketch straight into your favorite DAW; instant workflow for arrangers and beatmakers. Who is MusicSketch for? Songwriters refining lyrics and chord progressions, musicians arranging parts and rehearsing together, and teachers/students building clear practice materials. MusicSketch brings lyrics, chords, melodies, and playback into one workflow — so you can collaboratively work on your songs, anywhere and at any time. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Music Drawing Notation4 screens
MusicSketch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: MusicSketch at 94% against Music Drawing Notation's 31%. MusicSketch also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 11 months). Music Drawing Notation's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Music Drawing Notation ships an update every 11 months, MusicSketch monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Music Drawing Notation versus MusicSketch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMusic Drawing NotationMusicSketch
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.7 (130 ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.4% of reviews93.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—130 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better26.6
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB66 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVirtual Sheet Music LLCSketchMusicApp

Customer experience

Music Drawing Notation

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

MusicSketch

All ratings127 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.1%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews77 reviews
Positive93.5%
Neutral5.2%
Negative1.3%

User reviews

Music Drawing Notation

From App Store reviews

What we love

  • 👍 Great for basic notation
  • 💡 Useful for song ideas
  • 👍 Simple to use (for some)
  • 💡 Polyphonic support
  • 💡 Drag and drop notes

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🐛 App closes without saving
  • 🐛 No sound output
  • 🐛 Limited functionality
  • 🐛 Difficult to place notes accurately

MusicSketch

From 130 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 💡 Great for beginners
  • 🚀 Simplifies music creation process
  • 💰 Free with no ads/upsells
  • 📱 Mobile composition on iPhone/iPad

Room to improve

  • ❓ Some users find it confusing without music reading skills
  • 🎚️ Limited time signatures
  • 🎚️ Missing alto clef option
  • 🥁 Needs more drum notation options (flams, etc.)
  • 🎸 Needs guitar tabs

Bugs and requests

Music Drawing Notation

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • App crashes without saving
  • App closes unexpectedly
  • No sound when playing
  • Kicks user out after one note
  • Cannot delete double stops
Show 8 more
  • Stems don't connect properly
  • Sound did not work for playback
  • App is sensitive when scrolling
  • Cannot update app
  • Notes don't play back in free version
  • App doesn't save work
  • Cannot add more than one note per line/bar
  • Cannot add rests sometimes

Requested features

24 requests
  • Update the app
  • Add advanced options
  • Fix volume issue
  • Add keyboard for note placement
  • Allow changing key
Show 19 more
  • Add ability to delete double stops
  • Add instructions
  • Support more instrument types
  • Add slurs
  • Add undo button
  • Add alto clef
  • Add left hand option
  • Add time signature
  • Add chords
  • Add slurs and ties
  • Allow changing time signature
  • Export score to PDF/MID
  • Add edit/erase functions
  • Remove in-app purchase for saving/sharing
  • Add metadata
  • Add bass clef
  • Add alternate clefs
  • Add other notation
  • Allow writing more than one line

MusicSketch

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add more woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments
  • Include drum notation options (flams, etc.)
  • Add guitar tabs
  • Add alto clef option
  • Improve audio mixer functionality (use while playing)
Show 5 more
  • Set loop to default to entire piece
  • Allow stacking of notes with different lengths
  • Add more time signatures
  • Provide a tutorial/intro for new users
  • Enable MIDI input

In-app purchases

None

Music Drawing Notation

No in-app purchases

None

MusicSketch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Music Drawing Notation free?
Music Drawing Notation is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MusicSketch free?
MusicSketch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Music Drawing Notation or MusicSketch have ads?
Neither Music Drawing Notation nor MusicSketch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Music Drawing Notation or MusicSketch?
Music Drawing Notation ships an update every 11 months, and MusicSketch monthly. Most recently, Music Drawing Notation was updated on October 31, 2026 and MusicSketch on October 27, 2026.

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