Comparison

Music Drawing Notation vs Sheet Music Maker & Scanner

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

Sheet Music Maker & Scanner

This app helps musicians of all levels learn, create, compose, and write songs. It offers tools for editing PDFs, organizing lyrics with AI assistance, and digitizing paper music sheets. Sync your work across devices and share it easily.

Highlights
  • Compose and customize melodies with templates
  • Edit and annotate PDF sheet music
  • AI-assisted lyric writing
  • Digitize paper music sheets via scanning
  • iCloud synchronization across devices
  • Import PDF sheet music from external platforms
  • Organize music with folders and notebooks
Features
Read full description

Sheet Music brings score writing, PDF sheet music, practice tools and songwriting together on iPad and iPhone. Compose a piece and hear it played, mark up your part for rehearsal, practice with a metronome and tuner, and perform with hands-free page turns. WRITE AND EDIT SCORES Start from a blank score, from Piano Solo to Full Orchestra, or from more than 150 public-domain examples. Open MusicXML files from other notation apps and keep editing in the same file. Enter notes from the palette, drag symbols onto the staff, use keyboard shortcuts, play the on-screen piano or connect a USB or Bluetooth MIDI keyboard. Add slurs, tuplets, grace notes, dynamics, articulations, ornaments, lyrics, chord symbols, repeats and endings. Transpose by key or interval, view individual parts and rearrange instruments as your piece grows. HEAR EVERY NOTE Play your score with a grand piano recorded at 16 dynamic levels, plus strings, brass, flute, harp and drums. Playback follows dynamics, pedaling, ornaments, tempo changes and repeats, and highlights each part in its own color. Balance the parts in the Mixer, loop a passage, add a count-in or metronome, or turn on Wait for Me and the score waits for you to play each note. READ AND MARK UP Import PDF sheet music from the Files app or other apps, or scan paper music with your camera. Annotate PDFs and scores with Apple Pencil, highlight passages and record yourself as you play. Add notes, dynamics, articulations, bowings and other marks from Music Symbols; notes snap onto the staff. Find your way through long books with bookmarks and search. PERFORM WITH CONFIDENCE Performance Mode shows your music full screen. Turn pages with a tap, a keyboard or a page-turner pedal, and use half-page turns to see what comes next before you reach it. Add jumps for repeats, D.S. and Coda so the right page is always waiting. PRACTICE SMARTER Open Practice for a metronome with tap tempo, a chromatic tuner and a play-along track: add a recording, loop a passage and slow it down without changing the pitch. The Practice Log shows how much time you spend with each score. WRITE SONGS Write ChordPro chord sheets with chord diagrams, transposition, capo and auto-scroll for the stage. Find rhymes and check the syllable count of every line of your lyrics. Need a spark? Chat with the AI Assistant to brainstorm ideas, or ask it to rewrite, correct or translate your lyrics. STAFF PAPER AND TEMPLATES Choose from more than 200 templates for staff paper, piano, voice and choir, guitar tab, band and orchestra, and music theory. Or design your own staff paper with the clef, staff size, layout and number of staves you need. ORGANIZE AND SHARE Keep scores, chord sheets and lyrics in folders and find them with search. iCloud keeps your library in sync across your devices. Export scores as audio, MIDI or MusicXML, open MIDI files as editable scores, and share your music with your band, choir or students. From the first idea to the final bow, Sheet Music keeps all your music in one place. Privacy Policy http://www.noteswriter.com/Kairoos_Privacy_Policy.html EULA https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Music Drawing Notation4 screens
Sheet Music Maker & Scanner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Music Drawing Notation at none against Sheet Music Maker & Scanner's 3. Music Drawing Notation also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.0). Sheet Music Maker & Scanner's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 11 months). On price, review sentiment, ads 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. Sheet Music Maker & Scanner sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Music Drawing Notation asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Music Drawing Notation ships an update every 11 months, Sheet Music Maker & Scanner every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Music Drawing Notation versus Sheet Music Maker & Scanner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMusic Drawing NotationSheet Music Maker & Scanner
PriceFreeFree
Rating—2.6 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.6% of reviews33.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB498 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVirtual Sheet Music LLCKairoos Solutions SL

Customer experience

Music Drawing Notation

Written reviews56 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral16.1%
Negative55.4%

Sheet Music Maker & Scanner

All ratings5 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative50.0%

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

Sheet Music Maker & Scanner

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Music Drawing Notation

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Sheet Music Maker & Scanner

Subscriptions2
  • Sheet Music Monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Sheet Music Annual3 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Full Pro Unlock$14.99

Questions

Is Music Drawing Notation free?
Music Drawing Notation is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sheet Music Maker & Scanner free?
Sheet Music Maker & Scanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Music Drawing Notation or Sheet Music Maker & Scanner have ads?
Neither Music Drawing Notation nor Sheet Music Maker & Scanner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Music Drawing Notation or Sheet Music Maker & Scanner?
Music Drawing Notation ships an update every 11 months, and Sheet Music Maker & Scanner every 9 days. Most recently, Music Drawing Notation was updated on November 10, 2026 and Sheet Music Maker & Scanner on November 4, 2026.

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