Note Trainer Pro vs Tonality
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Note Trainer Pro
This app helps users improve their music reading skills through interactive exercises. It offers a range of difficulty levels, tracks progress, and supports various musical notations and input methods.
- Note and chord exercises
- Customizable difficulty levels
- Multiple notation systems
- Transposing instrument support
- Treble, Bass, Alto, Tenor clefs
- MIDI and virtual piano input
- Progress statistics
Read full descriptionHide full description
Note Trainer is designed to help train your ability to read music. It is aimed at beginners, music students, musicians and anyone interested in musical reading. Note Trainer includes exercises reading musical notes and musical chords. Exercise levels range from beginner to advanced. Note Trainer will guide you and recommend exercises to help you gradually improve your skills. More advanced users can focus on different areas of the application or select to start training at a higher level. When an exercise is complete the users' statistics are saved allowing them to track their progress and easily return to areas that need more training. Note Trainer indicates when a user is ready to move on to the next exercise. Features: - Preset exercises for notes and chords - Custom exercises for notes and chords - Note Trainer supports English (B, Bb), German (H, B), and Solfége (Do, Re, Mi) notation - Supports transposing instruments - Includes Treble, Bass, Alto and Tenor clefs - Answer using MIDI device (*), virtual piano or answer buttons - Answer by singing or playing an instrument (iPhone 5s and newer) - Visual feedback on virtual piano and note view - Statistics - Time challenge mode - Studio sound quality *) Using a MIDI-input device may require an Apple USB Camera Connection Kit
Tonality
This app is a comprehensive music theory reference tool for musicians. It offers extensive chord and scale dictionaries, ear training exercises, and interactive tools like the Circle of Fifths. It also includes MIDI functionality for composition and performance.
- Chord and scale dictionaries
- Chord identification from microphone
- Interactive Circle of Fifths
- Ear training exercises
- MIDI and AUv3 plugins
- Chord pads for composition
Read full descriptionHide full description
"Best music app tool I own, period!" "Never downloaded an app so fast in my life" "Excellent app for music theory. It is brilliantly supported by the developer who is continually updating it... The app is indispensable for the reference and learning of music theory." Tonality is the ultimate chord, scale, and general music reference tool for musicians of all skill levels. It allows you to explore a large database of chords and scales and comes with tons of MIDI/AUv3 functionality, including chord pads for composition and performance. NOTE: Tonality will always be a one-time purchase with free upgrades. All IAPs are for tips only. CHORDS: • Chord dictionary with over 1,000 chords for piano and guitar • Listen to a chord by tapping, or arpeggiate by swiping • Reverse search for chords using piano or fretboard • Identify chords from the microphone using a cutting-edge ML algorithm • Search for chords by root, quality, and/or extension • View different inversions and omittable notes • View related scales GUITAR CHORD CHARTS: • View charts for any chord • Supports multiple tunings and instruments (including custom tunings) • Generate voicings by criteria including fret range, number of fingers used, and finger stretch • Left-handed option SCALES: • Scale dictionary with over 1,000 scales • Search for scales by root and name, and filter by various tags • Reverse search for scales using piano or fretboard • View scale degrees and note names • View ascending and descending versions • View all modes and scale chords CIRCLE OF FIFTHS: • Interactive circle of fifths: view key signatures and scales for major and minor keys • Focus on diatonic chords in a given key and view Roman numeral analysis EAR TRAINING: • Learn to recognize notes, melodies, intervals, chords, and scales by ear! • After each session, view what gave you trouble and create a level with just those items • View detailed statistics about each training session and your training history MUSICAL TERMS DICTIONARY: • View musical terms and their definitions/illustrations • Tempo, symbol, articulation, dynamics, and more MUSICAL TYPING KEYBOARD: • Special keyboard for typing and previewing chord symbols • Works wherever iOS keyboard does - enable it from Settings->General->Keyboard->Keyboards->Add New Keyboard... ---- Includes 4 AUv3 MIDI Plugins! ---- CHORD/SCALE IDENTIFICATION: • View the names of the piano chords/scales you play in real time • Record identified chords and export as text/MIDI CHORD PADS: • Add chords via list, scale chords, fretboard, name, or MIDI input • Drag and drop to and from other apps or plugin instances • Full voicing control: edit individual notes' octaves and velocities • Grid sizes from 2x2 to 12x12 • Strum bar for performing arpeggios or individual notes • MIDI trigger mappable with MIDI learn capability • Automation parameters for footpedal control • CC mapping on XY axes • Multiple velocity sensitivity modes • Custom presets can be saved and shared across hosts • Patchstorage integration for community sharing • Export pad sets as MIDI/XML files • Import Scaler chord packs (XML) GRAND STAFF: • View MIDI input in a grand staff in real time • Detects chord names CIRCLE OF FIFTHS: • Control other apps with a circle-of-fifths layout • Modify inversion, octave, extensions, and bass notes on the fly • Auto-voice lead option CUSTOMIZATION/ADVANCED: • Create your own chords, scales, fingerings, ear training levels, and definitions • Show set theory information for any pitch class set, including Forte numbers, pitch constellations, and Tonnetze • Choose the playback instrument (load any .sf2 file) • Choose note naming (English or Solfège)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Note Trainer Pro at none against Tonality's 3. Note Trainer Pro also leads on price ($3.99 vs $7.99) and ratings volume (919 vs 129). Tonality's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months) and chart position (#160 vs unranked). On rating, ads, monetization model 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
Note Trainer Pro costs $3.99 and Tonality $7.99 up front. Tonality sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Note Trainer Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Note Trainer Pro against 4.8 for Tonality. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Note Trainer Pro has 919 ratings behind it against 129, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Note Trainer Pro's written reviews are positive against 97% of Tonality's.
Note Trainer Pro ships an update every 4 months, Tonality fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Note Trainer Pro | Tonality |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $7.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (919 ratings) | 4.8 (129 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 88.2% of reviews | 97.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 919 — better | 129 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #160 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.1 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 110 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | thoor software AB | Bryce Hostetler |
Customer experience
Note Trainer Pro
Tonality
User reviews
Note Trainer Pro
From 919 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Perfect for learning notes and chords
- 🚀 Excellent tool for improving sight reading skills
- 💡 Great for beginners and experienced players
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use interface
- 👍 Customizable exercises and settings
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Limited note/chord range in some exercises
- 🔍 Overly sensitive to note duration
- 🔍 Lack of timer/progress tracking features
Tonality
From 129 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Excellent for music theory learning
- 💡 Versatile tool for songwriting
- 🚀 Seamless MIDI integration
- 🎵 Great for ear training
- 🎹 Useful for practicing chords and scales
Room to improve
- 🤔 Can be overwhelming for new users
- 🎨 Color scheme can be hard on eyes
- 🤷♂️ Some features not intuitive
- 🎶 App icon appearance noted
Bugs and requests
Note Trainer Pro
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes when playing certain notes/chords
- MIDI connectivity issues on some devices
- Note recognition errors in certain exercises
Requested features
4 requests- Add more advanced exercises like chord progressions and modulations
- Include a timer and progress tracking system
- Expand the note/chord range to cover the full piano keyboard
- Allow customization of exercise difficulty and note/chord selection
Tonality
Reported bugs
4 issues- MIDI mappings reset when switching keys
- AUv3 version not showing up in AUM
- Difficulty assigning pads to MIDI controller
- Trouble identifying inverted chords
Requested features
15 requests- Add pedal function for note release
- Add arpeggios
- Add fingering diagrams
- Ability to set global MIDI mappings on pads
- Solfege audio unit (fixed and movable do)
Show 10 moreShow fewer
- Chord progression generator
- Mode for practicing music reading
- Mac version
- Print out or capture of chord sequences
- Sustain hold for chord pads
- Octave up/down per chord for pads
- Easy triggering of pads from external MIDI keyboard
- Presets full of chords
- Strummer with omnichord type function (range of octaves)
- Ability to play back sequences of chords as progressions
In-app purchases
Note Trainer Pro
No in-app purchases
Tonality
- Small Tip$0.99
- Medium Tip$2.99
- Large Tip$5.99
Questions
Is Note Trainer Pro free?
Is Tonality free?
Which has better reviews, Note Trainer Pro or Tonality?
Do Note Trainer Pro or Tonality have ads?
Which is updated more often, Note Trainer Pro or Tonality?
Other comparisons















