Comparison

Note Trainer Pro vs Chordio

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read 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

About

Chordio

This app is a music composition and theory tool that helps musicians explore chords and scales interactively. It offers features for creating, storing, and rearranging chord progressions, along with integrated music theory lessons and practice tools. It's designed to spark creativity and enhance music learning for producers, composers, and educators.

Highlights
  • Chord progression generator
  • Custom chord creation and editing
  • Real-time MIDI input visualization
  • Scales and modes practice
  • Music theory lessons and quizzes
  • Sheet music practice tools
  • Chord Suggestion AI
Features
Read full description

Looking for a spark for your upcoming song? Introducing Chordio, a powerful tool for composition and music theory that offers an enjoyable and interactive experience. This app allows you to explore chords and scales in a fun and engaging way. It also provides a convenient platform for storing all your distinctive musical chord progressions in a single location. As a result, Chordio becomes an indispensable resource for contemporary music producers, composers, and educators. Take your music theory knowledge to the next level and create innovative chord progressions for your latest composition. With a range of internal sounds included, you can explore the tool's features without needing any other external equipment. Connect your MIDI controller to Chordio and see chord names appear on the Grand Staff in real-time as you play. Solo over chord progressions using the built-in sounds, and quickly rearrange or transpose chord progressions on the fly for added flexibility. Uncover fresh chord sequences for any genre - from hip hop to house and everything in between. Simply drag and drop them into your DAW! Chordio empowers you to unleash your creativity and take your music to new heights. The main features are divided into four workspaces: Composition • Build-in sequencer to create chord progressions. • Build-in Chord progression generator. • Create custom chords, edit existing chords, get chord inversions, and extended chords. • Drag & Drop to change the song structure. • Transpose the entire chord progression with a single tap. • Create a playlist of custom chord progressions. • Chord Suggestion AI – Get intelligent chord recommendations that fit your existing progression, and seamlessly integrate them into your composition. • A Chord Types & Vocings panel helps you generate new chords. • Play-along with a backing rhythm track. • Save/load songs, export it as MIDl. • Download chord progressions from a growing collection of Chord Packs. Scales • Practice scales with a metronome in all keys. • Contains more than 40 scales you can work with. • Staff view for chords and scales. Modes • Interactive way to learn what scales are associated with each mode. • Practice modes in Chordio. • Change tonic, mode, and layout to discover the relationship between musical notes, chords, and scales. Music Theory * In-app theory lessons. • 3 New Music Theory Quizzes: Note Identification, Interval Recognition & Chord Identification. Sheet Music • Adjust the Tempo: Practice at your own speed. • Loop Key Sections: Focus on tricky parts with ease. • Practice Hands Separately: Work on left or right hand independently. • Play in Any Key: Transpose sheet music to suit your preference. • Customize Tracks: Adjust instrument volumes. • Jazz Solo: Jam over chord progressions. • Print Your Scores: Print a PDF version of the score for flexible, hands-on practice. Lessons • Learn to play songs at your own pace. • Download music from a growing collection of Lesson Packs. • Lessons can be slowed down or pitch changed. KEY FEATURES: • MIDI keyboard support. • Build progressions using the chord generators. • Export MIDI to your DAW or sequencer. • Custom chords, edit existing chords, get extended chords. • Play internal sounds. • Arpeggio, strum and performance modes. • Mac version include a detachable resizable Grand Staff, Chord Display, and Keyboard Views. • Customise the Keyboard highlight color. • Select chord, to display a range of related scales and chords. • Tap a note on the Grand Staff to highlight it with a color. • Choose from selection of backing rhythms that fit specific genres. • Chord Pattern playback Always backup your chord progressions!

Screenshots

Note Trainer Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chordio at Free against Note Trainer Pro's $3.99. Chordio also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 4 months). Note Trainer Pro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 19) and rating (4.8 vs 4.4). On 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

Chordio is free to download; Note Trainer Pro costs $3.99 up front. Chordio sells 19 one-off in-app purchases. Note Trainer Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Note Trainer Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Note Trainer Pro has 917 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Note Trainer Pro's written reviews are positive against 62% of Chordio's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Note Trainer Pro ships an update every 4 months, Chordio every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Note Trainer Pro versus Chordio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNote Trainer ProChordio
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (917 ratings) — better4.4 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews88.2% of reviews — better61.5% of reviews
Number of ratings917 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad, Mac
Requires iOS12.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB202 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerthoor software ABOne In A Billion Ltd

Customer experience

Note Trainer Pro

All ratings917 ratings
Positive95.3%
Neutral2.5%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews169 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral7.1%
Negative4.7%

Chordio

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews39 reviews
Positive61.5%
Neutral12.8%
Negative25.6%

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

Chordio

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Note Trainer Pro

No in-app purchases

19 purchases

Chordio

One-time19
  • Free Chord PackFree
  • Gymnopedie No.1$1.99
  • Arabesque No.1$1.99
Show 16 more
  • Gnossienne No.1$1.99
  • Chord Progressions 251 No.1$2.99
  • Jazz Progressions 01$5.99
  • Neo-Soul Progressions 01$5.99
  • Neo-Soul Tunes 01$5.99
  • RnB Chords No.1$5.99
  • Classical Progressions 1$5.99
  • II-V-I Progression$5.99
  • RnB Progressions 01$5.99
  • Beginner Essentials$6.99
  • RnB Progressions, Vol. 1$7.99
  • II-V-I Jazz Progressions$9.99
  • Jazz Progression, Vol. 1$9.99
  • Jazz Lick Exercises, Vol. 1$9.99
  • Classical Collection, Vol. 1$14.99
  • Unlock App$14.99

Questions

Is Note Trainer Pro free?
Note Trainer Pro costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chordio free?
Chordio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Note Trainer Pro or Chordio?
Note Trainer Pro is rated higher. Note Trainer Pro averages 4.8 out of 5 from 917 ratings, while Chordio averages 4.4 from 8 ratings.
Do Note Trainer Pro or Chordio have ads?
Neither Note Trainer Pro nor Chordio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Note Trainer Pro or Chordio?
Note Trainer Pro ships an update every 4 months, and Chordio every 10 days. Most recently, Note Trainer Pro was updated on September 29, 2026 and Chordio on October 1, 2026.

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