PercussionTutor vs dadodeca
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PercussionTutor
Explore a vast library of world percussion rhythms and instruments. Learn through standard notation, videos, and practice tools like time-stretching and a metronome. Ideal for musicians, dancers, and rhythm enthusiasts seeking authentic global drumming traditions.
- Extensive library of world rhythms
- Individual drum track control
- Audio time-stretching
- Integrated metronome
- Standard notation and descriptions
- Instructional videos
- Authentic instrument sounds
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MODERN DRUMMER MAGAZINE (October 2015 issue): “This is a must-have for anyone wanting an encyclopedia of world percussion rhythms at their fingertips.” PercussionTutor is an educational app for dedicated world percussion enthusiasts. The app and its free companion book feature a unique library of world rhythms and instruments played by leading percussionists and drummers. A time stretching feature and a metronome give the users the option to practice at their own pace. NO IN-APP PURCHASES! Make sure to buy the app now and get all the future content for free. We will release updates on a regular basis adding new rhythms and videos. Damian Erskine (bassist, educator, writer for NoTreble.com): “PercussionTutor is truly fantastic and a blast to play along with”. (full review on NoTreble.com) Lincoln Goines (electric and acoustic bassist) writes: “This app is an engaging and informative way to check out the original funk. A great tool for musicians, dancers, and all lovers of rhythm”. Percussive Arts Society: “The interactive application is very thorough [...]. Navigation is simple and the layout is logical and easy to grasp.” PercussionTutor will allow you to approach South American, Caribbean and West African music in a different way. This app offers you more than a simple play-along. It includes standard notation, videos and specific claves. We also took the outmost care to capture the natural feeling of all those drumming traditions. For the batá rhythms we even developed a random playback engine that will simulate an actual batá performance. This app puts you in a live playing situation - just like you learned your mother language. You will sound more natural and more alive and you will awaken to new rhythmic possibilities. It's also a great tool for other musicians, dancers and performers who want to immerse themselves into centuries-old traditional languages. FEATURES: - Over 80 rhythms (some rhythms include a basic and a more advanced version) - Rhythms from Cuba, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Peru, West Africa, ... - ALL drums can be turned on and off individually - audio time-stretching feature - 59 videos - over 50 percussion instruments - Sheets of all the rhythms included in the app and in the free book - A description of all the rhythms - MORE RHYTMS COMING: we are working on a lot more content to be released on a regular basis! FEATURED MUSICIANS: * Louis Bauzo, performed with Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie, Paul Simon * Greg Askew, performed with Tito Puente * Luiz Ebert * Jérôme Goldschmidt, performed with Tito Puente, M. Santamaria & Chico O’Farrill * Marcos Napa, performed with Perú N. * M. Monaco, performed with Al Di Meola * Oswald Simmonds * Reynaldo Alcantara * Richard Byrd, performed with Babatunde Olatunji * Rudy Walker, performed with Pharaoh Saunders, Randy Weston * Victor Rendón, performed with M. Santamaria, Xavier Cugat Orchestra FEATURED RHYTHMS: **Cuba - Popular Music** - Afro - Bolero - Cha Cha Cha - Mozambique - Pachanga - Pilon - Salsa 1, 2, 3, 4 - Songo 1, 2 & 3 - Timba **Cuba - Folk Music** - Abakua Havana - Afra - Agüeito - Azogano Part 1, 2 - Columbia Part 1 - Conga - Guaguanco - Guiro - Iyesa - Makuta - Mozambique - Palo - Yambu - Yuca **Cuba - Batá Drums** - Lalubanche - Latopa - Ogun - Auguere (part 1) - Auguere (part 2) - Imbaloke - Babaluaye (part 1) - Babaluaye (part 2) - Kuru Kurubete - Ewe Masiboroñu - Borotitilawa - Dada - Oggue - Agayu Part 1,2,3 & 4 - Oferere - Ibejis - Akete Obba - Odudua - Iya Mase - Yacota - Ñongo - Chachalokafun - Iyesa - Echu - Olokun **Spain - Flamenco** - Bulerías - Soleá por Bulerías - Tangos **Brazil** - Baião - Bossa Nova - Samba Batucada - Samba Enredo - Samba Pagode - Samba Reggae - Xaxado **Dominican Republic** - Jaleo - Merengue - Pambiche **Puerto Rico** - Xica - Holandes & Holandes fast version - Plena **Peru** - Festejo - Zamacueca - Vals Peruano - Lando - Afro **West Africa** - Fanga - Saa - Lamban - Sounou
dadodeca
This app uses a virtual twelve-sided die to create randomized musical practice prompts. It offers various modes to train ear, sight-reading, and music theory skills for musicians of all levels. Practice gaps instead of comfort zones with audio-visual feedback.
- Randomized practice prompts
- Pitch and note recognition
- Key signature identification
- Scale and interval training
- Chord identification
- Rhythm training
- Circle of fifths navigation
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Roll the die. Train your ear, your eyes, and your musical mind. dadodeca is a twelve-sided musical die — one face for every note in the chromatic scale. Every roll is a practice prompt: a pitch to name, an interval to hear, a scale to build, a chord to identify. Random by design, so you train every corner of musicianship instead of drifting back to the keys your hands already know. FOR MUSICIANS, STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND FAMILIES Whether you're a working musician sharpening your ear, a student building sight-reading fluency, a teacher running lesson warm-ups, or a parent practicing alongside your child — dadodeca meets you at your level and grows with you. NINE MODES. ONE DIE. • BASIC (free) — Roll and hear any of the 12 notes. Warm-ups, improvisation prompts, or a tactile chromatic instrument you can simply play. • PITCH RECOGNITION — Hear a note. Name it. The foundation of every ear-training program, drilled across all 12 pitches. • NOTE RECOGNITION — Each roll picks a key signature and a note within it. Read it on the staff, tap to reveal. Treble and bass clefs. • KEY SIGNATURE RECOGNITION — See a key signature, name the key. All 24 majors and minors, in random order. • SCALE TRAINING — Roll a tonic, choose a scale type, and watch the pentapiano light up each note with solfège as it plays. Toggle the interval overlay to see why every scale sounds the way it does. • INTERVAL TRAINING — Two dice, two notes. Hear them melodically, then together. Control ascending or descending with a swipe. Two-finger swipe rolls both at once. • CHORD RECOGNITION — Roll a root and a quality. Identify the chord by ear, with all three notation conventions — symbol, abbreviated (maj7), and full name (Major 7) — shown at once. • CIRCLE OF FIFTHS — Navigate the map of music theory itself. Watch each step add or remove an accidental in real time. • RHYTHM TRAINING — Roll a rhythm, read it in real notation, and tap it back in time with the metronome. Difficulty levels from steady quarters to dotted rhythms. Plus a random shuffle — swipe the gear and let dadodeca pick your next drill. WHY IT WORKS Musicians practice what they already know. dadodeca takes that choice out of your hands — the die lands where it lands, and you practice the gap, not the comfort zone. Music educators call it interleaved practice; it's one of the best-supported techniques in skill-acquisition research. Every mode pairs audio with visuals, so you hear it, see it, and connect the two. REAL SOUND, REAL NOTATION Sampled piano audio. Professionally engraved music notation. A die you can spin, flick, and roll with realistic physics. FREE TO START Basic mode is free forever — no account, no signup. Unlock all training modes with dadodeca+: $2.99/month or a one-time lifetime purchase. Every future mode is included, and more are in development: Chord Progressions, Cadence Recognition, and Inversions. From Max and the Magic — playful, beautiful, rigorous tools for people who love music. Privacy: no accounts, no tracking, no ads. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: dadodeca at Free against PercussionTutor's $14.99. dadodeca also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). PercussionTutor's advantage is ratings volume (267 vs 2) and chart position (#59 vs unranked). On rating, 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
dadodeca is free to download; PercussionTutor costs $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for PercussionTutor against 5.0 for dadodeca. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PercussionTutor has 267 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
PercussionTutor ships an update every 5 months, dadodeca fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PercussionTutor | dadodeca |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.9 (267 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 90.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 267 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Freemium — better |
| Best chart rank | #59 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 440 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | FunkyDrumTutor | Max and the Magic |
Customer experience
PercussionTutor
dadodeca
Bugs and requests
PercussionTutor
Reported bugs
9 issues- Metronome timing is 2 clicks ahead of actual rhythm
- Audio distortion when moderately increasing tempo
- Crashes with external USB audio interfaces (RME Babyface, RME Babyface Pro, Motu 828es)
- No audio output with some USB interfaces despite no crash
- App crashes when opening other apps
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- Audio loss when switching between audio apps
- Incorrect sheet music for Clave Tiñosa
- Transient smearing and rhythm attack blurring at very slow tempos
- Occasional app crashes during normal use
Requested features
18 requests- More Colombian rhythms (Cumbia, Bullerengue, Vallenato, Porro, Currulao, Mapale)
- Brazilian genres expansion (Choro, Forró, and variations)
- Individual volume controls for each instrument
- Visual playhead/bar indicator moving through sheet music in real-time
- Count-in before rhythm starts
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- Metronome function for all rhythms
- Tempo adjustment without pitch change (time-stretching)
- Higher tempo limits for certain rhythms
- Dominican Bachata rhythm
- West African dance rhythms
- 6/8 bell patterns and rhythms
- Puerto Rican rhythm corrections and additions (Cuembé, Yubá, Seis Corrido)
- Salsa 2-3 and 3-2 pattern variations
- Practice timer to track time per rhythm
- Better graphics and authentic instrument photos
- Integration with DAW apps like GarageBand
- Free trial version before purchase
- Middle Eastern percussion sounds
dadodeca
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PercussionTutor
No in-app purchases
dadodeca
No in-app purchases









