Comparison

PercussionTutor vs Guitar Cycles App

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Extensive library of world rhythms
  • Individual drum track control
  • Audio time-stretching
  • Integrated metronome
  • Standard notation and descriptions
  • Instructional videos
  • Authentic instrument sounds
Currently charting
Read full description

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

About

Guitar Cycles App

Explore chord voicings and inversions systematically across the entire guitar fretboard. This app visually guides you through harmonic cycles, helping you understand how chords transform without memorizing isolated shapes. Study offline and generate playable fingerings for various voicings.

Highlights
  • Explore harmonic cycles of any key
  • Generate chord voicings (Drop 2, Drop 3, etc.)
  • View chords on fretboard diagrams
  • Calculate playable fingerings
  • Offline study capability
Features
Read full description

Guitar Cycles walks you through the guitar's harmonic cycles: a visual, systematic way to explore chord voicings, inversions across the entire fretboard, instead of memorizing shapes in isolation. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Explore the harmonic cycles of any key and see how chords transform as you move across the neck • Generate voicings (Drop 2, Drop 3, Drop 2&4, Drop 2&3, and more) with an engine that calculates playable fingerings • View every chord on a clear fretboard diagram, with notes highlighted • Study offline, anywhere WHO IT'S FOR Built for guitarists who want to understand how chords actually move across the fretboard, whether you're just discovering theory or you teach and need ready-made visual material. No account required, no ads interrupting your practice. Terms of Use: https://www.guitarcycles.com/tos.ios.html Privacy Policy: https://www.guitarcycles.com/privacy.ios.html

Screenshots

PercussionTutor4 screens
Guitar Cycles App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Guitar Cycles App at Free against PercussionTutor's $14.99. Guitar Cycles App also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 90%). PercussionTutor's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (267 vs 1). On rating, 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

Guitar Cycles App is free to download; PercussionTutor costs $14.99 up front. Guitar Cycles App sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per year. PercussionTutor asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for PercussionTutor against 5.0 for Guitar Cycles App. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PercussionTutor has 267 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 90% of PercussionTutor's written reviews are positive against 100% of Guitar Cycles App's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PercussionTutor ships an update every 5 months, Guitar Cycles App fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
PercussionTutor versus Guitar Cycles App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPercussionTutorGuitar Cycles App
Price$14.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (267 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews90.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings267 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#191 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size440 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFunkyDrumTutorENRICO DELL'AQUILA

Customer experience

PercussionTutor

All ratings266 ratings
Positive98.5%
Neutral0.8%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews101 reviews
Positive90.1%
Neutral2.0%
Negative7.9%

Guitar Cycles App

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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
Show 4 more
  • 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
Show 13 more
  • 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

Guitar Cycles App

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

PercussionTutor

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Guitar Cycles App

Subscriptions1
  • Annual Premium License$11.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium License$22.99

Questions

Is PercussionTutor free?
PercussionTutor costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Guitar Cycles App free?
Guitar Cycles App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PercussionTutor or Guitar Cycles App?
Guitar Cycles App is rated higher. PercussionTutor averages 4.9 out of 5 from 267 ratings, while Guitar Cycles App averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do PercussionTutor or Guitar Cycles App have ads?
Neither PercussionTutor nor Guitar Cycles App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PercussionTutor or Guitar Cycles App?
PercussionTutor ships an update every 5 months, and Guitar Cycles App fortnightly. Most recently, PercussionTutor was updated on October 26, 2026 and Guitar Cycles App on October 21, 2026.

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