MIDI SolFa Mode vs YouCompose
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MIDI SolFa Mode
Explore music theory with an interactive instrument. Learn scales, modes, and solmization, or connect to MIDI devices. Play melodies, chords, and discover improvisational techniques.
- Interactive spiral and piano keyboards
- Study scales, modes, and circle of fifths
- Learn Movable-Do and Fixed-Do solmization
- MIDI input/output and file playback
- Improvise polyphonic canons
- Load custom sounds and MIDI files
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A unique musical instrument. An interactive music theory medium. An amazing solmization machine. A universal MIDI tool. All in one: "MIDI SolFa Mode-Go-Round" unites and extends the possibilities of the apps "Musk MIDI Keyboard", "Musk MIDI Player", "Musk Diatonic Modes" and the "SolFa Mode-Go-Round". Therefore there are many creative and didactic use cases. Play and grasp music! Use cases: ========== * Play on the diatonic or chromatic keyboard. * Study or teach scales, church modes, and the circle of fifths. * Discover improvising polyphonic canons. * Learn Movable-Do and Fixed-Do solmization. * Connect to your MIDI apps and devices or play with connected "SolFa Mode-Go-Rounds". * Load sounds and polyphonic pieces. * Tune into your part. Hear its solmization. Touch instruments: ================== * The app features a diatonically oriented spiral shaped keyboard with 7 keys per octave. (Tone circle) * With it you can easily play well sounding melodies and chords in major, minor or other church modes. + Besides it, there is a chromatic piano keyboard. (iPhone: Landscape orientation, iPad: double tap piano-button) Sounds: ======= * Instrumental sounds: a General-MIDI sound font is pre-installed. (See also "Musk MIDI Keyboard" for more options.) * To study church modes and solmization, the syllables "do re mi fa so la ti" where recorded in 3 octaves. + Freely mix instrument and solmization sounds. Listen to the solmization of the tenor, hear the bass as piano and the soprano as flute notes. + Choose a small choir ("Erlebnisland") with warm sounds or synthetic Bruno, who really sings to the point. Music theory: ============= * The generalised touch circle of fifth gives access to 12 tonics und 7 modes. * The touch instruments change according to the selected tonic and mode. * There are 5 mathematical-musical base modulations. * Interactive tutorials introduce you to the operation. * Get a fine feeling for the character differences between the diatonic scales Major (Ionian), natural Minor (Aeolean) and the church modes Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian and Locrian. * Understand how they are interrelated. + Improvise up to five-part counterpoint canons "note-by-note": You play the melody and the canon assistent shows how to proceed. * You can also invent normal canons. Just play in half notes. + You can change labels on the tone circle, e.g. to test your or your students knowledge. Solmization: ============ * The syllables depend on the pitch, the chosen tonic/mode configuration and the solmization method. * They are shown on the tone circle and can be heared. * Solmization methods: absolute solmization (Fixed-Do), relative solmization (Movable-Do) and scale degree solmization. MIDI features: ============== * With this app, you can send and receive MIDI notes and play back MIDI files. * All features of "Musk MIDI Keyboard" and "Musk MIDI Player" are available. (See "Related Apps" in the App Store) + Record tracks and export midi files. + During recording of notes, the related solmization syllables can be attached to the track as lyrics. These can be shown by any MIDI-Karaoke player. + This app sends and receives configuration change commands. You can keep all connected "MIDI SolFa Mode-Go-Rounds" in sync. + You can also add bass notes with an external notation app. These will trigger tonic/mode changes. Synchronization: ================= + Notes and configuration changes are transmitted via MIDI to connected devices and apps. + Using SharePlay you can play with friends over the Internet and play back midi files synchronously. + Nearby devices, e.g. in the classroom, can synchronize their settings via OSC and OSC-Query. See also: ========= * "SolFa Mode-Go-Round", "Tonkreisel", "Musk MIDI Player", "Musk MIDI Keyboard". * Features marked with "*" are available in other apps. * Features marked with "+" are only available in this app. Have fun and let the mode go round! We love to hear feedback.
YouCompose
Create original music effortlessly with an AI assistant. This app generates unique compositions using music theory and genetic algorithms, ensuring no copyright issues. It offers a wide range of built-in instruments and flexible editing tools.
- AI-powered music composition
- Original, copyright-free music generation
- 80+ built-in instrument sounds
- Over 85 predefined ensembles
- Multiple creation methods (keyboard, MIDI, grid, score)
- Classical and jazz harmonization
- Advanced editing capabilities
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Meet Aimée, your AI assistant composer, ready to help you create amazing music effortlessly. Aimée: Originality You Can Trust. In the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and creativity, concerns about originality and copyright are paramount. Aimée, the AI-powered assistant in YouCompose, stands out by ensuring that the music she helps you create is entirely original and free from copyright issues. Aimée Doesn't Steal! Aimée's AI isn't trained on existing musical data. Instead, she generates her own unique musical content. This innovation is achieved through the clever use of an expert system that combines music theory with advanced genetic algorithms. As a result, Aimée produces truly original compositions that are not based on or derived from existing works. At the heart of Aimée's originality is an expert system grounded in comprehensive musical theoretical data. This system provides Aimée with a deep understanding of music, enabling her to compose with creativity and precision. Whether you're crafting a symphony or a simple melody, Aimée applies her theoretical knowledge to ensure your music is harmonically rich and structurally sound. Aimée also leverages genetic algorithms, which allow her to evolve and refine musical ideas through a process akin to natural selection. By iteratively improving upon initial ideas, Aimée can explore a vast space of musical possibilities, generating compositions that are both innovative and musically coherent. This approach is crucial in addressing potential copyright infringements. By not relying on pre-existing musical data, Aimée ensures that the music you create with her assistance is genuinely yours. Why Originality Matters? In the realm of music composition, originality is not just a matter of artistic integrity but also a legal necessity. Copyright infringement can lead to significant legal challenges and financial liabilities. Aimée's ability to create original music provides peace of mind, allowing you to focus on your creative process without worrying about potential legal repercussions. Features of YouCompose and Aimée: Built-in Instruments: - 80 instrument definitions with their sounds, including all regular orchestral instruments, keyboards, organs, guitars, basses, chorus, and percussion. - Over 85 predefined ensembles for quick setup, ranging from trios to orchestras. Creating and Editing: - Create melodies using the built-in virtual keyboard, a MIDI keyboard, a grid or score editor, by importing MIDI files, or by asking Aimée to generate them. - Aimée harmonizes your melodies in classical or jazz style, considering your chosen instruments. - Edit compositions by copying, pasting, moving, and deleting movements, segments, and individual notes. - Let Aimée compose a complete symphony or add new movements based on her own or your melodies. - Control harmonization with instrumentation tools, ‘Composition instructions,’ ‘Harmonization Points,’ or leave it to Aimée. - Combine classical and jazz styles within a single piece. - Special tools for entering lyrics, applying melodic transformations, and creating dynamic effects. Sharing and Saving: - Compatible with Audiobus, AudioCopy, and Inter-App Audio for seamless audio recording and integration with other apps. - CoreMIDI compatible for use with MIDI keyboards, sound modules, or synth apps. - Export audio files in MIDI, AAC, M4A, AIFF, CAF, and WAV formats, with M4A files containing iTunes data like ‘artist,’ ‘song name,’ and ‘lyrics.’ - View, print, save or export full scores and individual parts (transposed when applicable) as PDF. - Save compositions to your device, with options to share via iCloud, email, or AirDrop. - Share compositions through email with YouCompose files, audio files, MIDI files, and PDFs of scores and parts. YouCompose also includes several sample compositions featuring well-known melodies, providing a rich starting point for your musical journey.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is price: MIDI SolFa Mode at $3.99 against YouCompose's $12.99. YouCompose's advantage is ratings volume (35 vs 2) and review sentiment (70% vs 60%). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
MIDI SolFa Mode costs $3.99 and YouCompose $12.99 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 — 4.5 for MIDI SolFa Mode against 4.4 for YouCompose. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: YouCompose has 35 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 60% of MIDI SolFa Mode's written reviews are positive against 70% of YouCompose's.
MIDI SolFa Mode ships an update every 3 months, YouCompose every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MIDI SolFa Mode | YouCompose |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $12.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (2 ratings) — better | 4.4 (35 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | 70.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 35 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 399 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dr. Garbers Softwareentwicklung | Elstar |
Customer experience
MIDI SolFa Mode
YouCompose
In-app purchases
MIDI SolFa Mode
No in-app purchases
YouCompose
No in-app purchases









