Comparison

iImprov vs ScaleMate

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

Head to head
About

iImprov

Explore the language of Bebop with comprehensive lessons and interactive jam-alongs. Learn to master bebop scales, develop longer phrases, and practice chord substitutions with tempo-adjustable audio examples and transposable notation.

Highlights
  • Bebop scale realization
  • Phrase development techniques
  • Turnarounds and chord substitutions
  • Confirmation sequence breakdown
  • I Got Rhythm changes practice
  • Tempo-adjustable jam-alongs
  • Transposable notation
Features
Read full description

iImprov - Bebop This latest in the iImprov series from Jazz Apps Mobile is designed to help take the mystery out of the language of Bebop. There are 9 comprehensive lessons and 8 JAM- A-longs. Each lesson contains a detailed explanation as well as exercises, transposable notation and tempo-adjustable audio examples. Many of the concepts are also demoed by saxophonist Tony Bray at the end of the lessons. The topics covered include: - How to fully realize the bebop scale through strategic placement of half steps to ultimately include all twelve notes of the chromatic scale while maintaining appropriate chord colors. - How to develop longer phrases. - Turnarounds and chord substitutions. (Includes tempo adjustable examples that loop and transpose for practicing over.) - A breakdown of the Confirmation sequence. - Various approaches to playing over I Got Rhythm changes. JAM-A-longs include individually created files for each key. Each will loop indefinitely, all keys are covered and tempos are adjustable. The included JAM-A-longs are: - V7 - II V I - I Got Rhythm 1 - I Got Rhythm 2 - Confirmation Sequence - Turnaround 1 - Turnaround 2 - Turnaround 3 As with other other Jazz Apps Mobile apps, you can set the notation clef and the overall transposition for your specific instrument and there is balance control for the JAM-A-Longs. Happy Practicing!

About

ScaleMate

This app provides an interactive reference for understanding music scales and jazz harmony. It allows users to hear, visualize, and manipulate scales to deepen their comprehension of musical concepts. Features include expert write-ups, practical usage tips, and animated transformations between scales.

Highlights
  • Hear scales as melodies
  • Visualize scales on circle of fifths
  • Expert scale write-ups
  • Manipulate scales and hear changes
  • Full library of scales
  • Automatic scale recognition
  • Animated scale transformations
Features
Read full description

ScaleMate is a modern, interactive reference to jazz harmony. ScaleMate lets you… HEAR SCALES conventionally or as random melodies. VISUALIZE SCALES in ways that help you understand them deeper. READ & LEARN through built-in, expert scale write-ups & use tips. MANIPULATE SCALES while you listen. Hear the effects instantly to understand how scales differ. ————————————————— ScaleMate is a reference that shows you & plays for you any scale you wish…. But that's just the beginning. ScaleMate helps you hear & understand scales and harmony more deeply… by teaching you to visualize scales in ways that match what they sound like. Imagine… Wouldn't it be nice to have a single image to understand all the modes of the major scale? Ever wonder why the modes are ordered so oddly, hopping between major & minor & dominant? Or notice that the Altered Scale is the "darkest", most minor sounding of all possible dominant scales? Or that its tritone-substitution, the Lydian Dominant Scale, is the "brightest" of them all? Ever notice that the minor pentatonic scale is a mode of the major pentatonic scale and wonder whether there were any other useful pentatonic modes? Ever notice that the major pentatonic scale (and its modes) are the only 5-note scale that doesn't contain any half steps or tritones? ScaleMate shows you scales in a way that makes these observations natural and immediate… and plays you the results too. Or ever just wonder what the definition of a dominant chord is and which common scales can be used for them? ScaleMate's got you covered. ——————— FEATURES ——————— USE IT RIGHT AWAY Use ScaleMate right now! Built-in help is there for you whenever you want it. LISTEN ScaleMate lets you hear what scales sound like, by playing them up & down, or by playing random melodies that use them. VISUALIZE WHAT YOU HEAR ScaleMate shows every scale both linearly (for melodic understanding) and on the circle of fifths (for harmonic understanding). FULL LIBRARY OF SCALES ScaleMate knows all the scales you're ever likely to encounter. A WELLSPRING OF KNOWLEDGE Extensive info pages on 60+ of the most common & important scales, including practical advice and usage tips. (Over 15,000 words of content.) USE IT TO TEACH ScaleMate is perfect for projecting on a screen or sharing over zoom while you teach. Its animations let you show how one scale transforms into another, and it has special features (pointing, hiding/revealing) for educators. AUTOMATIC SCALE RECOGNITION Build your own scales and ask yourself "what if I make this change…" Whenever you produce a conventional scale, ScaleMate will automatically identify it for you by name and tell you about it. ANIMATED IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES Change between one scale and another and see the differences between them, visually animated before you. SMART SPELLING ScaleMate notates perfectly, for every scale in every key. NOTE ROLES Next to each note, ScaleMate displays its function—in numbers (3, 5, b7) or in solfege (Mi, Sol, Te) or not at all, according to your preference. SIMPLE OR ADVANCED NOTATION ScaleMate shows you double flats and double sharps whenever they're called for… unless you'd rather see simpler note names. Prefer never to see notes like Cb and E#? You can have ScaleMate show them as B and F. DIMINISHED HARMONY Choose the option to color the notes in three colors so you can see which diminished seventh chord every note belongs to. Great for understanding diminished scales & chords and seeing how they relate to other scales too. JAZZ CRED ScaleMate is created by Anton Schwartz. An award-winning saxophonist & composer as well as an expert educator, he is also the creator of the highly rated RANDOM ROOTS app. Terms and conditions: https://scalemate.app/terms-conditions Privacy policy: https://scalemate.app/privacy

Screenshots

iImprov4 screens
ScaleMate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: ScaleMate at fortnightly against iImprov's every 32 months. ScaleMate also leads on ratings volume (24 vs 7). iImprov's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.5). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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

iImprov costs $3.99 and ScaleMate $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for iImprov against 4.8 for ScaleMate. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 24 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iImprov ships an update every 32 months, ScaleMate fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
iImprov versus ScaleMate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriImprovScaleMate
Price$3.99$3.99
Rating4.9 (7 ratings) — better4.8 (24 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings724 — better
Update frequencyEvery 32 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS8.0 — better17.5
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJazz Apps Mobile LLCAnton Schwartz

Customer experience

iImprov

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

ScaleMate

All ratings24 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

iImprov

No in-app purchases

None

ScaleMate

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iImprov free?
iImprov costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ScaleMate free?
ScaleMate costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iImprov or ScaleMate?
iImprov is rated higher. iImprov averages 4.9 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while ScaleMate averages 4.8 from 24 ratings.
Do iImprov or ScaleMate have ads?
Neither iImprov nor ScaleMate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iImprov or ScaleMate?
iImprov ships an update every 32 months, and ScaleMate fortnightly. Most recently, iImprov was updated on October 23, 2026 and ScaleMate on October 24, 2026.

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