Umphrey's McGee vs PracticePlay
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Umphrey's McGee
This music app offers an immersive listening experience, allowing users to control individual instrument levels, solo, mute, and pan. Access lyrics and create a personalized mix, similar to being at a recording studio's mixing board.
- Adjust instrument levels
- Solo and mute instruments
- Pan audio
- Loop sections
- Access lyrics
- Immersive listening experience
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Umphrey's McGee - Asking For A Friend has been made available as a Myxstem app. Myxstem (pronounced "mix-stem") is a new format that empowers fans to completely control the listening experience by adjusting levels of each instrument (stem) to solo, mute, pan, loop and access lyrics in a fun and immersive way, similar to being at the mixing board of a recording studio.
PracticePlay
This app automatically records and replays your musical practice sessions hands-free. It intelligently listens for instruments, capturing only your playing to help you focus on improving your sound and technique. Analyze your performance with playback speed and pitch adjustments.
- Hands-free recording
- Automatic playback
- Instrument sound recognition
- Session library
- Playback speed and pitch control
- Share recordings
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Stop fumbling for the record, stop, and play buttons. PracticePlay automatically listens, records, and plays back your musical practice sessions hands-free so you can focus on actively hearing yourself and improving your sound, technique, and musicality. “I can’t think of a more helpful app for both teaching and performing. The ability to truly hear exactly what you sound like is the greatest benefit of all.” —Ryan Gardner, Professor of Trumpet, University of Colorado Boulder “PracticePlay is a dream come true: an intuitive tool with hands-free recording and automatic playback for reflective, efficient, and meaningful deep practice.” —Wiff Rudd, Professor of Trumpet, Baylor University Practice without thinking about technology. PracticePlay listens for your instrument, records every take you play, and stays out of the way the rest of the time. Whatever the environment, it just works. Conversations, instruction from a teacher, lesson notes spoken aloud, ambient noise from your home—none of it triggers a recording. PracticePlay’s on-device sound model recognizes musical instruments specifically, so the only takes in your library are the ones you actually played. WHY MUSICIANS LOVE IT • Never miss a take. The breakthroughs you didn’t expect to record? They’re already saved. • Practice with full attention. No tapping a record button between phrases, no audio editing afterward. • Compare progress over time. Every session is in your Library, organized by date and searchable by name. • Keep the takes that matter. Name and star your best recordings, and let PracticePlay clear out the old ones you never marked. • Listen back with intent. Adjust playback speed and pitch for analysis. FOR SOLO PRACTICE IN THE WOODSHED The phone sits ten feet away on the music stand. You play. It records. You stop. You hear yourself. You play again. With rest while listening you’ll improve faster without burning yourself out. FOR CHAMBER MUSIC AND ENSEMBLE REHEARSALS The app sits in the back of the room and earns its place by knowing when not to act. The whole group hears how they sound together and starts making improvements immediately. FOR LESSONS AND MASTERCLASSES PracticePlay sits in like a quiet assistant. It captures every excerpt the moment the student plays, then steps aside while the teacher and student talk it through. The next recording begins on the next note. FOR AUDITION TAKES Take back-to-back recordings without walking over to your device. Play, listen back, adjust, play another take. Hear exactly what the panel will hear before they hear it. FEATURES • Listens for music—ignores everything else • Records the moment you start playing • Replays automatically when you stop • Saves every session to your Library • Name, star, search, and filter your recordings • Select several at once to share, rename, star, or delete • Optional auto-cleanup of old recordings (starred and named ones are always kept) • Waveform scrubbing with speed and pitch controls • Works with any mic or speaker • Share recordings or whole sessions straight from the app • Native apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac No record button. Just play. PracticePlay does the rest! TRY IT FOR FREE When you’re ready, the full app is yours forever with a one-time $9.99 purchase. No subscriptions. No accounts. No ads. Pay ONCE and use it on EVERY iPhone, iPad, and Mac you own. Family Sharing supported. (Prices shown in this description are in USD. Exact price may vary by region based on current exchange rates. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID Account at confirmation of purchase. Devices using the same Apple ID can share the purchase.) Questions? Need help? Send us a message at hey@practiceplay.app.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is price: PracticePlay at Free against Umphrey's McGee's $14.99. PracticePlay also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and ratings volume (22 vs 4). Umphrey's McGee's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 17.0). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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
PracticePlay is free to download; Umphrey's McGee costs $14.99 up front. PracticePlay sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Umphrey's McGee asks for nothing beyond the download.
PracticePlay holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PracticePlay has 22 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Umphrey's McGee ships an update every 10 days, PracticePlay fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 9, 2026.
| Parameter | Umphrey's McGee | PracticePlay |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (22 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 22 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 412 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Myxstem | One Good Idea, LLC |
Customer experience
Umphrey's McGee
PracticePlay
In-app purchases
Umphrey's McGee
No in-app purchases
PracticePlay
- Unlock Unlimited Recording$9.99
Questions
Is Umphrey's McGee free?
Is PracticePlay free?
Which has better reviews, Umphrey's McGee or PracticePlay?
Do Umphrey's McGee or PracticePlay have ads?
Which is updated more often, Umphrey's McGee or PracticePlay?
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