Comparison

Jamcorder vs WhatChord MIDI

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

Head to head
About

Jamcorder

This app allows you to automatically record everything you play on your digital piano. It offers over 25,000 hours of storage, enabling you to create a personal archive of your musical journey. Turn everyday practice into visible progress and share your performances.

Highlights
  • Automatic play detection
  • Over 25,000 hours of storage
  • Effortless recording
  • Personal music archive
  • Shareable performances
  • Visible practice progress
Features
Read full description

Have you ever thought, “wow, I wish I recorded that”? Now, it is. Jamcorder is a tiny device you attach to your digital piano that quietly captures everything you play — effortlessly, for life. With automatic play detection and over 25,000 hours of included storage, that’s 3 non-stop years of music, it turns everyday practice into visible progress and a growing personal archive to revisit and share. Requires Jamcorder hardware. Sold separately.

About

WhatChord MIDI

Identify chords from live MIDI input or manual note entry. Explore harmony, build chords, and browse scales with musically informed analysis. Learn and understand music theory with real-time feedback.

Highlights
  • Real-time chord recognition
  • Manual chord lookup
  • Explore chords and scales
  • Musically informed analysis
  • Alternative chord interpretations
  • MIDI compatibility
Read full description

Identify chords from live MIDI or manual note entry, follow the key as you play, then explore the harmony behind them. Stop guessing what chord you're playing. WhatChord gives musicians fast, musically informed chord names and live key context. Connect a Bluetooth or USB MIDI keyboard for instant feedback, or use the lookup pad to enter notes from any instrument, sheet music, or recording. Auto key detection listens to your recent live chords, shows confidence, and waits when the evidence is ambiguous. Explore Chords and Explore Scales let you build and hear chords, browse a wide range of scales, inspect keyboard patterns, and understand diatonic harmony. Play it. Explore it. Learn it. WhatChord goes beyond simple note matching. Its musically informed analysis considers inversions, extensions, slash chords, altered tones, key context, and conventional naming practices so chord names appear the way musicians expect to see them. When you're comping with a bassist, Ensemble mode names rootless voicings as the chords they imply and marks the implied root on the keyboard. FEATURES - Real-time chord recognition Chord names update immediately as you play. - Automatic key detection Auto mode estimates the current key from recent live chords, shows confidence across major and minor keys, and can keep the app's key context following your playing. - Manual chord lookup Enter notes directly to identify a chord, choose its bass note, and inspect alternative interpretations without connecting a MIDI device. - Explore chords Tap the chord card to open explore mode and build or hear chords without a keyboard by adjusting the root, quality, extensions, and bass note. - Explore scales Tap the scale-degree strip to browse a wide range of scales with tones, keyboard patterns, and diatonic chords. - Musically informed analysis Recognizes inversions, extensions, slash chords, upper structures, altered tones, and complex harmony. - Ensemble mode When comping with a bassist, switch to Ensemble so rootless voicings are named as the chords they imply. - Alternative interpretations See other valid chord names when more than one reading makes musical sense. - Context-aware spelling Uses enharmonic notation based on key signature and chord function. - Customizable notation Choose the chord symbol style you prefer. - MIDI compatibility Works with standard Bluetooth MIDI and USB MIDI keyboards and controllers. RECOGNITION WhatChord identifies everything from simple triads to rich extended harmony and follows key context from real playing. Whether you're practicing theory, learning progressions, exploring altered dominants, or working through dense extended chords, the app names what you play with accuracy and musical intent. PRIVACY WhatChord is free, contains no ads, and collects no personal data. All analysis happens locally on your device. GET STARTED Play through MIDI, enter notes manually, or start exploring chords, keys, and scales right away.

Screenshots

Jamcorder4 screens
WhatChord MIDI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Jamcorder at 67 against WhatChord MIDI's 1. Jamcorder also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs weekly). 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

Both are free to download. 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 — 5.0 for Jamcorder against 5.0 for WhatChord MIDI. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Jamcorder has 67 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Jamcorder ships an update every 2 days, WhatChord MIDI weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Jamcorder versus WhatChord MIDI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJamcorderWhatChord MIDI
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (67 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings67 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size89 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJamcorderAaron Bull Schaefer

Customer experience

Jamcorder

All ratings66 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

WhatChord MIDI

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

In-app purchases

None

Jamcorder

No in-app purchases

None

WhatChord MIDI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Jamcorder free?
Jamcorder is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is WhatChord MIDI free?
WhatChord MIDI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Jamcorder or WhatChord MIDI?
Jamcorder and WhatChord MIDI are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 67 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Jamcorder or WhatChord MIDI have ads?
Neither Jamcorder nor WhatChord MIDI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Jamcorder or WhatChord MIDI?
Jamcorder ships an update every 2 days, and WhatChord MIDI weekly. Most recently, Jamcorder was updated on October 21, 2026 and WhatChord MIDI on October 22, 2026.

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