Comparison

Note to Be vs Know the Notes

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

Head to head
About

Note to Be

This app offers advanced MIDI quantization for iOS musicians. It allows precise control over note selection, octave flexibility, and MIDI CC integration for crafting harmonious compositions and dynamic live performances. Supports microtonal scales and multi-synth setups.

Highlights
  • Customizable note and octave selection
  • MIDI CC to note conversion
  • Multi-synth channel assignment
  • Live performance toggles
  • Microtonal scale support (Scala Library)
  • MPE polyphonic playback
Features
Read full description

Take full control of your MIDI experience with Note to Be—the powerful iOS app designed to transform how you interact with your music. Whether you're working with a MIDI keyboard, sequencer, or MIDI CC input, Note to Be ensures your notes are perfectly quantized to the nearest selected note, allowing you to craft precise, harmonious compositions with ease. Key Features: - Customizable Note Selection: Choose individual notes from any octave, or apply your selection across the full -1 to +8 octave range. - Octave Flexibility: Work within the entire octave spectrum, selecting and unselecting notes with a simple tap. - MIDI CC Integration: Use MIDI CC from hardware controllers or apps like ShiftBud to convert control changes into quantized notes. Easily create chord voicings and dynamic live performances. - Multi-Synth Support: Assign different MIDI channels to multiple synths, allowing each to respond to the quantized MIDI output independently. - Live Performance Enhancement: Engage the 'all notes' toggle to instantly apply note selections across all octaves or quickly select notes in a specific key and scale. - Microtonality: Select a microtonal scale from the Scala Library with +5000 microtonal scales, or import your own to the iCloud folder. Play the MPE supported synths polyphonically. With Note to Be, your music becomes a canvas, and every note is a brushstroke. Unlock new creative possibilities and refine your sound with the precision of MIDI quantization, right from your iOS device. Note to Be is a MIDI app and does not produce any sound on its own. You need a MIDI input source and an audio output destination in order to work with Note to Be. The AUv3 plugin requires an AUv3 host app such as AUM, Logic Pro for iPad, Loopy Pro, Cubasis, Nanostudio, apeMatrix, Audiobus etc.

About

Know the Notes

Features
Read full description

Unlock your musical potential with Know the Notes, the ultimate ear training companion for musicians of all levels. Whether you're a beginner learning to identify notes or an advanced player refining your pitch, our app offers a responsive simple to use practice environment. Realistic Audio Experience Forget static, low-quality samples. Know Your Notes uses advanced real-time audio synthesis to generate sounds instantly. Piano: Rich, synthesized piano tones. Guitar: Plucked strings using the Karplus-Strong algorithm. Tone: Pure sine waves for focused frequency training. Practice Mode: Freely explore notes on an interactive keyboard with immediate visual feedback. Track your streaks and improve at your own pace. Quiz Mode: Test your skills with customizable quizzes. Choose your quiz length and difficulty. Delayed Feedback enhances real ear-training exams by hiding results until the end of the quiz. Customizable and Learning Difficulty Control: Toggle sharps and flats (black keys) to match your skill level. Settings: Adjust quiz lengths and feedback styles to suit your learning preference. Stop guessing and start knowing. Download Know Your Notes and tune your ear today!

Screenshots

Note to Be4 screens
Know the Notes3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Know the Notes at $1.99 against Note to Be's $4.99. Note to Be's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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

Note to Be costs $4.99 and Know the Notes $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Note to Be ships an update weekly, Know the Notes fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Note to Be versus Know the Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNote to BeKnow the Notes
Price$4.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.9 (7 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size71 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCem OlcayDAVID MAYR LERNER

In-app purchases

None

Note to Be

No in-app purchases

None

Know the Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Note to Be free?
Note to Be costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Know the Notes free?
Know the Notes costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Note to Be or Know the Notes have ads?
Neither Note to Be nor Know the Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Note to Be or Know the Notes?
Note to Be ships an update weekly, and Know the Notes fortnightly. Most recently, Note to Be was updated on October 24, 2026 and Know the Notes on October 25, 2026.

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