The Brainery vs Play Fast Notes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
The Brainery
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A Brainery is a place of study or learning in a specialized area. In this case, that special area is bipolar disorder. The Brainery is a fun, interactive way to learn all you can about this complex disorder. - What is Bipolar Disorder? - Common Pharmacological Targets and Treatments Of Bipolar Disorder - Differentiating Bipolar I and Bipolar II - and much more... This is a promotional project sponsored by Intra-Cellular Therapies. Presenters have been compensated.
Play Fast Notes
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Play Fast Notes helps musicians turn the hard passages into the easy ones, using practice techniques backed by how the brain actually learns. Snap a photo of your sheet music or import a PDF, box the exact passage you're drilling, and run it through focused, guided practice tools instead of mindless repetition: โข Tempo Ladder: start slow and climb, working for consistency, until you reach performance speed. โข Repetition inside an ever-changing context, so the passage holds up under pressure instead of only working in the practice room (Interleaved Click-Up). โข Cycle through several spots in random order so your brain works to recall each one, the way a performance demands (Rep Rotator). โข Rhythmic Variations: drill a run in many different rhythms to even out your fingers. You apply the rhythms, or the app writes your passage in the rhythms for you. Tools travel with every practice screen: โข A real metronome with subdivisions, custom meters, accents, and drum-machine grooves. โข A recorder that captures a take and plays it back slowed down and pitch-corrected, so you hear what really happened. โข Apple Pencil support, so you can mark up your music right on the page. โข Smart timers that nudge you to rotate passages, take micro-breaks, and stand up. Everything you do is saved to a practice log so you can watch your progress over time. No ads. Just focused practice. Your first 30 days are free with everything unlocked. After that you can keep going on the free plan with up to three photo passages, or unlock the whole app, PDF parts included, for one payment of $19.99. No subscription. No renewals. Works on iPhone and iPad. A free account keeps your library backed up and in sync between them.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Play Fast Notes at every 10 days against The Brainery's every 6 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. The Brainery sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Play Fast Notes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
The Brainery ships an update every 6 weeks, Play Fast Notes every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Brainery | Play Fast Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 10 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.2 | 15.1 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 109 MB | 51 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Arbor Scientia | Ralph Skiano |
In-app purchases
The Brainery
- Targets & Treatments of BDFree
- Differential Diagnosis of BPFree
- The Basics of Bipolar DisorderFree
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- Is it Bipolar I or Bipolar II?Free
- Conversation CornerFree
Play Fast Notes
- Practice Pro$19.99
Questions
Is The Brainery free?
Is Play Fast Notes free?
Do The Brainery or Play Fast Notes have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Brainery or Play Fast Notes?
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