Comparison

Note Playing vs Clefly

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

Head to head
About

Note Playing

Features
Read full description

This app trains you to learn to read piano notes from a sheet music. Simply play the note displayed in the music sheet on the little piano on the screen and get points when you get it right. Ideal for introducing the notes to adults and children

About

Clefly

Learn to read sheet music with bite-sized lessons that introduce notes gradually. Practice reading phrases and review notes you struggle with. Supports treble and bass clefs, with special features for guitarists.

Highlights
  • Bite-size note lessons
  • Phrase reading practice
  • Adaptive review system
  • Treble and bass clef support
  • Guitar notation with fretboard
  • Weekly leaderboards
  • Teacher studio integration
Features
Read full description

Clefly teaches you to actually read sheet music: real notes, on a real staff, from the very first lesson. Most music apps show you falling blocks and colorful note streams you'll never see on a printed page. Clefly never does. You learn on genuine staff notation from day one, so the skill you build is the skill you'll use when real sheet music lands in front of you. LEARN NOTE BY NOTE • Bite-size lessons that introduce a few notes at a time • Classic memory hooks like Every Good Boy Does Fine and FACE, then landmark notes that wean you off counting lines • Crisp, beautiful engraving, the same quality you'd find in printed music READ PHRASES, NOT JUST NOTES • Phrase lessons: short runs of notes read left to right, the way real music flows • The bridge from naming a single note to reading a whole line, the step most apps skip RHYTHM AND REAL SONGS • Two rhythm units: name whole, half, quarter and eighth notes, then dotted notes and rests • The treble clef section ends with a real song you tap along to, note by note, in time • A repertoire shelf of tunes to read yourself, from Au Clair de la Lune to Amazing Grace in 3/4 time REVIEW THAT KNOWS YOU • Clefly remembers every note you answer, how fast and how accurately • Notes you struggle with come back more often; notes you've mastered step aside • A dedicated Review path serves exactly the notes that are due, right when they're due MORE THAN ONE CLEF • Treble clef, bass clef, and the full grand staff • Ledger lines, sharps and flats, and intervals • Playing guitar? Clefly teaches proper guitar notation (treble clef, sounding an octave lower) with a fretboard that shows where every note lives STAY MOTIVATED • Daily goals, streaks, and XP • Achievements for the milestones along the way • Finish a skill and hear a real melody played with the notes you just learned RACE YOUR FRIENDS • Invite a friend with a link, a short code, or a QR scan and race on a weekly leaderboard • Lessons and Lightning rounds earn XP for the race; the board resets every Monday • See when a friend passes you, then take the lead back LEARN WITH YOUR TEACHER • Taking lessons? Join your teacher's studio with an invite code or QR scan • Homework your teacher writes for you lands on the Studio tab, with their notes and due dates • Redo any homework to beat your first score; your teacher sees first and best • Browse your teacher's whole exercise library and play anything, any time • You choose what you share: your teacher sees your name and avatar, your homework results (first and best), your weekly XP and your XP history by week, your streak and longest streak, your Lightning best score, lessons completed, and when you last practiced. Leaving the studio stops all sharing. THEORY, ALWAYS AT HAND • Every mnemonic, landmark, and concept from your lessons lives in the Theory tab • Stuck mid-lesson? One tap opens the relevant explanation without losing your place WHO IT'S FOR • Complete beginners who want to read music properly from the start • Returning players who play by ear but freeze at notation • Piano and guitar learners, choir singers, band students, anyone who reads treble or bass clef CLEFLY PLUS, OPTIONAL • Unlimited energy, a monthly instant streak repair, and a Plus outfit for your songbird • Plus locks no lessons, notes or practice modes: everything above stays free Every lesson in Clefly is free, with no ads and no account needed. Sign in once with Apple and your progress is backed up and waiting on any device. Clefly Plus is a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription (yearly starts with a 7-day free trial) or a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends; manage them in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Questions or ideas? We'd love to hear from you: support@clefly.app

Screenshots

Note Playing3 screens
Clefly4 screens

Verdict

The call

Note Playing and Clefly are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Note Playing versus Clefly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNote PlayingClefly
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.6 (5 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequency—Every 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB51 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarcelo PalaciosTriton IT B.V.

In-app purchases

None

Note Playing

No in-app purchases

None

Clefly

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Note Playing free?
Note Playing is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Clefly free?
Clefly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Note Playing or Clefly have ads?
Neither Note Playing nor Clefly shows ads.

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