Comparison

Read Notes vs Clefs

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

Head to head
About

Read Notes

Enhance your musical abilities with interactive games focused on sight-reading, ear training, and chord recognition. Practice essential music theory concepts and improve your performance on any instrument with daily exercises and challenges.

Highlights
  • Sight reading practice with multiple clefs
  • Ear training for notes, intervals, and chords
  • Chord recognition and virtual keyboard
  • 100-song library with challenges
  • Progress tracking and leaderboards
  • Multiple difficulty levels and practice modes
Features
Read full description

Read music for the instrument you play. Clefs, written ranges and answer screens adapt to the selected instrument. Depending on the instrument, answer with an on-screen keyboard, fretboard, string and position choices, note names or rhythm taps. Compare your answer with the right note and practice the notes you missed. Keep your existing quests, drills, pieces and progress. You can continue piano practice without choosing your instrument again. Start with 67 free songs from a library of 150. Optional one-time Premium unlocks the other 83 songs, removes ads and removes heart limits. No subscription.

About

Clefs

Master sheet music reading with daily exercises and a guided course. This app helps you instantly recognize notes across all clefs, from beginner to advanced levels. Practice reading and writing notes, track your progress, and even connect a MIDI keyboard.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step guided course
  • Smart spaced review practice
  • Reading and writing drills
  • Support for all ten clefs
  • MIDI keyboard connectivity
  • Built-in music theory guide
Features
Read full description

Learn to read sheet music fluently. Quick daily exercises, a guided course, and smart review take you from your first notes on the staff to instant recognition in every clef. Clefs is a focused note-reading trainer: no filler, just the skill that unlocks everything else in your musical life. Whether you're starting piano, joining a choir, switching to viola, or finally fixing the bass-clef gap you've had for years — a few minutes a day builds real reading fluency. WHAT YOU GET • A step-by-step course: from the treble staff to key signatures, ledger lines and beyond, with exams to prove your progress • Smart practice that remembers you: spaced review brings back exactly the notes you're about to forget • Reading AND writing drills — recognize notes on the staff, then place them yourself • All ten clefs: treble, bass, alto, tenor, soprano, mezzo-soprano, both baritones, French violin and sub-bass • A daily goal, streaks with freezes, and reminders that adapt to your routine • Detailed statistics for every clef and every note MADE FOR MUSICIANS • Connect a MIDI keyboard and answer on real keys • Warm sampled piano sound, precise notation, custom exercises with your own clefs, key signatures and timers • Built-in theory guide when you want the "why" behind the notes START WHERE YOU ARE A short placement test finds your level, so day one is neither boring nor overwhelming. New notes are introduced gradually, consolidated with review, and tested when you're ready. ONE PURCHASE, EVERYTHING FOREVER No subscription. A single one-time upgrade unlocks the full course, all clefs and the exercise editor — free content lets you build the habit first. Reading music is not a talent — it's a practice. Start today.

Screenshots

Read Notes3 screens
Clefs4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Clefs at none against Read Notes's shown. Clefs also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Read Notes's advantage is ratings volume (6 vs 2) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Read Notes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Clefs sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Clefs holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Read Notes versus Clefs: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRead NotesClefs
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better2
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size73 MB25 MB
Age rating12+4+
Developerminjae LeeCrazy Ootka Software AB

Customer experience

Read Notes

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Clefs

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Read Notes

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$7.99
1 purchases

Clefs

One-time1
  • Clefs Premium$6.99

Questions

Is Read Notes free?
Read Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Clefs free?
Clefs is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Read Notes or Clefs?
Clefs is rated higher. Read Notes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Clefs averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Read Notes or Clefs have ads?
Read Notes shows ads; Clefs does not.
Which is updated more often, Read Notes or Clefs?
Read Notes ships an update weekly, and Clefs weekly. Most recently, Read Notes was updated on October 10, 2026 and Clefs on October 4, 2026.

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