Comparison

Uraha vs ShamiScore

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

Head to head
About

Uraha

Features
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Why a shamisen-dedicated tuner? The shamisen's distinctive tone β€” shaped by its percussive attack, rapid decay, rich harmonic overtones, and the characteristic sawari buzz β€” makes it notoriously difficult for general-purpose digital tuners to detect accurately. Uraha is purpose-built and optimized specifically for the shamisen. Why choose Uraha? β–  Record Your Own Shamisen β€” Recorded No two shamisen sound alike. Record your instrument at its perfectly tuned pitch, then play that recording back before every performance to tune your strings to it β€” not a generic reference pitch, but the character of your own instrument. Hear each take before you keep it, add a quick memo, and swipe away any you no longer need. Found in no other shamisen tuner app. β–  [New in Version 4.5] Now on Apple Watch Play reference tones from your wrist, through the watch's own speaker. Turn the Digital Crown to move between ε£±, 弍 and 参, and tap to play or stop. The base tone and tuning follow your iPhone, or you can choose them on the watch itself. β–  The Whole Tuning on One Screen Choose your key and tuning from two pickers, then work across the three strings side by side. Each string shows its note, its octave and its exact frequency, and keeps a check mark once you have held it in tune β€” so you can see at a glance how far through the instrument you are. Hold a string in tune for a second and Uraha advances to the next one on its own. β–  A Tuner That Measures the Right String The needle now reads against the string you selected, not simply the nearest note. Play the wrong string, or catch an overtone instead of the fundamental, and Uraha tells you so rather than reporting a confident match. β–  Ear Tuning with Authentic Shamisen Tone Uraha plays a synthesized tone that closely recreates the resonance and timbre of a real shamisen, so you can tune by ear the way musicians have for centuries. One tap sounds a string; hold to repeat it. Fine-tune the timbre to match your own instrument and preference. β–  Digital Tuner Optimized for Shamisen Calibrated specifically for the shamisen's pitch range and harmonic structure, Uraha detects the fundamental pitch far more reliably than conventional chromatic tuners β€” use it alongside ear tuning for precision you can see and hear. β–  Instrument-Type Presets Fine-tune the synthesized tone for Tsugaru shamisen, nagauta, jiuta, and more, then save up to three configurations as presets β€” ideal if you own multiple instruments or switch between genres. β–  Full Support for All Three Traditional Tunings Hon-choshi, Ni-agari, and San-sagari β€” accurate reference pitches for every standard shamisen tuning, one tap away. β–  Saved Tunings with Memos Save a key and tuning together with a note β€” the song, the piece, the player β€” and call it straight back from the saved list. Ideal for teachers tracking students' setups or performers managing multiple pieces. β–  Accessible by Design Every primary control β€” record, play, save, tune β€” includes VoiceOver labels, and the app fully supports both Light and Dark Mode. β–  Upgrading from Version 3.0 In version 4.0 the key list was reordered to start at δΈ€ζœ¬ (A) and climb one semitone at a time to 十二本, the order of a pitch pipe. As a result, δΈ€ζœ¬, 二本 and δΈ‰ζœ¬ now sound an octave lower than they did in 3.0, and saved tunings at those three keys play an octave lower with them. Recordings still play exactly as recorded, but a recording labelled δΈ€ζœ¬, 二本 or δΈ‰ζœ¬ now sits an octave above that key. All other keys are unchanged. Who is Uraha for? Anyone who has struggled to tune a shamisen with a standard tuner; players of Tsugaru shamisen, nagauta, jiuta, or other specific styles; those who play multiple instruments or switch between genres; performers who need to match pitch with others in an ensemble; and anyone who needs reliable, repeatable tuning at rehearsal or on stage. A tuner built for the shamisen, by a shamisen player. Uraha supports your performance.

About

ShamiScore

Features
Read full description

ShamiScore lets you create and edit music for shamisen using fret-based notation. Enter notes in the piano roll, view them as TAB or bunka-fu, and play the score back at your chosen tempo. Features β€’ Edit note position, duration, and fret β€’ Write notation with Apple Pencil (iPad, ShamiScore Pro) β€’ Set the tuning, including honchoshi, niagari, and sansagari β€’ Set tempo and time signatures, then listen to playback β€’ Export PDF, MIDI, and m4a audio β€’ Save .shami documents and sync them with iCloud Drive The free version supports scores up to 64 measures. ShamiScore Pro is available as a monthly subscription or a one-time purchase. Both plans unlock multiple tracks, time signature changes, custom tuning, MIDI import, PDF export without the logo, handwriting input on iPad, and more. A canceled subscription remains active until the end of its paid period. Existing scores can still be viewed and played afterward. Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Uraha4 screens
ShamiScore3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Uraha at none against ShamiScore's 2. ShamiScore's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.1). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. ShamiScore sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Uraha asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Uraha ships an update weekly, ShamiScore every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
Uraha versus ShamiScore: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUrahaShamiScore
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 4 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Mac β€” better
Requires iOS26.118.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size28 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerζ ͺ式会瀾OHANAShu Kawakami

In-app purchases

None

Uraha

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

ShamiScore

Subscriptions1
  • ShamiScore Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
One-time1
  • ShamiScore Pro$99.99

Questions

Is Uraha free?
Uraha is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ShamiScore free?
ShamiScore is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Uraha or ShamiScore have ads?
Neither Uraha nor ShamiScore shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Uraha or ShamiScore?
Uraha ships an update weekly, and ShamiScore every 4 days. Most recently, Uraha was updated on October 30, 2026 and ShamiScore on October 31, 2026.

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