Comparison

Zebra vs Music Notes

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

Head to head
About

Zebra

Learn to read music through engaging games and guided lessons. Progress through note recognition, rhythm training, and ear training with instant feedback. Designed for musicians of all levels, it offers a comprehensive and fun approach to music theory.

Highlights
  • 20 short music theory games
  • 41 guided lessons
  • Note recognition training
  • Rhythm and ear training
  • Sight-reading practice
  • Offline play
  • Free piano and metronome
Features
Read full description

Learn to read music in five minutes a day, by playing. Zebra turns music theory into 21 little games, a note reading, rhythm and ear trainer in one: you start by naming a white key, and one day you're reading two clefs at once, key signature and all. NEW TO MUSIC? PERFECT 52 short lessons guide you step by step: the piano keyboard, the staff, rhythm, intervals, scales, chords and ear training. Each lesson ends with a game, so you practice what you just learned right away. Kids or adults, total beginners or music students, everyone goes at their own pace. READ NOTES IN TREBLE AND BASS CLEF Learn to read music notes on the staff and find them on the piano keyboard, then the other way around. Treble clef first, bass clef next, then both together, the way pianists read. Further on, sharps, flats and naturals join in, and key signatures sit at the start of the staff, just like on real sheet music. In Sight Reading, the notes scroll toward you and you play them in time, until reading music becomes second nature. RHYTHM, ON CARDS AND BY EAR The Rhythm game uses cards, just like in a piano lesson: read the bar, the metronome counts, and you tap it, with one hand and then both. Whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighths, sixteenths and rests are all in there. In Rhythm Dictation, you hear a rhythm and play it back; in Rhythm Builder, you rebuild it note by note. EAR TRAINING Name a note or a chord just by listening, and learn the color of every interval. Major or minor, third or fifth: your ear learns to put a name on what it hears. MUSIC THEORY WITHOUT THE HEADACHE Intervals, major and minor scales, chords and key signatures: build them on the keyboard and recognize them on the staff, in every key. And for a break, seventeen tunes you know are playable from the first chapters. FIVE MINUTES IS ENOUGH A round takes about a minute, and you know right away if you got it: the note turns green, or red. One round while you wait for the bus is already progress. Win five and you've hit your daily goal. 671 LEVELS TO KEEP YOU GROWING Every game climbs gently, from the white keys all the way to key signatures full of sharps and flats. There's enough here to keep you learning for months. TO KEEP YOU GOING • A daily challenge, the same for everyone • A look back at your week every Monday: what you played and what's improving • Quests, and a streak that rewards showing up • Stars to unlock new games • Stats that show your progress in black and white AND ALSO • Your progress follows you from one device to another, with iCloud • A piano and a metronome, always in your pocket • Everything works offline, on the train or in the practice room • Note names in C D E or solfège Do Re Mi, your choice • In English, French, Spanish, Italian and German FREE, FOR REAL No account, no ads, no subscription. Everything is in the app from day one, and nothing is for sale: you unlock it all by playing. WHO IT'S FOR Music students who want to review their theory between lessons. Anyone learning piano, guitar, violin, brass or voice, with a teacher, an app or on their own, who wants to finally read what they play. Parents looking for an ad-free music game for their kids. And teachers looking for drills to assign. Play one round, and you'll soon see where you stand.

About

Music Notes

Features
Read full description

100 Music Notes is an educational app where kids can learn about 100 different music notes while having fun! Features: - 100 beautifully illustrated instruments including piano, guitar, violin, and more - Listen to each instrument! Real sounds bring every instrument to life - Available in 10 languages (Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Traditional Chinese, Arabic) - Learn with flashcards - Name Quiz: identify instruments from illustrations - Sound Quiz: listen to sounds and guess the instrument — a unique new quiz mode! - Track progress with the collection feature Start your adventure into the world of music notes! A Learning Report for parents shows your child's favourites, the kinds of things they are drawn to, and a record of the last two weeks. It stays on the device and is never sent anywhere. One app, ten languages (Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Arabic). Switch with one tap from the home screen — perfect for bilingual families, heritage language learners, and travel. Premium unlocks the full collection and adds auto read-aloud, which turns the cards and speaks each name hands-free — handy in the car or at bedtime. Ages 5 & Under. No data collected. No ads. No third-party SDKs. Parental Gate (multiplication challenge) protects external links.

Screenshots

Zebra4 screens
Music Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Zebra at none against Music Notes's 1. Music Notes's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 11 days). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Music Notes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Zebra asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zebra ships an update every 11 days, Music Notes every 4 days. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Zebra versus Music Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZebraMusic Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB78 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTHOMAS RICHARD ARMEL CROZIERSami Kuribara

In-app purchases

None

Zebra

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Music Notes

One-time1
  • Premium - 100 Music Notes$3.99

Questions

Is Zebra free?
Zebra is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Music Notes free?
Music Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Zebra or Music Notes have ads?
Neither Zebra nor Music Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Zebra or Music Notes?
Zebra ships an update every 11 days, and Music Notes every 4 days. Most recently, Zebra was updated on November 5, 2026 and Music Notes on November 5, 2026.

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