WhatChord MIDI vs MIDI Controller/Oscilloscope
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WhatChord MIDI
Identify chords from live MIDI input or manual note entry. Explore harmony, build chords, and browse scales with musically informed analysis. Learn and understand music theory with real-time feedback.
- Real-time chord recognition
- Manual chord lookup
- Explore chords and scales
- Musically informed analysis
- Alternative chord interpretations
- MIDI compatibility
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Identify chords from live MIDI or manual note entry, follow the key as you play, then explore the harmony behind them. Stop guessing what chord you're playing. WhatChord gives musicians fast, musically informed chord names and live key context. Connect a Bluetooth or USB MIDI keyboard for instant feedback, or use the lookup pad to enter notes from any instrument, sheet music, or recording. Auto key detection listens to your recent live chords, shows confidence, and waits when the evidence is ambiguous. Explore Chords and Explore Scales let you build and hear chords, browse a wide range of scales, inspect keyboard patterns, and understand diatonic harmony. Play it. Explore it. Learn it. WhatChord goes beyond simple note matching. Its musically informed analysis considers inversions, extensions, slash chords, altered tones, key context, and conventional naming practices so chord names appear the way musicians expect to see them. When you're comping with a bassist, Ensemble mode names rootless voicings as the chords they imply and marks the implied root on the keyboard. FEATURES - Real-time chord recognition Chord names update immediately as you play. - Automatic key detection Auto mode estimates the current key from recent live chords, shows confidence across major and minor keys, and can keep the app's key context following your playing. - Manual chord lookup Enter notes directly to identify a chord, choose its bass note, and inspect alternative interpretations without connecting a MIDI device. - Explore chords Tap the chord card to open explore mode and build or hear chords without a keyboard by adjusting the root, quality, extensions, and bass note. - Explore scales Tap the scale-degree strip to browse a wide range of scales with tones, keyboard patterns, and diatonic chords. - Musically informed analysis Recognizes inversions, extensions, slash chords, upper structures, altered tones, and complex harmony. - Ensemble mode When comping with a bassist, switch to Ensemble so rootless voicings are named as the chords they imply. - Alternative interpretations See other valid chord names when more than one reading makes musical sense. - Context-aware spelling Uses enharmonic notation based on key signature and chord function. - Customizable notation Choose the chord symbol style you prefer. - MIDI compatibility Works with standard Bluetooth MIDI and USB MIDI keyboards and controllers. RECOGNITION WhatChord identifies everything from simple triads to rich extended harmony and follows key context from real playing. Whether you're practicing theory, learning progressions, exploring altered dominants, or working through dense extended chords, the app names what you play with accuracy and musical intent. PRIVACY WhatChord is free, contains no ads, and collects no personal data. All analysis happens locally on your device. GET STARTED Play through MIDI, enter notes manually, or start exploring chords, keys, and scales right away.
MIDI Controller/Oscilloscope
This app combines a multi-touch performance keyboard, a 16-channel step sequencer, and a real-time oscilloscope. It allows seamless integration with hardware synthesizers and audio gear via USB, enabling music creation and analysis.
- Multi-touch velocity-sensitive keyboard
- 16-channel step sequencer with piano roll
- Real-time 8-channel oscilloscope
- USB MIDI and audio interface support
- Network and Bluetooth MIDI compatibility
- Live recording and transposition
- Sub-millisecond sequencer timing
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A powerful all-in-one studio companion for hardware synthesizers, drum machines, and audio gear. Connect your USB MIDI devices and audio interfaces and start playing, sequencing, and analyzing instantly. KEYS — Multi-Touch Performance Keyboard • 3-octave velocity-sensitive piano with multi-finger support • Velocity from touch position — soft on top, loud at the bottom • Spring-loaded pitch bend wheel (14-bit precision) • Mod wheel (CC#1) for expressive control • Program change selector with quick recall • Octave shifting from -2 to +5 • Per-channel routing to different synths • Transpose mode — keyboard transposes the live sequence SEQ — 16-Channel Step Sequencer • 16 independent MIDI channels, up to 32 steps each • Mono mode for melody and bass lines • Poly mode with full piano roll editor • Swing control for groove (0-50%) • Live recording from your external keyboard • MIDI clock sync — auto-detects tempo from incoming clock • Per-channel destination routing — each track plays a different synth • Live transpose during playback • Adjustable note range and pattern length SCOPE — Real-Time Multi-Channel Oscilloscope • Up to 8 channels simultaneously from USB audio interfaces • 1-2-5 standard time/division (10 microseconds to 500 ms) • Configurable voltage/division with auto-scale • Rising and falling edge trigger with adjustable level • Auto and Normal trigger modes • Per-channel color, vertical offset, and on/off • Phosphor persistence with adjustable decay • Glow effect with intensity control • Three background themes — Classic, Space, Shockwave • Metal-accelerated rendering CONNECTIVITY • USB MIDI — plug in your hardware controllers and synths • USB audio interfaces — multi-channel input for the oscilloscope • Network MIDI / Bluetooth MIDI compatible • Companion iPhone app — record video while iPad captures audio over Wi-Fi (Bonjour) DESIGNED FOR PERFORMANCE • Sub-millisecond sequencer timing • Lock-free audio buffers for glitch-free capture • Optimized for iPad landscape — full immersive UI • Per-app settings for every channel, every parameter, persistent across sessions Whether you're sketching ideas in the studio, performing live, debugging a Eurorack patch, or learning synthesis, this app brings keyboard, sequencer, and oscilloscope into a single, fast, focused interface. No ads. No subscriptions. No accounts. Just plug in and play.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: WhatChord MIDI at 15.0 against MIDI Controller/Oscilloscope's 17.0. On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for WhatChord MIDI against 5.0 for MIDI Controller/Oscilloscope. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
| Parameter | WhatChord MIDI | MIDI Controller/Oscilloscope |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aaron Bull Schaefer | Collective Vision, LLC. |
Customer experience
WhatChord MIDI
MIDI Controller/Oscilloscope
In-app purchases
WhatChord MIDI
No in-app purchases
MIDI Controller/Oscilloscope
No in-app purchases





