Comparison

StringView vs Scale Runner

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

Head to head
About

StringView

Features
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StringView is a visual fingerboard trainer for bowed and fretted string players. Choose your instrument, pick a scale, and explore the fingerboard as a clear, colorful map of notes, intervals, and scale degrees. 

Explore 16 scales and modes (more to come) StringView includes a complete set of essential scales and modes: β€’ Major / Ionian β€’ Dorian β€’ Phrygian β€’ Lydian β€’ Mixolydian β€’ Natural Minor / Aeolian β€’ Locrian β€’ Chromatic β€’ Melodic Minor β€’ Harmonic Minor β€’ Pentatonic Major β€’ Pentatonic Minor β€’ Diminished (Whole-Half) β€’ Diminished (Half-Whole) β€’ Whole Tone β€’ Augmented You can choose any root note and decide whether to display alterations as sharps or flats, so the view matches your musical background and preference. Notes, intervals, degrees, and shapes Display note names, intervals, or scale degrees on the fingerboard. Each scale degree has its own distinctive shape, and each note has its own consistent color to make patterns easier to recognize. Shapes and labels can be toggled independently, so you see exactly what you need. Harmonics and fret markers A dedicated harmonics mode highlights natural harmonic positions on the fingerboard. Fret markers, numbers, and octave zones offer multiple display modes so you can customize the view to your level and focus. Pinch to zoom Zoom in to focus on a few frets, or zoom out to see the full range β€” up to 36 frets across the entire fingerboard. Designed for practice Dark glass-themed interface with haptic feedback. Works on iPhone and iPad in portrait and landscape. Your instrument, scale, and display settings are saved automatically between sessions. This visual approach helps you internalize scales, understand the layout of your instrument, and discover new fingerings and melodic ideas β€” whether you already read music or prefer to learn by sight and pattern.

About

Scale Runner

Features
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Scale Runner turns music theory into something you play, not something you read. Pick a mode and the app names a scale or a chord. You answer on a MIDI keyboard or the on-screen keys, and every note is checked as you play it. In the timed modes it checks when you played, too, against a metronome that never drifts. SIX WAYS TO PRACTICE β€’ Scales: play scales from a random key, note by note β€’ Chords: build the named chord, holding all the notes at once β€’ Voicings: capture a shape you like, then play it in all 12 keys β€’ Scale Running: hold chords and run their modes in time, key by key β€’ Inversion Running: walk a chord up its inversions an octave and back down β€’ Jam Mode: comp diatonic chords in time, one per bar, in a single key VOICINGS: YOUR SHAPES, IN EVERY KEY Play a voicing you want to own, say a drop 2, a rootless 13th or a stack of fourths. Tap its root and Scale Runner spells the shape out in degrees from the bass up. Name it, then drill it around all 12 keys. It is judged by shape rather than exact pitches, so you can play it wherever it falls under your hands, in any octave. Keep a library in order with folders, colour tags, text tags, search and drag-to-reorder. Three saved voicings free, unlimited with Pro. INVERSION RUNNING: ONE CHORD, TOP TO BOTTOM Walk a chord up through every inversion to the octave and back down, so your hand moves through the positions instead of jumping between them. The keyboard transposes to each new root, so the shape stays where you can see it. Run it untimed to build the map, or start the metronome and be judged a position per beat. JAM MODE: COMPING IN TIME Stay in one key and comp its diatonic chords against the click, one per bar. Follow the changes the app calls, or switch to freestyle and pick your own way through the key while it scores what you land on. Loosen it with "any chord tones", which accepts any voicing of three or more notes with the root in the bass, so the way you actually comp counts, not just textbook triads. Sessions run for as many bars as you set, after a counted-in start. SCALE RUNNING: CHORDS AND MODES AT ONCE Hold the diatonic chord in one hand and run its mode in the other, one note per beat, bar after bar, through a progression and around the keys. Set the progression, triads or sevenths, passes per key, and whether keys move chromatically or by fifths. WHAT'S COVERED β€’ 25 scales: all 21 modes of the major, harmonic minor and melodic minor scales, plus both pentatonics, blues and chromatic β€’ 13 chord types: triads, sixths, sevenths, sus and diminished β€’ All 12 keys, cycled chromatically or by fifths β€’ 5 progression presets, including 12-bar blues, as triads or sevenths PLAY IT YOUR WAY Connect any class-compliant MIDI keyboard over USB or Bluetooth and the app remembers it, reconnecting on its own next time. No keyboard? The on-screen keys do everything. TIMING YOU CAN TRUST The metronome runs on absolute time, so it stays honest from 40 to 240 BPM. A quick calibration measures your audio and Bluetooth latency and subtracts it, so an on-beat press reads as on-beat. Set the windows to Easy, Normal or Strict. KEEP THE HABIT Daily streaks with milestones, reminders at a time you choose, and per-key, per-chord and per-mode stats that show what you have actually drilled. PRACTICE WITH FRIENDS (OPTIONAL) Sign in to back up your streak, invite friends, applaud their practice and compare streaks. Only your display name, avatar and streak are shared, and only with friends you invite. Everything else works signed out and offline. SCALE RUNNER PRO A one-time unlock, yours forever on all your devices: β€’ Scale Running, Inversion Running and Jam Mode, unlimited β€’ Full progression presets, sevenths and key cycles β€’ Unlimited saved voicings β€’ Streak protection: one missed day a week is repaired automatically Every timed mode is free to try three times before you decide.

Screenshots

StringView4 screens
Scale Runner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Scale Runner at Free against StringView's $2.99. Scale Runner also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). StringView's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Scale Runner is free to download; StringView costs $2.99 up front. Scale Runner sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. StringView asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StringView ships an update every 3 weeks, Scale Runner weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 3 level
StringView versus Scale Runner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStringViewScale Runner
Price$2.99Free β€” better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac β€” better
Requires iOS15.615.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size5 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRobin DupuyC1GNUS STUD1O

In-app purchases

None

StringView

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Scale Runner

One-time1
  • Scale Runner Pro$14.99

Questions

Is StringView free?
StringView costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Scale Runner free?
Scale Runner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do StringView or Scale Runner have ads?
Neither StringView nor Scale Runner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StringView or Scale Runner?
StringView ships an update every 3 weeks, and Scale Runner weekly. Most recently, StringView was updated on September 21, 2026 and Scale Runner on October 9, 2026.

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