By Ear PRO vs PlayStems
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
By Ear PRO
This app helps musicians transcribe songs by automatically analyzing chords from audio. It allows for slow playback of difficult phrases and visualizes chords on a piano roll for accurate copying. Users can also create their own transcriptions from scratch.
- AI chord analysis from audio
- Pitch-preserving slow playback
- Piano roll visualization of chords
- Freehand transcription with chord insertion
- Project saving and loading
- MIDI export
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"How do they play that part?" — this app answers it. Every musician hits the same wall sooner or later: working a song out by ear. A song with no sheet music. A phrase you love. That intro. By Ear PRO takes that wall down with four tools. 1. A head start on the chords Import a track and you get a first reading of the chord progression. Your ears still decide — you just don't have to start from nothing. 2. Slow playback that keeps the pitch Play a fast phrase slowly without it dropping in pitch. Combine it with AB repeat and you can loop the hard part as long as you like. 3. Work it out while you watch the piano roll The chords sit on a piano roll in front of you. See it, hear it, and correct it until it matches what you heard. 4. Start from a blank roll and write it yourself Enter notes at your own pace from nothing at all. Insert chords as you go and build the structure while you work. ABOUT THE PRO PLAN A one-time purchase with a permanent licence. Buy it once and there is nothing more to pay. No subscription and no renewal. PRO unlocks: - Saving and opening projects (.csp) - MIDI export (.mid) - Everything added to PRO in the future RESTORING AFTER A NEW DEVICE OR REINSTALL If you bought it before, tap "Restore purchase" in the app to get it back at no cost. As long as you are signed in with the same Apple ID, PRO works on the new device with nothing more to pay. PAYMENT - Charges are billed to your Apple ID. - PRO is enabled as soon as the purchase is confirmed. - Payment is handled through Apple's In-App Purchase. PRIVACY AND TERMS Privacy policy: https://tenmais.jp/privacy.php?lang=en Terms of use (Apple standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ This app does not sell or pass your personal information to anyone. See the privacy policy above for details. SUPPORT Questions and requests are welcome: https://tenmais.jp/contact/?lang=en Working a song out by ear is the best training there is for understanding music. We hope this app makes your musical life richer.
PlayStems
This app allows musicians to play and manipulate individual audio tracks (stems) from songs. It offers features like volume control, pitch shifting, and looping for practice and performance, with on-device stem splitting capabilities.
- Multi-track playback in sync
- On-device stem splitting
- Per-stem volume, mute, solo, balance
- Adjust speed and pitch while playing
- Loop marker ranges
- Song library with title and artist
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PlayStems plays multiple audio stems in sync on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Import one or more audio files into a song, or split a mixed track on your device, then rehearse or perform with each part under your control. Give every song a title and artist. In the mixer, set volume, mute, solo, and balance for each stem, and adjust the master level. Change speed and pitch while the song is playing, scrub the waveform, and loop a marker range until the section sits. Stem splitting runs on your device. A mixed track becomes vocals, bass, drums, and other. It needs a supported device with at least 4 GB of memory: iPhone 13 or newer, iPad Pro 2018 or newer, iPad Air 2022 or newer, or a Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or newer). Audio is not uploaded. Features • Multi-track playback in sync • Song library with title and artist • Multiple audio files per song • Mixer with per-stem volume, mute, solo, and balance, plus master volume • Speed and pitch while playing • Waveform scrubbing • Marker ranges you can loop • On-device stem split into vocals, bass, drums, and other Use PlayStems to rehearse, perform, or practice a difficult section with each stem under your control. Free version Playback, the mixer, markers, loop ranges, and speed and pitch are included, within these limits: • 1 song in your library, or up to 5 if you opt in to anonymous usage analytics. Songs in Trash do not count. • Up to 10 successful stem splits on this device. Cancelled or failed splits do not count. • Standard stem splitting on supported devices. High-quality models are part of the full version. Full version A one-time purchase removes the song and stem-split limits. • Unlimited songs • Unlimited successful stem splits • High-quality stem-splitting models you can download. These need iOS 26.4 or later and about 2 GB of available memory on a recent iPhone or iPad, or a Mac with Apple Silicon. Restore purchases is available in the app. Purchases are tied to your Apple ID.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: By Ear PRO at 100% against PlayStems's 0%. By Ear PRO also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). PlayStems's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). On price and device support 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. PlayStems sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. By Ear PRO asks for nothing beyond the download.
By Ear PRO ships an update every 3 months, PlayStems fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | By Ear PRO | PlayStems |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 1.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kenichi Ando | Matthias Santer |
Customer experience
By Ear PRO
PlayStems
In-app purchases
By Ear PRO
No in-app purchases
PlayStems
- Full version$4.99









