Comparison

By Ear PRO vs OverDrive Chords & Stems

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

"How do they play that part?" โ€” 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 โ€” 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.

About

OverDrive Chords & Stems

Features
Read full description

Turn any song into something you can play along to: chords detected for you, four stems split out, any phrase looped at half speed without changing pitch. All of it runs on your iPhone. No audio is ever uploaded. That's on your own. With a band, everyone shares one chart and one playhead. โ–  Chord detection, stems and phrase looping Import a song and get its chart in about ten seconds, right on the device; split it into drums, bass, other and vocals whenever you need to, then loop one phrase as long as you like: 0.5x-1.5x without changing pitch, solo or mute any stem. Paste in the lyrics and the phone listens to the song and puts each line on its bars (needs iOS 26). โ–  Backing tracks for practising alone Drums, bass and guitar follow your chart. Nine styles (pop, rock, ballad, country, shuffle blues, reggae, funk, jazz swing, bossa nova), each with two alternate arrangements, and each part can be muted. The harmony comes from your chart: what you write is what you hear. โ–  Video practice Import a lesson video from your phone, mark in and out, loop those few seconds full screen, slowed down if you like. โ–  Number-system charts No staves, no tabs, just the numbers (1 5 6 4). Change the key and every chord on every screen follows. โ–  The chart moves by itself, so your hands stay on the instrument Hit play and the chart advances at the song's BPM: which beat you're on, what this bar is, what comes next. Section changes come with a countdown. โ–  Songs are written in sections Intro, verse, chorus, bridge. Each section carries its own progression and repeat count: you are in the chorus, it goes 1 5 4 6, pass 2 of 3. Singers can switch to the lyrics view and get prompted line by line. A full chart can also live on your Home Screen: pick a song in Settings and add the widget. โ–  On iPad, it's the music stand The rehearsal view lays out the whole song like paper: one panel per section, four bars to a row, lit up to wherever the band is. Put it on a stand and play. โ–  Local network sync, no internet needed One person hosts, everyone else types a four-digit room code. The leader starts, changes tempo, jumps sections, locks a loop, and every playhead moves together. No server, no account, no sign-in. โ–  Rehearsal recording Plug in your mixer or audio interface and record the whole session. Every time someone hits play it becomes a take; keep the ones worth keeping and export m4a. โ–  Full-song overview and PDF export What you see is what you print: the same chart, the same page. โ–  Subscription OverDrive Pro is an auto-renewable subscription, 1 month. The price for your storefront is shown in the App Store, and in the app, before you confirm. It unlocks the AI transcriber, hosting a room and PDF export. Everything else is free with no time limit, including on-device stem separation, looping, video practice, and joining someone else's room, and for the first 30 days after install those three are free as well. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://overdrive.work/privacy โ€” The interface is available in English and Simplified Chinese. OverDrive collects nothing: everything stays on your device and works entirely offline.

Screenshots

By Ear PRO4 screens
OverDrive Chords & Stems4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: By Ear PRO at none against OverDrive Chords & Stems's 2. OverDrive Chords & Stems's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 months). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. OverDrive Chords & Stems sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. By Ear PRO asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

By Ear PRO ships an update every 3 months, OverDrive Chords & Stems every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 5 level
By Ear PRO versus OverDrive Chords & Stems: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBy Ear PROOverDrive Chords & Stems
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviewsโ€”
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 days โ€” better
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
MonetizationPaidโ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.416.4
Further details โ€” not scored
Size44 MB219 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKenichi Andoไฝณ่™Ž ็Ž‹

In-app purchases

None

By Ear PRO

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

OverDrive Chords & Stems

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Yearly$39.991 Year

Questions

Is By Ear PRO free?
By Ear PRO is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OverDrive Chords & Stems free?
OverDrive Chords & Stems is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do By Ear PRO or OverDrive Chords & Stems have ads?
By Ear PRO shows ads; OverDrive Chords & Stems does not.
Which is updated more often, By Ear PRO or OverDrive Chords & Stems?
By Ear PRO ships an update every 3 months, and OverDrive Chords & Stems every 3 days. Most recently, By Ear PRO was updated on October 24, 2026 and OverDrive Chords & Stems on October 25, 2026.

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