Comparison

Thelonious vs Fretboard Map

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

Head to head
About

Thelonious

This app simplifies music theory with visual aids for keys, chords, and scales. It helps users understand harmony and apply concepts to real playing, including guitar-specific features.

Highlights
  • Visual layouts for keys, chords, and scales
  • Diatonic chord and key relationship study
  • Chord progressions and harmonic movement
  • Guitar mode charts
  • CAGED system material
  • Relative minor and dominant chord learning
Features
Read full description

Thelonious is a music theory app designed to help you understand keys, chords, scales, and harmony through clear, visual layouts. Explore major keys, review scale notes, and study diatonic chords in a format built for both learning and quick reference. Thelonious connects theory to real playing with chord progressions, guitar mode charts, and CAGED system material. Use Thelonious to: • Explore major keys and their scale notes • Understand diatonic chords and key relationships • Learn relative minor and dominant chords • Study chord progressions and harmonic movement • View guitar modes and CAGED chord charts Whether you’re learning the fundamentals or deepening your understanding of harmony, Thelonious makes music theory easier to read, understand, and apply.

About

Fretboard Map

Features
Read full description

Fretboard Map helps beginning guitarists understand the fretboard visually. Explore the CAGED system, shell voicings, chord tones, and an interactive note map to move beyond open chords and the first three frets. Guided practice paths help you learn roots, octaves, CAGED shapes, and fretboard connections. Hear the notes you are learning with separate recorded acoustic and electric guitar sounds. Play a chord together or hear its tones one at a time as an arpeggio. The acoustic sound uses nylon-string guitar recordings; the electric sound uses pickup recordings with gentle amplifier processing. Both sounds are included for offline playback. Key features: - Diatonic chord diagrams across seven modes, with chord and arpeggio playback - All five CAGED shapes and shell voicings - Triads and major, minor, dominant, and half-diminished seventh chords - Switch between note names and scale degrees - Interactive note learning and guided daily practice - Acoustic and electric guitar playback for notes, chords, and arpeggios - Built-in tuner with 440 Hz, 432 Hz, and 430 Hz reference standards - Landscape layouts for iPhone and iPad - English and Simplified Chinese interfaces No account is required. Build your understanding of chord shapes, note locations, and connections across the guitar neck.

Screenshots

Thelonious4 screens
Fretboard Map4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Thelonious at 15.1 against Fretboard Map's 17.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Thelonious versus Fretboard Map: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTheloniousFretboard Map
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequency—Every 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size34 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRobert NataleJialang Zhang

In-app purchases

None

Thelonious

No in-app purchases

None

Fretboard Map

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Thelonious free?
Thelonious is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Fretboard Map free?
Fretboard Map is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Thelonious or Fretboard Map have ads?
Neither Thelonious nor Fretboard Map shows ads.

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