Comparison

Music Notes vs OnScore

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

Head to head
About

Music Notes

Improve your music reading skills with structured lessons and instant feedback. This app helps you master note recognition, rhythm, harmony, and more through progressive modules and practice modes. Track your progress and identify areas for improvement to become a faster, more accurate sight-reader.

Highlights
  • Note recognition training
  • Rhythm and time signature practice
  • Interval and chord recognition
  • Scale and key signature learning
  • Musical term and ornament recognition
  • Harmonic progression analysis
  • Progress tracking and stats
Features
Read full description

Build music-theory habits into faster sight reading: read notes with better accuracy, and fix mistakes right away. This app turns practice into a clear learning path: start with the fundamentals, then progressively cover notes, rhythm, tonality, and harmony. You get instant feedback, plus wrong-answer review and progress stats—so you can correct errors and read faster. What you will train (by modules): • Note recognition: locate staff positions and clef mapping, then pick the correct note • Note values & rests: read lengths together with “silence” (rests) • Time signature & rhythm: build strong-beat cycles and bar-level structure • Interval recognition: connect pitch relationships for faster recognition • Scale recognition & key signature: learn how scales and key signatures are written • Chord recognition & modes: read harmonic color with more confidence • Musical terms: spot common expression and performance markings quickly • Ornament recognition: read trills/appoggiaturas/passing tones without missing them • Harmonic progression & harmonic analysis: follow the logic, improve prediction Two ways to practice: 1) Learning Path: clear stages (Stage 1–8). Pass levels to unlock the next steps. Some further progress may require a subscription. 2) Free Practice: choose the modules you want to strengthen, set the training range/difficulty, and keep reviewing your progress. Results you can see: • Progress curve and module-level stats: spot weak areas and watch improvements • Wrong-answer feedback & review: turn “why I missed it” into your next training step Who it's for: • Students and self-learners who want faster, more accurate sight reading • Learners who need structured music theory practice • Anyone preparing for music school exams or theory/reading assessments - The subscriptions are $1.99 weekly with free trial - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that service, where applicable`` - Terms of use:https://muscifeedback.oss-cn-beijing.aliyuncs.com/RecognitionTerms_en.html - Privacy of use: https://muscifeedback.oss-cn-beijing.aliyuncs.com/RecognitionPrivacy_en.html

About

OnScore

Features
Read full description

OnScore is a music stand for musicians: import your scores, mark them up, order them into setlists, and perform straight through. Metronome, tuner, tempo trainer and recorder are built in. Bring your music in as PDF or MusicXML, photograph paper with the camera, or search free public domain scores. Then read it, mark it up, practise it and perform from it, all in one place. READING Page turns that keep up with you. Tap the edge of the page, swipe, or use a Bluetooth pedal. Choose the layout that suits the music: single page, two page spread, half page so there is no gap at the turn, continuous scroll, or reflow, which re-engraves a structured score to fit your screen. HANDS FREE Turn pages with a glance. Wink, turn your head, nod, raise an eyebrow or open your mouth. You choose the gesture and how sensitive it is. The camera work happens on your device and nothing leaves it. MARKING UP Fingerings, bowings, dynamics, cues and reminders, written with the Apple Pencil or your finger. A full set of musical stamps drawn in professional notation, plus text, highlights and shapes. Keep your marks on separate layers, so a teacher's notes and your own can be shown or hidden independently. Originals are never altered. SETLISTS AND PERFORMANCE Put pieces in the order you will play them, with markers for sections, intermissions or a note to yourself. Performance Mode clears the screen, keeps it awake, and preloads pages so turns never stutter. PRACTICE A metronome with tap tempo, count in and subdivisions. A chromatic tuner with adjustable reference pitch and transposition for wind and brass players. A tempo trainer that raises the tempo stage by stage. A recorder for takes you want to hear back. Your sessions and streak are kept so you can see the work adding up. WRITING AND EDITING Edit structured scores note by note: pitches, accidentals, dynamics, lyrics, whole staves. Write by hand on blank manuscript paper in the layout you choose. Export MusicXML, MIDI, a single part, or a PDF with your annotations included. PLAYING TOGETHER Lead a rehearsal over the local network. Everyone follows the same piece, the same page and the same place in the setlist. YOUR LIBRARY Folders, tags, collections, composers, genres and instruments, with search across all of it. Backup and restore when you want to move to a new device. BUILT FOR IPAD AND IPHONE Designed for the iPad on the stand and the iPhone in your pocket, with the layout adapting to whichever you are holding. Available in multiple languages. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://harmono.app/onscore/privacy

Screenshots

Music Notes4 screens
OnScore4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OnScore at none against Music Notes's 2. Music Notes's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, ads 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. Music Notes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. OnScore asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Music Notes versus OnScore: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMusic NotesOnScore
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (14 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings14 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB77 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer凯 张Harmono LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Music Notes

Subscriptions1
  • Weekly Subscription · Notes Tutor$1.997 Days
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access · Notes Tutor$9.99
None

OnScore

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Music Notes free?
Music Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is OnScore free?
OnScore is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Music Notes or OnScore have ads?
Neither Music Notes nor OnScore shows ads.

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