Comparison

ApproachNote vs Chord Progression Lab

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

Head to head
About

ApproachNote

Features
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Every tune has been played a hundred ways. ApproachNote helps you hear them. When you're learning a standard, the first question is always: how have players come at this before? ApproachNote puts every approach in one place β€” search a tune and pull up the releases that recorded it, with full track listings, artist credits, cover art, and direct links to stream many recordings, where available. Listen to how a dozen players phrased the same melody. Trace who played on what. Follow the thread from one interpretation to the next until you find the approach that's yours. * Search a tune and find every release that recorded it * Full track listings, credits, and cover art * One-tap streaming links to hear each recording, where available * Explore artists and the players behind them * Built for the woodshed β€” fast, clean, no clutter Before you decide how you'll play it, hear how it's been played. That's ApproachNote. ApproachNote is free for the next 60 days–try it out!

About

Chord Progression Lab

Features
Read full description

Chord Progression Lab turns music theory into a sandbox. Pick a key. Pick a style. Listen. Tweak. Export. That's the whole loop β€” and it's surprisingly addictive whether you're a songwriter looking for your next progression, a producer hunting for a starting MIDI, a music student studying voice leading, or just a curious listener who wants to know what a Phrygian dominant actually sounds like. 25+ music-theory approaches, from familiar to far-out: β€’ Pop, Doo-Wop, Pachelbel's Canon, Circle of Fifths β€’ 12-Bar Blues and Jazz β€’ Rock and Punk power-chord progressions β€’ Epic Minor and Andalusian cadences β€’ Indian Raga (Bhairav), Arabic Maqam (Hijaz), East Asian Gōng pentatonic β€’ Japanese Hirajōshi, Indonesian Gamelan (Slendro) β€’ Klezmer Freygish, Flamenco Phrygian, Celtic Mixolydian, Slavic minor β€’ Bulgarian 7/8 Balkan, West African Highlife β€’ Bossa Nova, Reggae, Hawaiian slack key β€’ Avant-Garde quartal stacks and tone clusters All 12 keys. Transpose any progression β€” instantly. Dissonance dial. Great for ear-training, jazz studies, or just hearing how a vanilla I–V–vi–IV mutates when you add tension. Tempo control. Drag from a slow 40 BPM crawl to a 200 BPM sprint. Each style starts at a tempo that fits the genre. See it as you hear it. A piano keyboard lights up with the active chord tones in real time, and the chord sequence scrolls along showing Roman numerals and the actual chord name in the current key. Export MIDI. One tap saves a standard MIDI file you can drop into any DAW β€” and the share sheet sends it anywhere: AirDrop, Files, email, Messages. No accounts. No ads. No tracking. No internet required. Everything runs on-device with a built-in synthesizer. Whether you're studying theory, writing a song, prototyping a beat, or just curious what a Bulgarian 7/8 progression sounds like β€” Chord Progression Lab gets you from idea to audio in two taps.

Screenshots

ApproachNote4 screens
Chord Progression Lab2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ApproachNote at Free against Chord Progression Lab's $0.99. ApproachNote also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.5). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

ApproachNote is free to download; Chord Progression Lab costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
ApproachNote versus Chord Progression Lab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterApproachNoteChord Progression Lab
PriceFree β€” better$0.99
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysβ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 β€” better26.5
Further details β€” not scored
Size30 MB2 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperDave RodgerDavid Mickey

In-app purchases

None

ApproachNote

No in-app purchases

None

Chord Progression Lab

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ApproachNote free?
ApproachNote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chord Progression Lab free?
Chord Progression Lab costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do ApproachNote or Chord Progression Lab have ads?
Neither ApproachNote nor Chord Progression Lab shows ads.

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