The Modality vs Chord Progression Lab
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Modality
Explore the emotional depth of music through scales, moods, and microtones. This app teaches music theory by ear, focusing on Turkish makams and modal jazz, and how they intersect. Discover iconic recordings, learn through guided lessons, and meet the composers behind the music.
- Turkish makam exploration
- Modal jazz scales
- Cross-tradition comparisons
- Composer biographies
- Iconic recordings and improvisations
- Guided lessons and quizzes
- Glossary of musical terms
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You've heard music from across the world and felt something move in you — without knowing why. The Modality is how you find out. Most apps teach music theory as rules to memorize. The Modality teaches it as something to hear — because every musical tradition is really a different way to turn sound into feeling. We start with two of the most beautiful, and we're adding more. TURKISH MAKAM 29 makams, from Rast to Ferahfeza — each drawn degree by degree, with its microtonal commas marked, its seyir, its mood, the hour it belongs to, and the ney to play it. MODAL JAZZ 14 modes across two scales: the seven modes of the major scale, and the seven of melodic minor — the language of tension and release, from Lydian dominant to the altered sound. WHERE THEY MEET The Crossroads is where the two traditions touch. Hicaz and the Phrygian dominant share one ancient interval — hear them side by side, ney against Rhodes piano. Saba and Locrian reach the same depth of feeling by the same turn. Two musical worlds, one tap apart. THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE MUSIC 64 composers and performers, from Itri and Dede Efendi to Miles Davis and Bill Evans — with portraits, lives, and every place in the app you can hear them. Tap any name on any recording and meet the person. HEAR IT EVERYWHERE - Iconic recordings and taksim improvisations for every major makam - Canonical tunes for every mode — So What, Maiden Voyage, Spain - Songs you already know, mapped to the makam they live in — classical, arabesk, Anatolian rock - Play any scale on the ney or Rhodes, from any root LEARN IT PROPERLY - A guided lesson path in each tradition, from "What is a makam?" up - Quizzes that unlock level by level - A glossary of both traditions' vocabulary — taksim, seyir, voicing, vamp - Usul rhythm patterns with audio For curious listeners, for Western musicians meeting microtones for the first time, and for Turkish speakers rediscovering their own tradition. Two ways of hearing, each one whole. More on the way.
Chord Progression Lab
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Chord Progression Lab turns music theory into a sandbox. Pick a key. Pick a style. Listen. Tweak. Export. That's the whole loop — 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: • Pop, Doo-Wop, Pachelbel's Canon, Circle of Fifths • 12-Bar Blues and Jazz • Rock and Punk power-chord progressions • Epic Minor and Andalusian cadences • Indian Raga (Bhairav), Arabic Maqam (Hijaz), East Asian Gōng pentatonic • Japanese Hirajōshi, Indonesian Gamelan (Slendro) • Klezmer Freygish, Flamenco Phrygian, Celtic Mixolydian, Slavic minor • Bulgarian 7/8 Balkan, West African Highlife • Bossa Nova, Reggae, Hawaiian slack key • Avant-Garde quartal stacks and tone clusters All 12 keys. Transpose any progression — 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 — 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 — Chord Progression Lab gets you from idea to audio in two taps.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: The Modality at Free against Chord Progression Lab's $0.99. The Modality also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.5). On 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
The Modality 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.
| Parameter | The Modality | Chord Progression Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 26.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 119 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mehmet Aydin | David Mickey |
In-app purchases
The Modality
No in-app purchases
Chord Progression Lab
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Modality free?
Is Chord Progression Lab free?
Do The Modality or Chord Progression Lab have ads?
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