The Modality vs Aether Learn
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.
Aether Learn
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Aether Learn teaches you how sound and synthesizers actually work, one hands-on lesson at a time. No jargon, no prerequisites. Every concept comes with a real synth engine you play with your finger, so you hear the idea the moment you read it. Start from the very beginning: what sound is, how frequency becomes pitch, and why a wave's shape decides its character. Then build up through the tools real producers use every day. WHAT YOU LEARN - Sound and frequency: vibration, pitch, amplitude, and the difference between loudness you measure and loudness you hear - Waveforms and harmonics: watch a bright wave get built from pure sine waves, one at a time, until it forms a full saw - Subtractive synthesis: shape tone with a low-pass filter, resonance, and the classic filter sweep - Envelopes: attack, hold, decay, sustain, release, and delay, shaping how a note lives over time - Modulation: LFOs, vibrato, tremolo, and the rhythmic filter wobble at the heart of bass music HOW IT WORKS Each lesson has three steps. Learn the idea in plain language, watch a short demo that moves the controls for you, then play with a real, audio-reactive instrument built into the app. You see the waveform, the harmonics, the filter curve, and the envelope respond in real time as you turn the knobs. Built for curiosity. Whether you have never touched a synth or you want to finally understand the gear you already own, Aether Learn gets you from zero to making sounds you understand. Best suited for absolute beginners who want solid foundations to carry into any DAW or software synthesizer when they start producing music.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: The Modality at Free against Aether Learn's $2.99. The Modality also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 4 weeks). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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; Aether Learn costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
The Modality ships an update every 8 days, Aether Learn every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Modality | Aether Learn |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 119 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mehmet Aydin | Diego Ponciano |
In-app purchases
The Modality
No in-app purchases
Aether Learn
No in-app purchases









