SongNote vs Tako Kick
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SongNote
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Lyrics and chords, in one notebook your whole band shares. SongNote is the world's simplest songwriting notebook - no sheet music, no MIDI, just lyrics and chords. It feels like writing in a paper notebook, so you can jot down words and chords the moment they come to you. Share a song with your bandmates, and when anyone changes a lyric or a chord, it shows up on everyone's screen right away. Shape the "let's change this part" moments from the studio together. WRITE TOGETHER AS A BAND • Real-time sharing: edits reach everyone's screen in seconds • Comments and @mentions: leave notes like "break here" under any line, notify bandmates, and react with emoji • Invite by username, QR code, or link, and show the chart in a browser to bandmates without an iPhone • Keep writing even with a weak signal in the studio; changes sync when you're back online WRITE • Place chords above lyrics with a tap - they follow along when you edit the words • Sections (Verse, Chorus...), line reordering, undo and redo • Set the song's key and transpose all chords at once • Lyrics and music credits PLAY • Performance mode with large, easy-to-read text and auto-scroll matched to the BPM • Guitar chord diagrams SongNote 2.6.0 adds My Note, a binder for your song ideas, and Read, one songwriting column a day. MY NOTE • Daily Notes, Title Ideas, Progression Notes, and Freeform Notes in one binder • Add quick references: diatonic chord chart, guitar fretboard, chord diagrams, and famous chord progressions • Syncs across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Only you can see your notebook READ • A new songwriting column every day (44 in all) • Read any column, any time, and add favorites to My Note TABS ON YOUR SONGS • Open My Note from the tabs on the right of a song while you write • On iPad and Mac, see your song and notebook side by side COLLECT AND LEARN • My Note: Daily Notes, Title Ideas, Progression Notes, and Freeform Notes in one binder, plus a diatonic chord chart, guitar fretboard, chord diagrams, and famous chord progressions • Open your notebook from the tabs on the right of a song while you write (side by side on iPad and Mac) • Read: one songwriting column a day, 44 in all, from how sound works to melody and lyrics ALSO • Four tabs at the bottom: Songs, My Note, Read, and Me. Your profile and settings are in Me • "How to use My Note" in Help ON IPHONE, IPAD, AND MAC Open the same songs on any device with one account - write on your Mac at home, read on your iPhone in the studio. *The Mac version requires a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 13 or later. Sign in with Apple or Google is required. In an age when AI can make songs, SongNote was born to support music that people write - choosing each word with care, and playing it with their own hands. A songwriting notebook that quietly stays by your side while you and your band make music.
Tako Kick
This app is an eight-voice generative drum machine that creates complex polyrhythms. Users can independently shape each voice's rhythm and sound, build evolving grooves, and explore synthesized kits. It offers performance controls and the ability to save and share presets.
- Eight-voice generative drum machine
- Independent voice shaping
- Synthesized drum kits
- Evolving groove creation
- Performance and mixing controls
- Preset saving and sharing
- AUv3 instrument support
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What if an octopus could play drums? Tako Kick is an eight-voice generative drum machine excelling in musical polyrhythms. Shape each voice independently, tuning its rhythm and sound across a range of synthesized kits. Build evolving grooves with pattern, density, pitch, accents, and feel controls. Explore each kit’s timbre, and add movement with built-in modulation sources. Keep rhythm and sound independent in each voice's left and right columns - change the timbre without affecting the beat, or change both at once. Performance controls allow interactive mixing/soloing/muting, and global control over drum assignments and pitch. Save and share complete presets to recall your rhythm, tuning, modulation, kit, and mix settings. Presets can be dynamically loaded for another element of in-time performance. Play Tako Kick standalone on iPhone and iPad, or load it as an AUv3 instrument in AUM and other compatible hosts. Sync to the host and use it with MIDI. Tako Kick is a tactile rhythm instrument for finding grooves. Use it to practice drums, get ideas, make beats, or just to have fun.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: SongNote at every 4 days against Tako Kick's monthly. SongNote also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SongNote ships an update every 4 days, Tako Kick monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SongNote | Tako Kick |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 5 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yuichi Okazaki | Radii Research |
In-app purchases
SongNote
No in-app purchases
Tako Kick
No in-app purchases









