Comparison

Band Session Note vs Patch & I/O

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

Head to head
About

Band Session Note

This app allows musicians to handwrite musical scores and charts digitally using an Apple Pencil. It offers tools for sketching chords, rhythms, and annotating imported scores, with features for creating custom sections and setlists for band rehearsals and performances.

Highlights
  • Handwritten score sketching with Apple Pencil
  • Drum notation with standard lines
  • Annotate imported scores (PDF/photo)
  • Solfège stickers for kids
  • Create and manage setlists
  • Customizable song sections
  • Export as PNG, JPG, or PDF
Features
Read full description

Band Session Note is a light, fast music-notation app for iPad and Apple Pencil. Write charts by hand — instantly — with all the convenience of digital. ■ Made for · Session players jotting chords and rhythms on the fly during rehearsal · Musicians who annotate and edit charts they're handed · Parents and teachers teaching solfège with color and shape ■ Key features · Drum Pack — Tap a drum and the note lands on its standard line. Mix 8th, 16th, 32nd and dotted notes in one beam. Snare, kick, hi-hat, cymbals, and R/L sticking. · Gig Charts — Import scores as photos or PDFs and write pen, symbols and notes right on top. Arrange pages in any order. · Kids Music — Solfège stickers for little musicians. Circle, square, triangle and star shapes with rainbow notes; free color, text color and size. · Setlists — Bundle songs into a single set file and share it with the whole band. Reorder, and open with a tap. · Custom Sections — Intro, Verse, Chorus, and any label your band uses — create and reuse your own. ■ Editing tools · Notes, rests, accidentals, barlines, beams, triplets, chords, rehearsal marks · Apple Pencil handwriting (pressure + smoothing) · text · rainbow colors · infinite paste · Multi-page · PDF import · export as PNG, JPG or PDF · Auto-localized in 6 languages (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, German) From the rehearsal room to the stage — keep every chart your band needs in one notebook

About

Patch & I/O

Features
Read full description

Input list, patchbay and stage plot in one app. Type the sheet and the signal flow diagram draws itself, and the app tells you when a mic that needs phantom is sitting on an input that cannot supply it. One show is one project. Fill in the channel sheet, lay out the patchbay, draw the stage plot, and print the paper you hand the crew — all in one app. ■ I/O LIST CH · SOURCE · PICK UP · STAND · REMARKS, the way the sheet looks on site. Live and recording need different columns, so they are separate kinds — recording shows PREAMP, INSERT and DAW TRACK as well. Mics and stands are counted by model into their own list. No counting when you pull gear from the store room. ■ WHAT IT CATCHES - A source that needs 48V phantom on an input that cannot supply it - Phantom reaching a ribbon mic or other gear it can damage - A speaker-level output going into a line input - The same channel number used on two rows - Connector families that do not mate, so an adapter is needed ■ SIGNAL FLOW The sources and mics you typed become the diagram. Identical models are merged and counted (x4), and tapping one channel follows just that path. Chains that do not fit a channel sheet — outputs and monitors, clock, power — are drawn by hand. Drag block to block to connect them, or draw the line with Apple Pencil. ■ PATCHBAY 24, 48 or 96 columns. Draw a segment and the jacks in that range get names and numbers; normalling is set per segment too — full normal, half normal, thru. Label strips print at actual size. That is the paper you cut and slide into the bay window. Jack pitch differs by model, so you measure and enter it, and the sheet carries a ruler mark to prove your printer did not scale the page. If it is not 100 mm, print again. Note: the default pitch (9.5 mm for a 48-point 1U bantam bay) is a reference value. Measure your own bay before printing. ■ STAGE PLOT Place, rotate and resize drums, amps, wedges and stands. Put things on risers, and attach channel numbers from the I/O list to any symbol. Draw the venue's standard layout once, then copy it for each show. You can mark it up with Apple Pencil (view-only on Mac). ■ ON PAPER I/O list, patchbay sheet, label strip, signal flow, stage plot — all export as PDF. Long channel counts split across pages, and when the inputs overflow they flow into two columns so you use less paper. ■ LEARN (ALL FREE) Photographs and pin tables for nine connectors: XLR, TRS, TS, bantam, RCA, Speakon and DB25. Cable wiring diagrams, and a practice mode where you connect the pins at each end yourself. The things that catch people out on site are written down — such as how to handle pin 3 (cold) in an insert Y-cable. ■ WHAT THE FREE VERSION DOES - Build and view every screen. No limit on channel count - Two each of: live projects, recording projects, patchbays, diagrams, stage plots - PDF export works (with a watermark) - All of Learn - iCloud sync is free too. Change devices and everything is still there The lifetime unlock removes the document limits and the watermark, and adds CSV import/export and actual-size label strip printing. It is not a subscription. Buy once, and it opens on your iPhone, iPad and Mac under the same Apple Account. ■ FROM THE MAKER Built to use on the job. If something is missing or wrong, tell me.

Screenshots

Band Session Note4 screens
Patch & I/O4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Patch & I/O at Free against Band Session Note's $6.99. Band Session Note's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Patch & I/O is free to download; Band Session Note costs $6.99 up front. Band Session Note sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Patch & I/O sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Band Session Note versus Patch & I/O: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBand Session NotePatch & I/O
Price$6.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developersung ju KIMHYO SEOP LEE

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Band Session Note

One-time4
  • 드럼팩$0.99
  • 음악놀이$0.99
  • String Pack (Guitar·Bass·Uke)$0.99
Show 1 more
  • All-in-One Bundle$3.99
1 purchases

Patch & I/O

One-time1
  • Lifetime Unlock$11.99

Questions

Is Band Session Note free?
Band Session Note costs $6.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Patch & I/O free?
Patch & I/O is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Band Session Note or Patch & I/O have ads?
Neither Band Session Note nor Patch & I/O shows ads.

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