Comparison

Chord Learner vs ScaleMate

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

Head to head
About

Chord Learner

Master music theory with this comprehensive chord learning tool. Practice identifying chords by name or notes, and explore various chord types and keys. Perfect for musicians of all levels looking to enhance their skills.

Highlights
  • Learn and practice chord notes
  • Learn and practice chord names
  • Explore 32 chord types
  • Practice chords in 12 major keys
  • Configurable key and chord selection
  • Hint button for assistance
  • Color-coded feedback and statistics
Features
Read full description

Whether you are a beginner or expert musician, you will find this app useful as a fun tool for learning, understanding, practicing, and improving your knowledge of chords. Having quick mental ability of knowing chord names and their notes can help you take your musical talent to the next level. If you play an instrument that uses chords you can improve your skills by playing Chord Learner. This app can help any musician at any level. The makers of the popular Fretboard Addict family of apps that are now serving over 1 million musicians brings you another great app to add to your musician toolbox. Thank you for supporting our products! CHECK OUT A DEMONSTRATION VIDEO AT: www.guitaraddict.net Features: -Learn and practice naming a chord’s notes, given a chord name -Learn and practice naming a chord, given its notes -Learn and practice any combination of 32 chord types based on triad, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th -Learn and practice chords from any combination of the 12 major keys in the circle of fifths -Simple to configure key selection by touching any key in the circle of fifths or use the convenient select all / clear all buttons -Simple to configure chord type selections by using the preset buttons at the top of the screen to select groups of chords, or by touching the chord types on the screen, or by using the select all / clear all buttons -Hint button that shows the key that the chord is in, chord type, chord root’s major scale, and chord formula for helping any level of musician -Progressive answer entering system that gives you color coded feedback on each step of the answer so you know whether you are correct or incorrect -Effective color coded statistics that show your progress for keys worked on and for chord types worked on (Blue=Not Worked On, Green=80%+ Correct, Yellow=60%+ Correct, Red=Below 60% Correct) -Total running average is shown on the Play tab so you know your all time average. -This app perfectly compliments the Fretboard Addict family of apps for practicing and learning notes, chords, and soloing for guitar, bass, electric guitar, and ukulele -This is a great app for piano players to practice and learn chords -Universal app for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch devices

About

ScaleMate

This app provides an interactive reference for understanding music scales and jazz harmony. It allows users to hear, visualize, and manipulate scales to deepen their comprehension of musical concepts. Features include expert write-ups, practical usage tips, and animated transformations between scales.

Highlights
  • Hear scales as melodies
  • Visualize scales on circle of fifths
  • Expert scale write-ups
  • Manipulate scales and hear changes
  • Full library of scales
  • Automatic scale recognition
  • Animated scale transformations
Features
Currently charting
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ScaleMate is a modern, interactive reference to jazz harmony. ScaleMate lets you… HEAR SCALES conventionally or as random melodies. VISUALIZE SCALES in ways that help you understand them deeper. READ & LEARN through built-in, expert scale write-ups & use tips. MANIPULATE SCALES while you listen. Hear the effects instantly to understand how scales differ. ————————————————— ScaleMate is a reference that shows you & plays for you any scale you wish…. But that's just the beginning. ScaleMate helps you hear & understand scales and harmony more deeply… by teaching you to visualize scales in ways that match what they sound like. Imagine… Wouldn't it be nice to have a single image to understand all the modes of the major scale? Ever wonder why the modes are ordered so oddly, hopping between major & minor & dominant? Or notice that the Altered Scale is the "darkest", most minor sounding of all possible dominant scales? Or that its tritone-substitution, the Lydian Dominant Scale, is the "brightest" of them all? Ever notice that the minor pentatonic scale is a mode of the major pentatonic scale and wonder whether there were any other useful pentatonic modes? Ever notice that the major pentatonic scale (and its modes) are the only 5-note scale that doesn't contain any half steps or tritones? ScaleMate shows you scales in a way that makes these observations natural and immediate… and plays you the results too. Or ever just wonder what the definition of a dominant chord is and which common scales can be used for them? ScaleMate's got you covered. ——————— FEATURES ——————— USE IT RIGHT AWAY Use ScaleMate right now! Built-in help is there for you whenever you want it. LISTEN ScaleMate lets you hear what scales sound like, by playing them up & down, or by playing random melodies that use them. VISUALIZE WHAT YOU HEAR ScaleMate shows every scale both linearly (for melodic understanding) and on the circle of fifths (for harmonic understanding). FULL LIBRARY OF SCALES ScaleMate knows all the scales you're ever likely to encounter. A WELLSPRING OF KNOWLEDGE Extensive info pages on 60+ of the most common & important scales, including practical advice and usage tips. (Over 15,000 words of content.) USE IT TO TEACH ScaleMate is perfect for projecting on a screen or sharing over zoom while you teach. Its animations let you show how one scale transforms into another, and it has special features (pointing, hiding/revealing) for educators. AUTOMATIC SCALE RECOGNITION Build your own scales and ask yourself "what if I make this change…" Whenever you produce a conventional scale, ScaleMate will automatically identify it for you by name and tell you about it. ANIMATED IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES Change between one scale and another and see the differences between them, visually animated before you. SMART SPELLING ScaleMate notates perfectly, for every scale in every key. NOTE ROLES Next to each note, ScaleMate displays its function—in numbers (3, 5, b7) or in solfege (Mi, Sol, Te) or not at all, according to your preference. SIMPLE OR ADVANCED NOTATION ScaleMate shows you double flats and double sharps whenever they're called for… unless you'd rather see simpler note names. Prefer never to see notes like Cb and E#? You can have ScaleMate show them as B and F. DIMINISHED HARMONY Choose the option to color the notes in three colors so you can see which diminished seventh chord every note belongs to. Great for understanding diminished scales & chords and seeing how they relate to other scales too. JAZZ CRED ScaleMate is created by Anton Schwartz. An award-winning saxophonist & composer as well as an expert educator, he is also the creator of the highly rated RANDOM ROOTS app. Terms and conditions: https://scalemate.app/terms-conditions Privacy policy: https://scalemate.app/privacy

Screenshots

Chord Learner4 screens
ScaleMate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ScaleMate at 100% against Chord Learner's 20%. ScaleMate also leads on rating (4.8 vs 1.0) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 37 months). Chord Learner's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.5). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Chord Learner costs $4.99 and ScaleMate $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ScaleMate holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ScaleMate has 24 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 20% of Chord Learner's written reviews are positive against 100% of ScaleMate's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chord Learner ships an update every 37 months, ScaleMate fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Chord Learner versus ScaleMate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChord LearnerScaleMate
Price$4.99$3.99 — better
Rating1.0 (2 ratings)4.8 (24 ratings) — better
Positive reviews20.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings224 — better
Update frequencyEvery 37 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#192 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.5
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMichael RyleeAnton Schwartz

Customer experience

Chord Learner

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%

ScaleMate

All ratings24 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Chord Learner

No in-app purchases

None

ScaleMate

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chord Learner free?
Chord Learner costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ScaleMate free?
ScaleMate costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Chord Learner or ScaleMate?
ScaleMate is rated higher. Chord Learner averages 1.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while ScaleMate averages 4.8 from 24 ratings.
Do Chord Learner or ScaleMate have ads?
Neither Chord Learner nor ScaleMate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chord Learner or ScaleMate?
Chord Learner ships an update every 37 months, and ScaleMate fortnightly. Most recently, Chord Learner was updated on October 4, 2026 and ScaleMate on October 9, 2026.

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