StaffWars vs Simply Read Notes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
StaffWars
Master musical clefs with this interactive game. Practice note names on the grand staff, treble, alto, and bass clefs. Ideal for musicians of all levels looking to improve their sight-reading skills.
- Learn note names on grand staff
- Practice treble clef
- Master alto clef
- Woodshed bass clef
- Interactive musical game
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StaffWars is a game designed to help beginning and intermediate musicians learn, practice and woodshed the note names on the grand staff, treble, alto and bass clefs. THE APP for anyone who wants to master these clefs.
Simply Read Notes
Master music notation with this comprehensive educational tool. It offers guided learning and customizable exercises to improve your sight-reading skills across various clefs and difficulty levels. Daily challenges and progress tracking help you become an ace note reader.
- Guided learning program
- Customizable manual exercises
- Multiple clef support
- Daily challenges
- Progressive difficulty adaptation
- Three language options for notes
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Discover Simply Read Notes, the new note reading training app. Become an ace note reader and amaze your music teachers. Much more than yet another note reading application, Simply Read Notes is a true multifunctional educational tool developed with music professionals. By regularly practicing reading notes with Simply Read Notes, you will be able to read your favorite scores more quickly. Why choose Simply Read Notes? - Unlike most existing apps, our app does not provide random notes. Each exercise was written by a music teacher, in order to get as close as possible to the musical language. Some exercises are even extracts from famous music. - Simply Read Notes offers two training modes to suit all levels: o Smart mode: let yourself be guided with our complete learning program available in four different clefs (bass clef, treble clef, alto clef and tenor clef). Ideal for beginners, learning begins with three notes and offers progressive difficulty that adapts to the player's progress. So move forward at your own pace. o Manual mode: à la carte learning with three types of exercises (with key, without key and visual interval recognition). In this mode, everything is configurable: § Stopwatch § Survival mode § Selection of notes for exercises with clef § Choice of difficulty level § Playing mode (static notes, moving notes, notes to be found after being hidden) § Choice of the number of correct answers § Display of reference notes (with reference to the Dandelot method) Manual mode is ideal for targeting a particular difficulty. Also discover our daily challenges. A new exercise is offered to you every day. The application does not contain advertising and is free. You have a limited number of energies, which are renewed gradually and you have the possibility of purchasing energies. Notes available in three languages (Do ré mi fa sol la si do, C D E F G A B, C D E F G A H). Simply Read Notes is a real “Swiss army knife” for reading notes and will help you make significant progress in music theory. If you are starting to learn music and want to practice progressively and tailor-made, this application is for you! On the contrary, if you are a seasoned musician and want to continue to improve, with Simply Read Notes, the challenge is always there. Happy reading notes!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Simply Read Notes at Free against StaffWars's $1.99. Simply Read Notes also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3). StaffWars's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8) and ratings volume (133 vs 1). On update cadence, ads 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
Simply Read Notes is free to download; StaffWars costs $1.99 up front. Simply Read Notes sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. StaffWars asks for nothing beyond the download.
Simply Read Notes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: StaffWars has 133 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
StaffWars ships an update every 4 months, Simply Read Notes every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | StaffWars | Simply Read Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (133 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 74.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 133 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #26 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 101 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TMI Media, LLC | Frederic Nagler |
Customer experience
StaffWars
Simply Read Notes
Bugs and requests
StaffWars
Reported bugs
5 issues- Double-click registration causing unintended note selections
- Incorrect note location detection preventing proper learning
- App fails to close properly on iPhone X
- Unresponsive touch input
- Occasional app crashes reported
Requested features
13 requests- Extended note range for ledger lines (especially for cello and violin)
- Piano keyboard interface instead of letter buttons
- Microphone/instrument input feature for actual note playing
- Note names displayed in note heads
- Slow mode option for beginners
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- Sound feedback for incorrect answers
- Multiple clef practice mode (switching between clefs)
- Separate range settings for treble and bass staves
- Teacher account system to track student progress
- Different background music themes
- Instrument-specific transposition settings
- Audio playback of correct pitches
- Account system for home practice tracking
Simply Read Notes
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
StaffWars
No in-app purchases
Simply Read Notes
- Pro Subscription Weekly$0.997 Days
- Pro Subscription Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Pro Subscription Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Small Gem Pack$0.99
- Raise Gem Limit$2.99
- Medium Gem Pack$4.99
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- Large Gem Pack$9.99
- Full version$9.99
Questions
Is StaffWars free?
Is Simply Read Notes free?
Which has better reviews, StaffWars or Simply Read Notes?
Do StaffWars or Simply Read Notes have ads?
Which is updated more often, StaffWars or Simply Read Notes?
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