StaffWars vs Siren's Spellbook
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
Read full descriptionHide full description
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.
Siren's Spellbook
Read full descriptionHide full description
Siren’s Spellbook is the singers' companion for learning scales, modes, solfège, audiation, and the moods and characters of the Classical Modes, using the timeless Kodály inspired approach. The app helps singers study not only how of the Classical Modes sounds, but also how each parent scale and rotation feels, functions, and is traditionally named. Inside the free companion app for iPhone and iPad you can: • Hear scale demonstrations and technical studies of every scale with accurate tempo-based playback. • Learn to recognise and use the archetypal mood and character of the parent-scales and modes and use them in your singing and composition. • Learn the construction of character and mood archetypes, showing how interval tendencies combine into more complex modal identities. • Practice with a built-in metronome synced to the selected BPM. • Explore parent scales and modal rotations across pentatonic, diatonic, harmonic, melodic, neapolitan, double harmonic, Hungarian minor, whole-tone, augmented hexatonic, diminished octatonic, and chromatic families. • Access reference pages for Western modes and Carnatic/Karnataka pitch-set equivalents. • Sing the scales using the movable-Do solfège with chromatic alterations, octave markers, and a parent-relative rotational logic inspired by Kodály pedagogy. • Learn to use the Curwen hand signs to assist with visually and kinaesthetically anchoring the intervals with the solfège. The app is designed differently for each device: • On iPad, the complete Siren's Spellbook sheet music for all scales and modes is included with full workbook page viewing and inline playback controls as an IN-APP FULL SHEET MUSIC PURCHASE. • On iPhone, it works as a practical singing companion to the physical version of Siren's spellbook, which is available to purchase separately. The companion app has fast playback buttons for the exercises, making it easy to use alongside the physical book. The iPhone app does not include the sheet music, even with the full sheet music purchase. It is audio only. Siren’s Spellbook is especially useful for: • singers studying solfege and audiation • students learning modal colour and function • teachers working with Kodaly-inspired training • anyone wanting a deeper, more expressive understanding of scales and modes If you want to move beyond memorising note patterns and start hearing the inner character of each modal family, Siren’s Spellbook offers a structured and musical path into modal practice.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Siren's Spellbook at Free against StaffWars's $1.99. Siren's Spellbook also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months). StaffWars's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#24 vs unranked). On 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
Siren's Spellbook is free to download; StaffWars costs $1.99 up front. Siren's Spellbook sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. StaffWars asks for nothing beyond the download.
StaffWars ships an update every 4 months, Siren's Spellbook every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | StaffWars | Siren's Spellbook |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (133 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 74.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 133 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | #24 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TMI Media, LLC | Jordan Collin |
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
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- 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
Siren's Spellbook
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
StaffWars
No in-app purchases
Siren's Spellbook
- Siren’s Spellbook iPad Sheet Music$14.99
Questions
Is StaffWars free?
Is Siren's Spellbook free?
Do StaffWars or Siren's Spellbook have ads?
Which is updated more often, StaffWars or Siren's Spellbook?
Other comparisons















