Comparison

StaffWars vs Siren's Spellbook

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Learn note names on grand staff
  • Practice treble clef
  • Master alto clef
  • Woodshed bass clef
  • Interactive musical game
Features
Currently charting
Read 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.

About

Siren's Spellbook

Features
Read 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

StaffWars4 screens
Siren's Spellbook4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
StaffWars versus Siren's Spellbook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStaffWarsSiren's Spellbook
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (133 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews74.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings133 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank#24 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTMI Media, LLCJordan 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 more
  • 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

None

StaffWars

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Siren's Spellbook

One-time1
  • Siren’s Spellbook iPad Sheet Music$14.99

Questions

Is StaffWars free?
StaffWars costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Siren's Spellbook free?
Siren's Spellbook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do StaffWars or Siren's Spellbook have ads?
Neither StaffWars nor Siren's Spellbook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StaffWars or Siren's Spellbook?
StaffWars ships an update every 4 months, and Siren's Spellbook every 2 weeks. Most recently, StaffWars was updated on October 21, 2026 and Siren's Spellbook on October 18, 2026.

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