Hooktheory I vs Fractal Bits
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hooktheory I
Learn to craft melodies and chord progressions like a pro with interactive lessons and audiovisual examples from popular songs. This app provides an intuitive understanding of music theory, with practical exercises and a companion sketchpad for immediate practice.
- Learn chord progressions
- Compose melodies
- Audiovisual examples
- Interactive exercises
- Song dissection
- Music theory concepts
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Embark on a musical journey! Follow the Hooktheory Book Series in a smart, fun, skill-building journey. Learn how to craft melodies and chord progressions like professional musicians, and discover an intuitive and deep understanding of how music works. Validated by over 30,000 hobby and pro musicians like you, the Hooktheory Book Series is the best-selling how-to series for musicians around the world for a reason. Hooktheory I isn’t like other music theory books. Hooktheory teaches with an easy-to-understand music format that emphasizes chord and melody function. Rich audiovisual animations play along as you learn. We dissect popular songs and show you how the pros do it. Immediately practice concepts and tactics with our companion musical sketchpad, Hookpad. There is nothing else like it! Fun to read. Easy to understand. Full of practical knowledge. Learn from 41 interactive exercises and 88 audiovisual examples from artists like The Beatles, Journey, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Adele, Coldplay, Billy Joel, Lady Gaga, Elton John, Maroon 5, and more! In Hooktheory I, you’ll learn the following skills: • Composing music based on a scale. • Understanding the six basic chords that underlie all great chord progressions. • Writing chord progressions based on function (understanding which chords go together and which ones don’t) • Making melodies “chord aware” - learn why certain melodies sound good with a chord progression and why others don't • Controlling the natural tension and release in melodies over a chord progression Benefits: • Simple piano roll notation (sheet music knowledge not required) • Every concept + technique demonstrated through an actual song • 88 audiovisual examples from artists like The Beatles, Journey, and Taylor Swift • Reinforce learning at every step with 41 exercises • Designed to be used with Hookpad Music Making Software. Hookpad lets you practice every concept and tactic you learn in the books immediately To sum it up, Hooktheory I will teach you the essential basic techniques for crafting effective and compelling chord progressions and melodies. Reading Hooktheory I doesn’t require any previous music knowledge or the ability to read sheet music. On average, it takes about five hours to read so it isn't a huge time commitment. Dedicate only a few hours to reading this book and gain a lifetime of skills that will give your music that professional edge.
Fractal Bits
Generate an infinite variety of drum sounds using fractal algorithms. Save and share your unique sound sets via text codes. Perform live with multiple keyboard options and record your creations in real-time.
- Infinite unique drum sounds
- Save/share sound sets via text codes
- Multiple live drumming keyboards
- MIDI control and mapping
- Real-time WAV audio recording
- Wi-Fi export/import
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Fractal Bits is a drum synth with over four billion unique sounds created by fractal algorithms. Each set of 12 drums corresponds to a code of 8 characters (you can save/copy/paste it as plain text). Features: * Audio Unit Extension (AUv3), Audiobus; * search for new sounds with three buttons: next random set, edit code, previous set; * three types of keyboards for live drumming: on-screen buttons, PC keyboard, MIDI input; * several processing parameters + control via MIDI; * real-time audio recording to WAV (32-bit); * export to: WAV (one file or a set), SunVox (samples + effects in one file), text clipboard; * the LCK button freezes individual drums - they will not change during the search for new sets; * Wi-Fi export/import. Double clicking on a parameter opens a window for setting the exact value. If you enable the Hold option, the notes will play endlessly, without reacting to key release (noteOff) events; turning the note on again works like turning it off; there are two ways to enable this option: 1) using the Hold parameter in the "MIDI Mapping" window; 2) by pressing the HOLD button, which appears in place of LCK while playing the musical keyboard: press HOLD, release the desired notes - then the released notes will continue to play.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Fractal Bits at $1.99 against Hooktheory I's $14.99. Fractal Bits also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Hooktheory I costs $14.99 and Fractal Bits $1.99 up front. Hooktheory I sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Fractal Bits asks for nothing beyond the download.
Fractal Bits holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Fractal Bits has 82 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Hooktheory I's written reviews are positive against 91% of Fractal Bits's.
Hooktheory I ships an update every 3 months, Fractal Bits every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hooktheory I | Fractal Bits |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.1 (11 ratings) | 4.9 (82 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 63.4% of reviews | 90.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 82 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #160 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 140 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hooktheory LLC | Alexander Zolotov |
Customer experience
Hooktheory I
Fractal Bits
In-app purchases
Hooktheory I
- Full Version$14.99
Fractal Bits
No in-app purchases









