Hooktheory I vs Basic Pitch
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.
Basic Pitch
This app makes music education engaging for all skill levels. It offers a gamified approach to ear training and sight-singing, essential skills for musicians. Learn to identify pitches, intervals, scales, chords, and rhythms through interactive exercises.
- Gamified music education
- Ear training exercises
- Sight-singing practice
- Learn music theory concepts
- Identify pitches and intervals
- Chord and rhythm recognition
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Basic Pitch builds internal pitch awareness through simple, game-like listening, matching, and singing.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Basic Pitch at $1.99 against Hooktheory I's $14.99. Basic Pitch also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). Hooktheory I's advantage is chart position (#174 vs unranked). On review sentiment, ratings volume, 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
Hooktheory I costs $14.99 and Basic Pitch $1.99 up front. Hooktheory I sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Basic Pitch asks for nothing beyond the download.
Basic Pitch holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 11 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Hooktheory I's written reviews are positive against 67% of Basic Pitch's.
Hooktheory I ships an update every 3 months, Basic Pitch every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hooktheory I | Basic Pitch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.1 (11 ratings) | 5.0 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 63.4% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #174 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 140 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hooktheory LLC | Carlos DeSoto |
Customer experience
Hooktheory I
Basic Pitch
In-app purchases
Hooktheory I
- Full Version$14.99
Basic Pitch
No in-app purchases









