Sheet Music Scanner vs Timpani Pad
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sheet Music Scanner
Instantly listen to scanned sheet music with this app. It recognizes musical notation and plays it back on your device with various instruments and adjustable speeds. Learn music by hearing it come alive from the page.
- Scan printed sheet music with camera
- Playback from photo library or PDF
- Tap to play specific measures
- Recognizes melody, harmony, and rhythm symbols
- Supports multiple instruments and voices
- Adjustable playback speed
- Export as MIDI, MusicXML, and audio
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Scan sheet music and instantly listen with music with Sheet Music Scanner. Sheet Music Scanner makes it easy for you to scan or upload printed sheet music. Listen to the music printed on the page in a number of different formats and instruments, directly on your device. Ever wanted to know how that interesting-looking piece of sheet music actually sounds? Now you can know instantly. Just point your iPhone or iPad at the sheet and let it play the notes for you. Listen to the notes and help yourself learn along the way. Sheet Music Scanner lets you scan and playback from any part of the song, just tap the measure and listen to your sheet music. You can even choose the instrument, pick the speed and enjoy! Download Sheet Music Scanner and scan your sheet music today! 2 for 1 universal iOS app: iPhone / iPod touch and iPad - you get Sheet Music Scanner for all your iOS devices for the price of one. SHEET MUSIC SCANNER FEATURES - Scan the whole sheet instantly using your built-in camera - Scan and playback from any image in your Photo library or from a PDF * - Playback from anywhere in the song - simply tap the measure, the notes and symbols are highlighted as they're played - Reads and recognizes the following symbols of musical notation pertaining to melody, harmony, and rhythm: treble, bass, and alto (viola) clefs, notes, duration dots, rests, accidentals, note ties, triplets and other tuplets, repeat signs * - Support for voices played in tandem, e.g. both piano hands at the same time, or all the choir voices - Support for playing individual staffs separately, e.g. right or left piano hand - Support for multiple pages - Accommodates speeds between 50 and 330 beats per minute - Cloud synchronization. Access your music library on any iPhone, iPad, or Mac with iCloud Drive. * Some limitations apply - please see at the bottom of the page. EXPORT OPTIONS - Export as MIDI, MusicXML, audio (M4A / AAC, MP3, WAV), PDF to cloud storage, directly to other apps or via AirDrop - All major cloud storages supported: iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, One Drive, etc. Note that the appropriate cloud storage client app has to be installed for this to work. INSTRUMENTS - Accordion, Acoustic Bass, Alto Sax, Bagpipes, Banjo, Bass Guitar, Celeste, Cello, Choir, Clarinet, Double Bass, Flute, French Horn, Guitar - Classical, Clean, Distortion, Glockenspiel, Harp, Mandolin, Marimba, Oboe, Organ (Percussive, Pipe, Reed, Rock, Tonewheel), Piano, Recorder, Tenor Sax, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Vibraphone, Viola, Violin, Xylophone - Supports actual instrument pitch for transposing instruments - Change your pitch standard based on instrument, from standard 440Hz to 380-480 Hz SUBSCRIPTIONS - The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. - Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Limitations - Reads printed sheet music, not handwritten or mimicking handwriting, tablatures, etc. - Reads standard oval note heads only, no special symbols like shape notes. - The following symbols are not currently supported: codas, percussion notation, dynamics, double sharps, double flats, and grace notes. These are planned to come in the future updates. - Use high-quality printed sheet music and take photos under good enough light, when scanning from your camera, for optimal results. For scanning from a file, the recommended resolution is 300 DPI or 8-12 MPx per page. - Some older prints and unusual fonts may not be recognizable. If you experience any problems, please contact support at support@sheetmusicscanner.com Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Timpani Pad
Experience the realistic sound of a playable kettledrum instrument on your mobile device. Adjust dynamics, tune individual drums, and create rolls with this intuitive music app.
- Realistic timpani sound samples
- Adjustable dynamics (forte, mezzo-forte, piano)
- Selectable drum tuning
- Toggleable roll feature
- Standard four-timpani setup
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Timpani Pad is an app that lets you play the timpani on your phone. Features: - Realistic timpani sound: The app uses samples from four real timpani. - Dynamics: Choose between forte, mezzo-forte and piano. - Tuning: Select notes in each drum's range in a standard four-timpani setup. - Rolls: Click to toggle rolls on and off. If you would like to report an issue or request a feature for the app, feel free to contact the App Support email.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Timpani Pad at none against Sheet Music Scanner's 10. Sheet Music Scanner's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 8 months) and ratings volume (6.5K vs 28). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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
Both are free to download. Sheet Music Scanner sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Timpani Pad asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Sheet Music Scanner against 4.5 for Timpani Pad. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sheet Music Scanner has 6.5K ratings behind it against 28, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 61% of Sheet Music Scanner's written reviews are positive against 67% of Timpani Pad's.
Sheet Music Scanner ships an update every 3 weeks, Timpani Pad every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sheet Music Scanner | Timpani Pad |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (6.5K ratings) | 4.5 (28 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 61.0% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6.5K — better | 28 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #122 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 77 MB | 58 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | App Sub 1 LLC | Havard Tryman |
Customer experience
Sheet Music Scanner
Timpani Pad
Bugs and requests
Sheet Music Scanner
Reported bugs
3 issues- Misses key signatures and accidentals
- Struggles with handwritten or low-quality sheet music
- Separates hands/voices incorrectly in multi-staff scores
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to manually edit scanned music
- Improve support for repeats, codas, and complex rhythms
- Allow selecting/isolating individual instrument/voice parts
- Add count-in and metronome features
- Improve export options (e.g. separate instrument tracks)
Timpani Pad
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Sheet Music Scanner
- Notation Scanner$4.991 Month
- Notation Scanner$9.991 Year
- Notation Scanner$14.991 Year
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- Notation Scanner$17.991 Year
- Notation Scanner7 Days trial$22.991 Year
- Notation Scanner14 Days trial$22.991 Year
- Notation Scanner$24.991 Year
- Notation Scanner$29.991 Year
- Notation Scanner$34.991 Year
- Notation Scanner7 Days trial$34.991 Year
Timpani Pad
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Sheet Music Scanner free?
Is Timpani Pad free?
Which has better reviews, Sheet Music Scanner or Timpani Pad?
Do Sheet Music Scanner or Timpani Pad have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sheet Music Scanner or Timpani Pad?
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