Comparison

Musicnotes vs GM MIDI Player

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

Head to head
About

Musicnotes

Access and play a vast library of digital sheet music. Practice with interactive tools, transpose keys, and annotate scores. Organize your music into set lists for lessons, rehearsals, or performances.

Highlights
  • Interactive sheet music player
  • Key transposition tool
  • Annotation and markup
  • Set list organization
  • 500,000+ sheet music arrangements
  • Personal sheet music upload
  • Interactive playback with tempo control
Features
Read full description

Musicnotes is your digital sheet music reader, player and music library for practice, performance, and learning. Access and print over 500,000 officially licensed printable sheet music arrangements, scores, and practice materials to play, study, and build your skills wherever you go. Whether you're a student, teacher, hobbyist, or professional musician, Musicnotes provides reliable, interactive annotation tools to support your musical education, rehearsal, and personal growth. Musicnotes brings sheet music and scores to life with interactive playback, helping you follow the notation as you listen, learn, and practice. WHY MUSICNOTES? • Sheet music player and reader for practice, rehearsal, lessons, and performance • Read, play, organize, annotate, perform, and print from one of the most trusted sheet music apps • Transpose songs into different keys for vocal training, music theory study, and instrument practice • Mark up your sheet music with a stylus or finger to improve sight-reading, interpretation, and recall skills • Organize your sheet music and scores into set lists for lessons, recitals, rehearsals, performances or group practice • Browse over 500,000 officially licensed printable sheet music arrangements, study scores and practice sheets • Receive 100 free sheet music titles, blank sheet music and scales, to support your learning and education journey • Upload and store your personal sheet music PDFs online for easy access • Easily import your Music notes sheet music pieces into the ForScore Pro app for note management • Discover popular musicals and artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, La La Land, Lady Gaga, and Bruno Mars ACCESS A WORLD OF EDUCATIONAL MUSIC RESOURCES • Take your digital sheet music library offline—perfect for students, teachers, and performers seeking reliable music reference material • Scan printed scores and convert them into digital study material • Explore free and paid music for all skill levels, instruments and voice: piano, guitar, drums, flute, clarinet, trumpet, violin, cello, accordion, percussion, banjo, saxophone, tuba, baritone horn and more • Learn classical repertoire, lullabies, jazz standards, christmas classics or modern pop • Perfect for use in private lessons, school programs, and conservatory training PRACTICE TOOLS FOR MUSIC EDUCATION • Customize key and tempo for vocal range exercises or skill development • Use interactive playback with the music note player to improve rhythm, timing, and accuracy • Loop difficult sections for targeted repetition and muscle memory • Practice music theory fundamentals with harmony playback and tempo control • Organize your music note sheets into set lists to prepare for lessons, practice routines, or recitals ANNOTATE & TEACH MORE EFFECTIVELY • Highlight, write, and add custom markings to reinforce learning points • Switch between annotated and clean sheet music scores • Sync notes across devices with Musicnotes Pro, ideal for teachers & students THE BEST TOOL FOR TEACHING, LEARNING, AND PERFORMING • Tap or swipe to turn pages—or use AirTurn & Pageflip for hands-free playing • Customize paper backgrounds to mirror physical sheet music • Print purchased scores for classroom or in-person lessons • Use Musicnotes Pro Credits to redeem arrangements for your music curriculum • High-resolution PDFs available with Pro membership Try Musicnotes today and discover why music teachers, students, and performers trust it as the #1 sheet music reader, player, and performance app Musicnotes Pro is an annual subscription that will charge to your App Store Account & auto-renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your App Store Account will be charged within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Your subscription & auto-renewal can be managed in your Account Settings. Terms of Use: https://www.musicnotes.com/TermsOfUseApp.html

About

GM MIDI Player

Play standard MIDI files on your iOS device with a built-in software synthesizer. Organize your music into playlists and share them seamlessly with other apps. Enjoy background playback and AirPlay support for a versatile listening experience.

Highlights
  • Plays standard MIDI files (.mid)
  • Built-in software synthesizer
  • Create and manage playlists
  • Seamless iOS file manager integration
  • Background Audio playback
  • AirPlay support
Features
Read full description

MIDI Still Lives! (Note: This is one of the first iOS apps we ever made and we still use it very often and want to share this pleasure with you. MIDI files remain fascinating and must never die!) GM MIDI Player is a free app for playing standard MIDI files (SMF) with the file extension *.mid, which integrates seamlessly into the iOS operating system (version 11 and higher). A software synthesizer in GM / GS standard is built-in. Play all the MIDI files from the Internet or the file system of your iOS device and create and manage your own collections and share these with other apps and people. - seamlessly integrated into the iOS file manager (files app) - iCloud and file sharing supported - "Open with" and "Send to" integrated - plays nearly all MIDI files in SMF format 0 and 1 - contains already hand-picked MIDI files in different styles - integrated software synthesizer with sequencer - 16-times mutitimbral, 128-part polyphonic - Over 300 'instruments' and various drum maps - GM / GS standards supported - Background Audio playback and Notification Center Support - AirPlay support of audio playback - supports connected remote controls for pause / resume - Help file and integrated connection to other Internet resources - Creation and management of own playlists possible Note: GM MIDI Player can NOT output MIDI signals via CoreMIDI or somehow interact with other audio apps (IAA). Also, to create and edit GM compatible files, please use an external MIDI sequencer or editor that is specialized for this. For questions and suggestions or problems,  please contact support: support@digitster.com.

Screenshots

Musicnotes4 screens
GM MIDI Player4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Musicnotes at Free against GM MIDI Player's $9.99. Musicnotes also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.1) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 52 months). GM MIDI Player's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and ads (none vs shown). On 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

Musicnotes is free to download; GM MIDI Player costs $9.99 up front. Musicnotes sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year. GM MIDI Player asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Musicnotes holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Musicnotes has 43K ratings behind it against 19, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 55% of Musicnotes's written reviews are positive against 78% of GM MIDI Player's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Musicnotes ships an update fortnightly, GM MIDI Player every 52 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 1 level
Musicnotes versus GM MIDI Player: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMusicnotesGM MIDI Player
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.8 (43K ratings) — better4.1 (19 ratings)
Positive reviews54.9% of reviews77.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings43K — better19
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 52 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size121 MB28 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperMusicnotesJens Guell

Customer experience

Musicnotes

All ratings43,265 ratings
Positive97.8%
Neutral1.3%
Negative0.9%
Written reviews607 reviews
Positive54.9%
Neutral12.7%
Negative32.5%

GM MIDI Player

All ratings19 ratings
Positive73.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative26.3%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral11.1%
Negative11.1%

Bugs and requests

Musicnotes

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login issues and inability to access purchased content
  • Crashes and performance problems, especially on newer devices
  • Inconsistent behavior when navigating and scrolling sheet music
  • Unreliable playback and sync features

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to permanently delete pre-installed songs
  • Improve note-taking and annotation tools, including Apple Pencil support
  • Implement better browsing and search functionality
  • Allow more flexible printing and copying options
  • Add seamless syncing between app and website purchases

GM MIDI Player

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Musicnotes

Subscriptions1
  • Musicnotes Pro$14.991 Year
One-time11
  • PDF Sheet Music Arrangement2 variants$2.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement$3.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement$4.99
Show 8 more
  • Sheet Music Arrangement$5.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement$6.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement$7.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement$8.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement + PDF$8.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement + PDF$9.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement$12.99
  • Pro Credit Pack (3 Credits)$12.99
None

GM MIDI Player

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Musicnotes free?
Musicnotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is GM MIDI Player free?
GM MIDI Player costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Musicnotes or GM MIDI Player?
Musicnotes is rated higher. Musicnotes averages 4.8 out of 5 from 43K ratings, while GM MIDI Player averages 4.1 from 19 ratings.
Do Musicnotes or GM MIDI Player have ads?
Musicnotes shows ads; GM MIDI Player does not.
Which is updated more often, Musicnotes or GM MIDI Player?
Musicnotes ships an update fortnightly, and GM MIDI Player every 52 months. Most recently, Musicnotes was updated on November 1, 2026 and GM MIDI Player on October 30, 2026.

Other comparisons