NotateMe App Reviews

I GAVE THIS APP ONE STAR FOR ITS LACK OF BLUETOOTH STYLUS SUPPORT (and poor transcription accuracy.) IF THE DEVELOPER ADDS BLUETOOTH STYLUS SUPPORT (preferably Adonits APIs, and improves the handwriting recognition) I WOULD BE HAPPY TO CHANGE IT TO 5 STARS! Notate Me was exactly what I was looking for and it seemed perfect for anyone who knows notation and basic composition but wants to interact with their iPad like it is digital, playable staff paper complete with handwriting recognition. Compositions can be exported to MIDI or XML and opened in Logic Pro (or any DAW of your choosing) to use synths and other audio plugins (which is ideal since I cant play piano) or exported directly to PDF as sheet music. Things are often not what they seem and this app is no different, the user interface is designed for your fingers or capacitive stylus (which are simple, often rubber tipped, stylus that are very inaccurate for small intricate writing) Notate Me doesnt integrate any 3rd party Bluetooth stylus support (which would be fine if the handwriting recognition worked as described by the developer in the help file with capacitive stylus (of which I have two, but more on that below) however it only correctly translates input about 15% of the time on the first try, if you are slow and patient.) By not supporting bluetooth stylus Notate Mes palm rejection is nonexistent and it has a hard time even registering input when using either one of my 2 Bluetooth stylus (I have a Adobe Ink and the Adonit Jot Script both of which are supposed to work with or without their APIs.) As I dont own a iPad Pro (I own a iPad Air 2) I cant compare the differences in input using the Apple "Pencil." But, I can say that: INTEGRATING ADONIT BLUETOOTH APIS WOULD DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF INPUT, REDUCE ACCIDENTAL MARKS BY ADDING PALM REJECTION (which this app desperately needs) AND ADDING PRESSURE SENSITIVITY FOR ALL IPAD USERS (the majority of which do not own a pro) REGARDLESS OF IPAD MODEL With Bluetooth 4.0. If Notate Me would support bluetooth stylus there would be no need to upgrade to the much more expensive iPad Pro just for the privilege of accurate input ($599 for the 9.7inch, 32gb model plus $99 for the Apple Pencil totaling over $758 with tax or, $901 for the 128gb model plus Apple Pencil with tax which is outrageous for a souped up iPad with hardware stylus support.) I am a huge fan of Bluetooth Stylus and have see first hand how much the input clarity and accuracy (in apps like Noteshelf and Adobe Photoshop for the iPad) improved when the developers integrated Bluetooth Stylus Support. I wouldnt be surprised to see a similar improvement with this app. Despite these issues, it is still the best app interface I have used (for iOS) for people who prefer to compose using "paper" and want to hand write their music (when it works accurately, which is a rare treat) but with features that integrate with DAWs and PC digital audio production and composition software. Just know that: 1. There is a pretty steep learning curve to get Notate Me to recognize and input notes that are even close to what you intended and arranging them after writing can be a huge challenge. (PROTIP; CLEAN YOUR SCREEN THOROUGHLY!!!) 2. Capacitive Rubber Styluses like the Cosmonaut or the Adonit Jot Pro capacitive stylus (with the clear plastic disk for the tip) work best for non-iPad Pro users (better known as the majority of iPad users) but still plan on having to fight the app pretty frequently to write anything accurately.(PROTIP; pinch to zoom in as close as possible for "better" but still difficult input recognition.) 3. Inputting notes can range anywhere from fairly easy, to tedious, to frustrating, to rage inducing until you learn how to; a. properly utilize the interface elements, b. get it to actually recognize different written notes and rests within two attempts of drawing them, and, c. avoid unintentionally touching the display with your hands which can result in scrawls of lines being drawn or random tiny blue dots on the score (which is a direct result of not having palm rejection.) Hopefully these issues can and will be solved in the future, but for right now I could only give this 1 star.

Does not recognize my hand writing. Not worth the money. Expensive price just to find out its a useless app. Wont buy from the publisher again.

Very interesting application which makes it possible to write the music as if you were on paper. You can then export your partition with the format .xml in order to use it in a dedicated software. However, of progress remain to be made as for the possibilities of writing. Wait & see.

Um dos melhores aplicativos de notação musical pro ipad, só tem um problema: não entende cifras. PLEASE add a chord recognition feature, we work with pop music and jazz! Also would be great to be able to import songs from finale or sibelius

Great app, useful for beginners or professionals. Easy to use, amazing. Enjoy it.

Finally a working approach for notating music on the iPad! It is amazing what NotateMe already delivers in this early stage. Easy to operate, intuitive and exactly transcribing my horrible handwriting into beautiful music. Wow!!!

It took 6 years until we finally see apps, that seem to understand how touch is meant to be used. Finally an app that is totally worth existing!

I like this app because of power it has and the scanning feature. Looking forward for the integration of voice recognition.

To be clear, a perfect replacement for manuscript paper it is not, however, as a "quick and dirty" means of always having manuscript paper around, it works. Stylus entry is much better than finger (I got a cheap one from Conrads). Slash noteheads work really well and dont take as long to enter. And the musicxml export is functional (insofar as musicxml is functional.) The fact that it translates the very graphical entry into parseable MIDI is impressive, and provides a serviceable MIDI playback. Chord entry isnt the best, but once you get used to it, you figure it out and it figures you out. That said, the score layout is very graphical. It really does zero correction for any kind of alignment. That means that the scores have to be manually adjusted. A wonderful feature that everything can be manually adjusted, but a woeful feature that everything *has* to be manually adjusted. I could never get it to recognize accidentals, and I didnt even try with more extended techniques, nor articulation. For me, the tool was really just a means of getting notes onto a staff. Perhaps in the future, Ill use it for my editing (adding expressive marks, dynamics, etc.) but for the moment, it gets the job done, and I dont have to worry about having manuscript paper and pencils and erasers with me. FWIW, Im on an iPad Air, 2014

I keep getting an error when I try to draw anything since the update. It worked great until then, but crashes literally any time I use it now. Needs fixed bad.

This little app makes me very excited for the future of ios notation. Brilliant interface, love it! Excited for future updates! I want this to be the new sibelious.

I love this app. It was worth every penny. Now that it syncs with Dropbox as either a midi file or a PDF, I can either print off what I have written, or open it in Sibelius. I can go back and forth between Sibelius and notateme. The program recognizes my writing style and is very accurate and quick. The of the only thingsI miss is notation of first/second endings and DC/DS symbols. I am pretty confident that these things are coming, since the developers are updating all the time. I would also like the ability to save my own ensemble templates. For instance, I often write/arrange for choirs with voicing so different than SATB. If I could save my voicing, it would save a little time. Thanks for a great App!!

Wow. This is so much fun. This is the app I wanted an iPad for. Works very well when I am careful to be concise and clear. So much easier than drag and drop or typing required of other notation apps. Playback is fine...export to PDF a miracle. I hope an option for a coda is coming to make it complete. Keep up the fantastic work.

I love this app. Just getting use to the response to my hand writing interpretation but really amazing. Note I first saw App on Facebook and bought it right away. An impulse buy but I am so pleased with it!

The idea is brilliant - the execution could just use a little polishing. I was very hopeful, and it does prove very helpful, but better hand-writing recognition algorithms and a wider vocabulary of articulations, etc. would be very helpful. Developers - dont give up on this! Keep working on it, cause it could a wonderful app. Just needs a little TLC right now.

Definitely a learning curve to use. Wish there was a way to print parts from a score. Copy and paste functions limited.

I wanted to update my review now that Ive used the app longer. This app is fun as a toy and as something to admire with respect to the technology involved. However, it is very difficult to actually create music with it as it has the same problems that handwriting apps have had for years! I mean, how many recognition errors are acceptable? When you are composing, you cant be continuously checking to see whether your notation has been interpreted correctly and then correcting the inevitable errors, even if they are few in number. This is the type of app that really points out the limits of technology and makes one want to seek out a pencil and manuscript paper. I still think the idea is great, but it should not be sold until it comes close to REALLY working.

Really great start to this app. Not quite fast and feature-rich enough for professional but great for jotting things down in rehearsals and quick sketches. Id like to see text entry and improvements in the lyrics input. Keep up the good work.

I bought this closer to first launch and it has come a long way. The recent upgrade to version 2 seems to have added audio to the note you are placing which makes it nicer to use as you do not need to play the song every time you want to check the note is in the correct place. I am still waiting for the ability to take a picture of an existing score to notate in this program as I am waiting for the promised play to your iPad and have it transcribe the notes. I find that it still does not recognize what I draw very accurately and I need to erase the note and start over quite often. I wish that you could erase its training of your penmanship and re-train it to learn your writing over again as I think this might clear up some of the problems I am having. Overall, with the newest feature of playing the the note upon drawing it, its a cool app when you are sitting around and something musical inspires you.

As a writer of music, be it teaching or composing, this is what I have been waiting for. This app is pretty amazing. Bravo guys.