Notion Reviews

by DJNatzke

The notation system gets confused at very simple things: I mark a single measure to be in 3/16 meter, and the surrounding measures as 4/4, yet on playback, empty beats manifest after the three sixteenth-note beats in the 3/16 measure.
Sometimes using the <, > buttons at the lower corner, for navigating through notes, *changes* selected notes when you move past them; other times it doesn’t.
When using the keyboard feature to add notes into a single chords (i.e. stacking pitches), moving > to the next beat to begin stacking a new chord for some reason replicates the previous chord in that spot, in the way of the new one you want to make.
It’s confusing and odd to have *both* the green-highlight-select and the tan, note-editing select, completely independent of each other. This leads to confusion if you’ve been editing a note or chord, and then want to hit play to hear it.
This is why Noteflight recognizes one, unified form of selecting a note or section.

by Unusual Nodlem

So you get 1st and 2nd endings, but that’s it??? Never heard of a 3rd or 4th? How about one ending that is 1st, 2nd, and 4th, and one that is 3rd, 5th, and 6th? Basically Notion has a LONG ways to go before it will be replacing my freeware on my computer.

Also, I mainly bought this terrible app because I just bought a brand new iPad Pro using the Apple Pencil...just forget about that RIGHT NOW. I spent hours trying to perfect my ability to use the Pencil. Notion doesn’t work with it. Period. Plain and simple. It’s a total rip off that they charge you extra to use the Pencil. So frustrating because you can write it near enough that even if it didn’t change it into notation, it would still be very legible, and Notion just erases what you wrote or mucks it up into something totally unrelated. It’s a joker. So you are stuck using the very slow input way that came with the $15 version. I paid an additional $10 to be even more frustrated.

by 7sax7

I purchased Notion for the specific reason of writing out a horn charts for Saxophone. I am sure Notion does everything that it specifies however some of the directions seem to be lacking. I tried to add a multi measure rest. I followed the Instructions in the help guide to a T and it did not work properly. I emailed customer support and they sent me a link to the same instructions that didn’t work the first time I tried it. When I got back to them they said to send them a copy of the chart which I can’t do because I don’t have a desk computer. Come on guys I’m sure you can simplify things a little better. This seems to be an app with much potential but very difficult to understand. I just want to write a horn chart with an easy way to write multi measure rests and add measures. Would give it five stars if there’s an easy way to do this. Until then I’m going back to the free app that I’ve been using. It doesn’t have the hand writing option in that this app does and it takes longer to write the charts but it’s much easier to navigate.

by Jay DeDon

I want Notion to be awesome. I love it so much. It’s simple, fast, and extremely functional. It does what I need. I’m a middle school band director and a trumpet instructor. I have premiered pieces with it and written SO MANY exercises with it. However there are a lot of bugs that make it frustrating. I would pay more money to have a constantly updating and improving app. I have maneuvered a lot of random bugs, like if you accidentally system break a measure twice in a row, it undos all of your recent updates the next time you open the document. However, it just started deleted all of my content in measure 7. It has done this on my past two projects and it has rendered Notion useless. I thought it was my iPad but I have done all forms of restarting/quitting deleting/updating and none of my other apps are weird. I hope this gets fixed soon.

by Ksplat

I have used Notion for several years, or rather I remember that I have purchased it and then try to use it again every several months. To be honest it boasts some nice features, but every time I go to use it I am frustrated. For example, the other day I had added some text above a line of music. I realized that I would like to bold the font and change the size. The software would for the life of me not select the small A at the right of the text to allow me to format. I had just done the same function on some text several systems higher. I sat for 15 minutes trying to figure out how to get the text moved so I could select the formatting button. No go, I finally deleted the text and started over. I have had the software intermittently refuse to show me use upon holding on an item and other functional hick-ups. What does it equate to? Frustration over very simple things. Want to hide that note? Well, for some reason it won’t give you the menu. Try restarting Notion ...oh it works! The handwriting tool is awesome, the sounds are great, like I said, I really want to like Notion but it is a constant source of frustration for me.

by Zach J L

I mostly use this on the go for emergencies, or when I need to put something into musicxml for me to actually work on in Sibelius later. It’s fine for what it is but the program practically seems abandoned, with the same bugs plaguing it for years. Why does the chord symbol entry box always not update and display the wrong roots? Most importantly, chord symbols can disturb the alignment and spacing of notes, overriding all other note spacing. You can’t really make a good looking lead sheet if your melody is eighth note based...a chord symbol on the downbeat causes there to be an off amount of space between the first and second eighth note if your chord is longer than a single letter, which looks sloppy and unprofessional. Text placement of all kinds is wonky and buggy, also. That being said, there’s nothing better right now. If this program was better or better supported I would happily paid twice as much — and I’m not expecting Sibelius or Finale quality, here — but there is so much potential here and it’s nowhere as good as the free MuseScore.

by Darrylllll

I just purchased the handwriting tool and it is beyond buggy when trying to write any “tuplet” rhythms. You also cannot have a measure of pure sextuplets, even if there are 24 notes in a 4/4 bar (6x4=24) it pairs one of the sextuplets with the group prior ( making 7 and 5) and gives a red error indicator... I have tried to copy and paste one beat of clean sextuplets four times and it auto pairs one note to make 7 and 5 on the last beat no matter what. Quintuplets are not an issue, but when you want six it becomes a problem. I am trying to write a technique book with varied rhythms and literally cannot write a sextuplet measure after trying for an hour now. I am a bit mad, and I’m trying to understand why it is happening, but I can’t understand it as there are only 24 sixteenth notes, all with a 6 over the groupings, but this app auto pairs 1 sixteenth to make 7 and 5 on the last two beats of the measure, and I can’t fix it. Please look into this issue and resolve it!!!

by Shuazi1988

I’ve tried to use Notion a few times recently. It’s not too hard to learn to put in notes, but the dynamics and slurs are not very easy to use. Sometimes the hairpin just randomly go longer or shorter for a bar that only has a whole note, and when I try to manually adjust it, suddenly a huge vertical space appears between staves, and I had to just undo my adjustment to get rid of that space (and the adjustment wasn’t successful anyway). And for slurs, when I tried to connect the notes in the lower layer of the staff, the slur always appears above the staff including one note from the upper layer. I even tried to Clear out the notes from the upper layer first, draw the slur, then add the notes back. But it’s still all the same. This is not a big sample size, but I’m not as satisfied as I expected. If there are ways to solve this (‘or if it’s because I didn’t do something correctly), please inform and I’d be happy to update the review.

by Graeme.shappell

As someone who has used both the desktop and this mobile version of this app, the program and a lot of what it has to offer is there, and works well enough, but there are some serious flaws in this mobile version that need to be taken care of. Even after the fixes with the handwriting engine, it still will crash after even a moderately long work session. I am even seeing crashes after mere minutes of doing work, which is not a huge deal. That is, except for the fact that it does not cloud save super often, leading to times where I have written a passage or phrase out, and it would crash, leading to me reopening it only to find that the passage was gone. Another issue is that I still cannot write slurs using handwriting over long phrases, I can only write slurs over a few notes.
Overall, it works well for basic notations and short notations, but the hassles that are still present prevent it from being truly great software.

by Chrisnpiggies

At $15, better than the free version of Finale, and a fraction of the $600 Finale. But I would pay $50 for a even simpler this app. I’m not writing scores, just lead sheets for a cover band. I despise the “chords over lyrics” MS Word format. I like measures to show some type of timing of a song. But with this app, it’s difficult to add lyrics without a written melody, or at least beat symbols. You can add a single six-syllable word over one beat, but small words that would fill up one, or 1 1/2 beat, for example, “have to go to the” would take up over one measure.
In short, I would adore a way to just add free style lyrics, irregardless of any beats in a measure, with the chord(s) above the measure. The ability to change the key simply is awesome. Maybe I will find a way to add lyrics quickly, but at the moment I’ve gone back to using Word so at least the other band mates have some kind of sheet.

by Anniedeemarie3

I’ve been using Notion to compose piano music for 3 months. One of the reasons I got an iPad Pro was to find an app like this, where I can easily input notes directly into the score on the screen. It works so well! The handwriting is fun to use, too. I’m discovering a couple of things that I find to be a pretty big deal for a pianist. The only pedal markings available are the cursive “Ped” and the “asterisk” method, rather than horizontal lines and carrots, which is much more accurate to use. I’m also finding it difficult to place finger numbers beneath the notes, as you would for bass clef notes. The program doesn’t leave enough room for them, which is awkward to mess with. I’ve found work-arounds for other issues (for example, the whole rest in 6/8 translates as too many beats)... I’m hoping they will update the space beneath the bass clef and especially the pedal marks. I may not stick with this program at some point, but it seems so easy to use otherwise!

by NarGinMeFlargies

Notion has been absolutely fantastic, and a joy to use. I can write my musical ideas wherever I am so I don’t forget them by the time I have access to a computer. When it’s not bugging out, I can easily write music, and with the handwriting add on, it has improved my music handwriting skills, and I can write so much faster. The bugs that I have run into are as follows: sometimes it randomly won’t let me change the time signature, or the tempo, but a simple restart fixes it very fast, and it auto saves your progress so restarting is a breeze. Also every now and then the handwriting feature won’t do what I’m trying to get it to do, but it’s not that hard to just manually put it in and resume handwriting. Overall it’s a fantastic app that I have been enjoying thoroughly.

by CoyoteCuervo

Notion works very well for most of my purposes composing and arranging pieces for my guitar students. I can create alternate tunings, fair quality midi files (not pro sounding), and the click and point system works well with Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil.

However, it needs a few tweaks to be a pro level app for the composer/musician. Only 2 voices are available, and the system easily gets confused with complex rhythm figures like rumba arpeggios that have syncopated sixteenth notes in one voice against longer 8th note grouping in the lower. This means I constantly have to correct measures and erase notes that don’t fit in a measure. Staff spacing gets wonky and spread out when adding “pima” and left hand finger numbers.

The inability to put in a 3rd middle voice is the really frustrating thing. If I’m writing a Sor style piece where I need a middle voice to rest between a treble and bass voice I can’t do it, or if I want to join a treble half note with an up stem to an 8th note grouping with a downstems to show that a high note floats over a flowing arpeggio: it’s impossible to do. I don’t seems to be able to fuse a voice so it can be a unison which is often a function in right hand arpeggios so that unnecessary rests are not required to fill in the 1st beat before the 3-16ths after the beat. This has me eyeing Orchestra Pro etc . . .

by AS_78_NY

Major Conservatory-trained composer who taught Finale for 20+ years is a convert to this app. I like the simplicity of it, but wish that the documentation was a bit better and that updates were given a bit more frequently. I do use the handwriting features, but find certain gestures to be enigmatic to the recognition engine. One big suggestion I would give the developers would be to have a handwriting option that lets you notate an entire measure at a time and then click a button or move to the next measure before it’s interpreted. I tend to write all my noteheads first, then the stems, then the beams, then the dots, and the engine starts recognizing what I’m writing too soon. Also - a free-form handwritten staff would be VERY useful for jotting down notes and ideas without it being rendered into anything. Otherwise, it’s a great little tool to have with me wherever I go.

by Big Bird's Nest

This is only the second music score app I’ve used but I really like it. Adding notes and lyrics is much easier with Notion. One thing it doesn’t have that my previous app did was the ability to listen to a voice before selecting it. That would be a nice feature to have, especially if the voice you are interested in is not free. Notion could use a few more voices, like a jazz organ, Irish tin whistle, steel pan drum, just to name a few. I really like the option of exporting files in MP3 format. Most other apps only offer MIDI. I have recently started having a timing issue with MP3s. When I play an MP3 created in this app, the time remaining is way off. For example, a 3 minute song will show as 6 minutes. Another one shows as 13 minutes, no matter what player I use. I wonder if anyone else has encountered this?

by Tri-cities User

I’m not a budding composer, but I use this program in various ways. I find that for the most part this has been a very simple program to use. When you do have problems, for me, it has always been that there was not an obvious clue to guide me on how to solve it. Example: in setting the time signature it comes up 4/4. To my way of thinking tapping the numbers would have brought a drop down menu to make your selection from. It didn’t. By accident I hit one of the numbers in a sliding motion and discovered the numbers rotated and that is how you make the selection. I actually think that is a good method of selection, but had been frustrated because there was no clue that was what you need to do. I gave it four stars because there is always room for improvement. I like the other major competition too, but found this to be way easier and faster to use. Lot less out of pocket as well.

by Composer_Son

It’s indeed a great app but I want to use not only hand writings but also keyboard. It would be easier to work both on the qwerty keyboard system with Ipad. Input notes, values, move with cursors would be amazing.
this app provides professional notation system from basic notes to expressions and articulations. However working with apple pencil is very sensitive which is not always in good ways. It would be nice if I can able to control the sensitivity of the apple pencil. For example, Choose some options with the check boxes and let the apple pencil recognize the information clearly. The options would be note values (usually one doesn’t use 32nd note), articulations, symbols(+), bars(double or final) etc. Because I don’t usually use double bar on the middle of the piece. And if we can select the options what the pencil decides to recognize, then it would be very clear.

by Flying Wolf 5457375

This might be only me, but my iPad restarted, and I was like, ‘Oh well. Notion automatically saves.’ But, it didn’t. We checked everywhere. We tried everything. But, the song wasn’t saved. I had just finished the song, and I was really disappointed.
I looked frantically for any save button to find after I rewrite the song, but the closest I could find was where it “saved”.
If there is any save button, then maybe someone can tell me where it is? Ty.
Also, I wish that Notion wasn’t so laggy. When I put a note down, I do it to “fast” for Notion , and it makes it all one note, so I have to play it really slow.
I ty for taking your time to read this, and i highly recommended Notion for young composers like me!

by BeyonderHill

I have purchased every upgrade and instrument. I have the handwriting upgrade. It is not perfect, but incredibly useful. I don't understand how people expect perfection because not will never happen. What makes a program incredibly good is not if it is perfect but if it is useful in spite of its imperfections. And as usefulness goes, this programs is almost unsurpassed. I have not found a music writing app that has more usefulness than this one, and I have purchased them all. This program accommodates the different styles of different writers and allows many input methods. None are perfect but they all work very well! Notion tried and succeeds better than any other app to STAY OUT OF YOUR WAY, and let you create using the same symbols and notations you would use if writing by hand. If Mozart or Beethoven we're to use an app, this one would be easier to adapt to than any other because all the symbols they are used to are there, and as little as possible is added.

by Ethan Auringer

Never have I seen developers take every customer review and fix every single problem in the next update Absolutely worth the money. Best composition tool on IOS by far. The MIDI instruments sound absolutely amazing and even beat a lot of computer notation programs. One problem I have with Notion is that notes are not always held full length. I'll put 4 whole notes tied together (180 bpm) and the note will end almost 4 beats too early. Other than that issue Notion is brilliant and has met my need for a mobile notation application. I would love to see crescendos and forte-pianos in playback in a future update also. Would recommend Notion to anyone looking for a casual notation app or even music majors that may not be able to take s computer on the road.