Sheet Music Scanner Reviews

by Jefferis

The problem is not that it did not recognize notes, but it plays and exports the wrong notes that can’t be corrected by Finale. I.e., it failed to recognize the key signature, but when I added the key signature, some measures still play in the wrong key. There was something in the XML export that could not be corrected. Aside from that, inside the application, it recognized the right placement of the notes on the staff but without applying the key signature, it was all wrong.

Basically it was no help at all

***update. Developer was helpful and responsive and offered to refund money, although the process is unclear. I wrote this review before being contacted by developer. the scan was high resolution but of a printout that was done on an older printer. Revised to 3 stars however would not work for my needs of older sheet music.

by Zazuki!

I hadn’t been able to listen to my pieces for a while, as my piano was broken, and I couldn’t fix it. So I thought, why don’t I try to use SheetMusicScanner to scan my handwritten sheet music to hear what it sounds like? Well, upon using this application, I was very disappointed to find that SheetMusicScanner does not recognize PERFECTLY CLEAR to read sheet music written in pencil. It only recognized some notes, and in the wrong clef. I figured SheetMusicScanner would be more convenient than any composing softwares that require “premium,” and that I could just pay and get it over with. I paid money for an app that doesn’t recognize clefs, time signatures and so on. If I ever use SheetMusicScanner again, I will use it once it’s recognition software works better, and it has an actual editing software you can use if it gets it wrong. I tried multiple times for it to work, but the only thing it recognizes is computer generated sheet music. I will give it 3 stars, only because it did KIND OF work, but not at all the way I intended it to.

by ASC429

SheetMusicScanner was definitely worth the money and it helps me hear the music that I have to play so I can get a good sense of it. The only thing really missing in the key signature. I wish there was a function where you could put in the right key because the scanner does not pick up on the key signature at all and it sounds terrible. There also needs to be improvement on the scanner sensing wether there are two lines being played together, as when I’m listening to my piano pieces I want to be able to hear the left and right hands together, same with a duet piece.

I have just read some other reviews and it seems like there is a way to change the key signature, does anybody know how to do that?

by GreenGablesFan

As someone who primarily with music broil and listen to music but yeah, it is very helpful for me to understand how something sounds when I come out look at the picture, also having an app that will allow someone who completely blind to read print music is a good tool.
There are some things that are not perfect, but technology is never perfect. I would like to subtract a form of camera guidance similar to what is found in the Microsoft’s seeing AI app and KNFB Reader app. For example, when you hold the phone in the position to take a picture, it would be helpful to know whether or not the page is filling the screen. When voiceover tells you something Mark, left bottom corner not visible, you know you have to either raise the phone a little bit or move the phone slightly in the direction it in the cakes. Of course, one could just take a picture using Seeing AI and then export those photos into SheetMusicScanner HealthTap but, ideally this would be a lot of problems with that having this place would be very useful.

by Konkrypton

Updated review: Now that I have been using this for a while, I see an improvement that it could use. Please add iCloud storage and syncing of your imported sheet music. I have SheetMusicScanner on my phone and iPad and it’s a pain to have to re-import something because it was originally on the other device. This would be a great help!

This is SheetMusicScanner I was searching for! I have recently joined a chorus and was without the ability to play the score (I’m “hunt & peck” on a keyboard at best). SheetMusicScanner has been great at reading the sheet music and playing it. But the best part is being able to export a MIDI file to GarageBand so I can turn off the tenors or the baritones to hear my track. For $4 this is the best music app in SheetMusicScanner Store!

by Patches_McMatt

This is a great app for beginners who are trying to learn to play music and would like to be able to hear how a particular arrangement sounds.

I have noticed that SheetMusicScanner skips over repeat signs so if you are scanning an entire piece and playing it back, it’ll just play from beginning to end without any repeats. I haven’t noticed SheetMusicScanner being able to adjust tempo based on tempo markings either. Actually, it doesn’t seem to pick up any of the markings; tempo, dynamics, or pedaling.

Still a great app in my opinion and one I feel was worth the cost. Maybe these missing features will be added someday.

by JoConn4

Fantastic app!!! Very helpful.

A few things that I noticed could be improved:
If there was a way to set tempos for different sections, that would be amazing. Also, if you could play multiple voices but not the vocal line (so everything the piano plays instead of just bass or treble). There’s a bit of a glitch with slurs—notes that are marked flat in one measure and “slurred” to the next, are played as natural in the next measure. I’m not positive, but I also think it doesn’t recognize repeats. Finally, if there was a way to set that the play-through would make certain cuts (so it could skip over measures or pick up at a later section), SheetMusicScanner would be perfect!

by Pastel-O

SheetMusicScanner is actually pretty darn good with two major/minor caveats. First, you need to take a really clear photo. I’ve gotten my best results from taking a photo of a single unbound page in good lighting with my camera’s flash on. Second, SheetMusicScanner is not comprehensive so certain symbols go unread and the developer(s) explain as much in their description so this point is only a minor gripe. Unfortunately, bound sheet music is harder to get a clear photo of because one side of the page typically curves towards the spine of the book and a flat page is necessary for this to really be effective. All things considered, this is a good affordable option for giving one a pretty solid idea of how the music should sound (provided you tale really good photos); it may take a few tries before you get a scan that is acceptable but hang in there!

by Old Hornplayer

First, I would like to congratulate you on a wonderful program. I was surprised at how well the software works with modern printed scores. I am in the process of learning to read sheet music and find the software similar to sitting in with a band. I am starting to make the connection between the written notes and the sounds and rhythms. My issue is with older, printed scores. I was trying to listen to some very old Dixieland scores written over 100 years ago, but the software was having trouble recognizing 1/8 notes with curved flags within the score. These are very clearly printed, but I think this written note is not in it’s database. Some times these notes would be treated like a 1/4, other times it was just ignored. I get enough information out of the analysis to figure out the song.

by RoccocoJoe

Overall this is very good. So far I used it on classical guitar pdfs. It is very close but can use some improvements. I'm noticing some notes being skipped ... some notes from a chord or a bass note ignored. I'm also noticing some timing issues within measures, so notes not being held for the correct duration. But I am trying this on some advanced classical guitar sheet music. It would probably be far more accurate on more basic or intermediate sheet music. This software appears to be excellent for beginners and players of all levels. So far I just started trying it out and I am impressed. I will be challenging this further, as I have some music with some very difficult timing. I am hoping this can help me. I am willing to share with you any inconsistencies or bugs I discover, to help you improve SheetMusicScanner. For the price and capability, I don't know of anything better. Excellent job on this. Thank you!

by Lbking911

Updated use to SheetMusicScanner .......

The updates have continuously increased the accuracy of the reading and now it totally rocks! I love the new features and the new layout! This is one app that every musician or singer should have. No question! Hands down the best app!

Previous review.......
This is an immensely helpful tool for those of us that need help in sight reading. I would hope that some features in the future could develop into a tool that allows you to make corrections in SheetMusicScanner reading extra notes or missing reading notes. Instead of relying on only SheetMusicScanner to be a perfect reader, the developer could allow the users to make corrections as well. Kind of integrating the users into the whole experience. I would also like to see the interface a bit cleaned up or refined to make navigating SheetMusicScanner a bit more intuitive. Like a button to see your saved projects instead of just the back button. Otherwise a fantastic app.

by GitrGuy

I’m a public school music teacher and I teach guitar and piano classes. I’ve recommended SheetMusicScanner to my students. It’s simple to use and it works very well. I’ve taken guitar ensemble scores and scanned them and it played back perfectly. The score was four 4 parts. I’ve also used it to have students listen to classical guitar music which was quite complex. It played them back perfectly too. I like being able to export the scans in multiple formats. I’ve exported music as xml files and imported them into Sibelius to write my own arrangements. It saved a lot of time entering notes manually. It’s not 100 percent perfect, but it works perfectly about 95 percent of time. The only issue is it can’t playback drum set music yet. For my purposes it gets 5 stars.

by GrammaR

I use SheetMusicScanner to learn my voice part for solos and choir because I do not play any instrument. As a soprano I am fortunate to have the melody most of the time but I use Sheet Music Scanner when I have descants or harmonizing non-melody. I often photograph and crop to only my staff then add each line as additional pages to have it play continuously. Some of the music today, especially choral music, changes what voice/instrument is the top line so that will confuse SheetMusicScanner when you tell it to only play line 1. I crop out anything that is not my line in the photo before I input it for practice.

There are times when the soprano and alto lines are impossible to separate, but at least I can follow my music score and still have the notes that I need.

Overall, I am very happy with SheetMusicScanner and it works for the way our use it. I have it on my iPad Air and iPhone 8+.

My only suggestion would be to have an option to Not have the whole page faded out to highlight the notes being played with another color perhaps, but to keep the page normal contrast. With the way I use it I would like to be able to see the words so I can sing along with the music. That is difficult on my iPhone8+ & not great on my iPad Air.

by Bikkus

It is hard to believe that SheetMusicScanner works as well as it does. After quickly taking a picture of a passage in a book, or importing a picture from the web, it will often do a beautiful job of playing the music, even with three part sheet music. Unfortunately, there is more work to be done, as things like triplets and grace notes are ignored, and there is no way to edit they timing errors that slip though. I'm giving it five stars to encourage the author to continue embellishing SheetMusicScanner . If you buy it now, you won't have to pay again when the bugs get worked out, or have to keep checking for new versions.

by Gyrojeff

Wanted something to scan and play my Elizabethan recorder music. Exactly what I was looking for, simple and accurate. Had a few bumps at first but didn't take long to figure it out. Hints were very helpful. Plus the playback was very pleasant. Will be completely perfect once repeats and codas are added. For the price you have nothing to lose. Very happy with SheetMusicScanner.

UPDATE: Latest upgrade includes repeat recognition which works very well. Had a couple of problems with a few scans but was able to solve them with a little creative cutting and pasting. Even more happy now!

by Spelltastiv

I never do reviews but SheetMusicScanner impressed me so much that I had to give my two sense! SheetMusicScanner is worth EVERY penny. You can buy music scanning apps for 10 times the price and won’t get near the quality product that this is. SheetMusicScanner is going to save me tons of time! I still can’t believe how accurate it is and with multiple voicing too! I’m not saying that it is perfect but it is really good! The only thing I have noticed is that It has an issue recognizing triplets and it missed a treble clef inserted halfway through the page but for just a scanning app it is fantastic! Understand, you are not getting a music editing app. I use Finale to do that but you can export what you scan on SheetMusicScanner to finale as an xlm file. Get SheetMusicScanner ... you won’t regret it.

by Markiecmarkiedo

SheetMusicScanner has saved me so much time. Getting PDF charts into Finale has been a stumbling block for me, and SheetMusicScanner solves the problem. I haven't tried snapping a picture yet. I've just imported PDFs from Dropbox or Google Drive, so I can't speak to that functionality.

I do have some trouble with the playback but that's because I work with scores that have staves that transpose. SheetMusicScanner doesn't seem to be able to understand multiple key signatures on the same chart. It assumes concert key so the notes play wrong. SheetMusicScanner does have the ability to play one line at a time if you want to isolate a part, in which case you can manipulate the key signature.

But that's OK. I didn't get it to play scores. I have other apps that do that or I could have paid a whole lot more money for functionality I didn't need in a different app.

SheetMusicScanner is clean, straightforward, and it works. I imagine it will grow in its own complexity in future iterations, but for now, I am happy to support an app that does a few things well.

by Play!

SheetMusicScanner works great! I play piano but don’t sight read well so SheetMusicScanner really helps me figure out what the songs sound like from the sheet music before I start to play. It’s really easy to use and can export the files to midi and other formats that’s your thing. It doesn’t always get every note correct - probably depends on the quality of the image - but it does a great job. It’s even very good when you take a picture of a bowed page from a book and the staffs aren’t straight (which blows me away). There are a lot of instrument sounds you can choose from for the playback but they’re a little lackluster - but that’s not really why you buy this program. I’m amazed at what SheetMusicScanner can do and really appreciate the creators hard work.

by Iceicelady

Worth the price, and a big help to me in practicing choral music at home (no piano in my apartment).
* Better accuracy than other scanner apps I’ve tried so far.
* Works best, naturally, when you import or scan ‘clean’ music, without markings – but it also does a pretty good job ignoring extraneous markings.
* New version can isolate and play one or more lines (when the sheet music clearly separates them)...awesome!
ISSUES: Sometimes gets confused by single accidentals (not part of the staff), failing to realize that they should end after one measure. Does not recognize the ‘breve’ (double whole note) – these notes are just skipped and not played at all.

by Negrami

I have just discovered this wonderful program which almost makes up for all the times I have said “I hate computers”. What it claims to do seems improbable, yet it lives up to the advertalk. It will read sheet music - - and then play it! My iPad computer with Sheet Music Scanner can sight read music as well as I can, only faster. That is an impressive feat. Now when I pick up a new piece I can hear it before I try to sight read it. How cool is that!
I discovered a problem when importing pdf’s so wrote to the developer, who quickly responded. We exchanged a few emails and within a few hours had a solution. His customer service is as good as his program.
If you are looking at SheetMusicScanner and wondering - don’t hesitate, buy it now. Well worth the price.

by Sphinx711

Saw this as part of Apple’s music promotion. It looked good and had some good reviews so I decided to give it a try. I am absolutely blown away at how seamless it works! I saw that different instruments can be selected. I thought this was just for book keeping. I didn’t expect that playback uses different synthesized sound for these. I tested flute and clarinet and it sounds surprisingly realistic.

A few suggestions for improvement: if I add several sheets that are part of a bigger piece, it would be nice if tempo could be set separately for each segment. It would be nice, if in addition to bpm, the there were support for common tempi such as largo, andante, allegretto, presto, etc.

When importing from a photo, it would be nice if SheetMusicScanner would allow me to crop prior to import. This is not a big problem, I just take photo first, crop it, and then import.

by Night Guy

I’m not a sight reader. I can’t hear it in my head and predict intervals to save my life. But if I hear it once, I can memorize it. This was recommended to me by a high school choir director because I needed to learn a few pieces quickly. I am very impressed with how SheetMusicScanner can isolate the base line in complicated choral scores. If only I could make it stop playing the baritone part at the same time, but I guess we can’t have everything just handed to us. No seriously, this has totally changed how I will learn my music moving forward. And I love that I can download the isolated part as an MP3 and follow along while it plays off the pictures.