Notion app for iPhone and iPad

4.6 ( 6096 ratings )

Music Education
Developer: NOTION Music, Inc.

Free

Current version: 3.3.2, last update: 3 months ago
First release : 16 Dec 2011
App size: 151.86 Mb

With over 10 years in the App Store, Notion Mobile is a free, award-winning music composition tool for iOS, iPadOS®, macOS and more! You’ll effortlessly create dynamic compositions in traditional musical notation or guitar tablature with its intuitive touch-based interface and incredibly broad editing capabilities.

With a user-friendly interface and simple interactive piano keyboard, fretboard, drum pad, and even optional Handwriting Recognition, Notion Mobile makes it easy to get started composing your music. You can also hear your music performed with the most realistic playback possible, using real audio samples recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios.

Notion Mobile is a native cross-platform app, meaning you can write anywhere on any device without requiring a constant Internet connection. And when you’re back online, you’ll be able to sync your work across multiple devices — either through your preferred cloud provider, or through the optional wireless transfer between PreSonus applications on any device. Start your work on one device and finish it on another. Once you are happy with your creation you can share the Notion file, or export as MIDI, MusicXML, PDF or as an audio file.

Compose, edit, and play back your music performed with real piano and orchestral samples recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios — along with outstanding sampled guitar, bass, drums and other popular instruments. And when you’re ready for more sounds, you’ll find the extensive library of Notion Add-on Soundsets to purchase as part of the Feature Bundle. To save space, the initial app download contains just piano — you can then manage which of the bundled Soundsets to have on your device or keep in the cloud, just tap on Sound Installation.

Notion has been featured in various Apple campaigns including the 2014 YourVerse television commercials and has won several awards, including a prestigious music industry NAMM TEC Award for Best Smartphone/Tablet App.

What you get:
Notion Mobile includes unlimited staves, comprehensive editing features and core orchestral and rhythm section Soundsets — all for free. You can optionally register (also for free!) to unlock an additional Soundset (containing Solo Strings, Classical Saxophones and Glockenspiel), the multivoice function that allows writing in up to 4 voices per staff, and access to the friendly Notion Mobile User Forum. Then for the full experience, either sign in with your Studio One+ membership or purchase the Notion Feature Bundle. This unlocks Handwriting Recognition, Layout Controls, all the Expansion Soundsets (including many auxiliary instruments and additional articulations and effects), additional audio export formats (m4a, OPUS, FLAC) and direct file transfer between any PreSonus application running on the same network (including Notion Mobile, Notion Desktop, and Studio One.)

Free:
Unlimited staves
All editing features
Core Soundsets
Export as MIDI, PDF, wav, mp3

Register for free:
Reward Soundset including Solo Strings, Glockenspiel, Classical Saxophones
Access to the new Notion Mobile User Forum
Additionally write for voices 3 and 4 in a single staff
Export as MusicXML, Compressed MusicXML

Feature Bundle (in-app purchase or sign in with Studio One+):
Handwriting Recognition, powered by MyScript
Available on iPhone, iPad and macOS (macOS with supporting graphics tablet or using Sidecar with compatible iPad)
Automatic pen vs. finger recognition to switch between handwriting and edit mode
Pressure-sensitive support for Apple Pencil
Adjustable timer for Handwriting Recognition
Override handwriting timer by double tapping Apple Pencil (2nd Gen)
Layout Control
All Expansion Soundsets
Additional audio export formats (m4a, OPUS, FLAC)
Direct file transfer between any PreSonus application running on the same network (including Notion Mobile, Notion Desktop, and Studio One)

Pros and cons of Notion app for iPhone and iPad

Notion app good for

Great App! And a great partner for the desktop version! Works very good with MIDI keyboards connected on iPad with 3rd part accessories.

This is the best notation app out there. I tried them all. Samples are ok but could always be better of course. Id gladly pay extra for that. Its true that the onscreen keyboard doesnt work but you can use Symphony Pro for that and then import your files into Notion.

Downloaded that to write down a little arrangement of a 3 minute song with three parts. Worked very well and didnt take to long. Didnt have to read much of the manual (had little experience though, because I used to work a little bit with Finale 20 years ago). I didnt expect that writing music on an iPad works so well on an iPad (even with no external keyboard)! I can recommend Notion.

For those that complain about the complexity of this app, I can only wonder if they actually tried it. Its really not very hard to use. If youre looking for something really easy to use, perhaps there is a 99 cent app available that does three things for you. If youre looking for a serious notation program, this is it. I regularly use Sibelius on my desktop and also use Notions desktop program. This app works much like its desktop partner. Youd be surprised how much you can do with this app. Of course its not as extensive as the desktop version, but still runs deep. Well done!

This is the best notation software app out there. Love the new touch feature that allows you to place notes on a staff. Keep up the great work!

As a seasoned Finale user, I have made my peace with the likelihood of not getting it for my iPad. Notion has been everything I had hoped for from MM. And I can now compose the way Rossini is reported to have done - in bed! And the forum has been most helpful.

Some bad moments

App get much worse. It crashes all the time, continuous view does not work, cursor goes to first measure, impossible to edit any score in that. Please, fix it quickly!

I am a professional musician and just bought the app to use Apple Pencil with the handwriting tool. The surface to write is really bad and doesnt work very well. It is a waste of time and money... I hope I can have my money back and looking forward to a very good notation app for professional use like StaffPad.

Notion gives nice expectation to us who have learned reading or writing notes in the traditional way. However try to do something with it. The usability is far from being "ready for the world". Examples: Selection of notes. Here the left border is nearly impossible to grap. Transpose selected notes. You have to move into several sub-menus. This is not at all iPad-like or fast or intuitiv. Inserting notes with the screen keyboard. Frequently it does not work and I cannot see why... I know that usability is really a challenge in such a kind of app. But it is the key! Please improve.

I complained about this during beta testing. OK, just HOW can I restore my purchases????????? So far I am a VERY DISAPPOINTED customer!

I dont want to read a 37 page manual to figure out how to use this app. Why cant I simply select a note value, then tap on a line or space to add it there? If I want to erase a note, why cant I simply tap the eraser and tap a note? Whats with the crosshairs? Why do I need the crosshair thingy when I want to move a note up or down? Why cant I just tap the note and just move it? Im interested in making music - not in learning the quirky intricacies of an app. This app feels like it was made by a Windows developer. Not someone who understands the Mac culture. Whats next? A mouse pointer to show me where I last tapped? And then an entry in the manual to tell me what it means? Please make my life easy. I have music in my head and I dont want your app cluttering my mind because I prefer to spend my time thinking about my brilliant work - not your app. Oh, and give me a way to voice myself through your app (maybe one thats easy to find). This way the world doesnt have to read my rant on the App Store. It makes you look bad.

I was initially impressed with this app, but if you want to do "complex" things such as add slurs, etc, this app will make you want to tear your hair out. Constantly I find myself on Google, looking for a solution no my Notion problem. Waste of $15, youll never be as productive as it seems.

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Usually Notion iOS app used & searched for

notation, music notation, glockenspiel, and other. So, download free Notion .ipa to run this nice iOS application on iPhone and iPad.