music21 vs uTheory

music21 is a free Python toolkit for computer-aided musicology, used to study music datasets, teach music theory, edit notation, analyze music, generate examples, and compose. It includes a corpus of thousands of encoded works, plus tools for searching that corpus, plotting pitch, and performing advanced analysis such as nPVI. The toolkit works with MIDI and MusicXML and can be extended to handle other formats. Its documentation recommends MuseScore for viewing and editing notation, and describes MusicXML readers including Finale, Sibelius, and Dorico. Optional integrations include LilyPond, Matplotlib, SciPy, PyAudio, and Pygame; music21 can also be used in web-based Jupyter Notebook. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, with web use through Jupyter. The toolkit is BSD-licensed and costs nothing. Some corpus works have separate license restrictions. Users need some familiarity with Python, and music21 works primarily with symbolic music data rather than sound waves; it cannot read notation directly from images or PDFs.

uTheory teaches music theory, rhythm, and ear training in a web browser through video lessons and interactive exercises. Its library lists more than 300 video tutorials and more than 100 interactive exercises. Practice adapts to student performance, gives immediate feedback, and tracks progress toward mastery. Teachers can manage classes, assign lessons and practice, monitor progress, and create custom tests and quizzes. Google Classroom synchronization covers classes, rosters, assignments, due dates, and grades, with grades sent from uTheory to Google Classroom. Clever connections retrieve student names, synchronize rosters, and update grades in real time. The service runs on computers, Chromebooks, phones, and tablets without installing software or an app. The free Starter Plan provides 10 video lessons or exercises daily, progress tracking, and device synchronization. Monthly Unlimited costs $5.99 a month; Yearly Unlimited costs $39.99 a year, billed yearly. Education licenses are institutional group licenses with custom tests and a one-year term, priced from $10 to $3 per student by quantity. User data is stored in the United States.