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Strum

Write. Tune. Play.

A clean, focused tablature editor for ukulele and guitar. Quickly write tabs, simulate playback to check your timing, tune your instrument and play the songs with metronome auto-scrolling the tab.

Download on the App Store

iPhone · iPad · Mac (Apple Silicon)
Requires iOS / iPadOS / macOS 26 or later

Strum running on iPad
Strum running on iPhone

Why Strum​

Write at the Speed of Thought​

Combine staff, tabs, chords, and lyrics unified on a single screen. Effortlessly configure song sections and quickly duplicate measures to build arrangements fast.

Hear It, Hands-Free​

Simulate playback instantly to check your timing. With a built-in metronome, precise subdivision control, and follow-tab auto-scrolling, your hands never have to leave the instrument.

Total Customization​

Your sound, your rules. Build exact finger placements with the multi-fret chord editor, and design intricate custom strum patterns from strokes, mutes, and rests.

What's inside​

Tab-first Editing​

Tap a beat to add notes; long-press for finger overrides, ties, and rests. Effortlessly arrange longer pieces by configuring custom song sections, adding repeat barlines, and quickly duplicating entire measures or sections. Supports Ukulele (high-G/low-G) and guitar (standard EADGBe).

Tab first editing interface
Custom chords and strum library

Chord & Strum Libraries​

Go beyond the defaults. Use standard shapes or build your own with the multi-fret finger editor to specify exact custom finger placements. Design intricate custom strum patterns from strokes, mutes, and rests. Save any custom shape or strum pattern to your global library to reuse it everywhere, or keep it specific to just one song.

Built-in Tuner​

Pluck a string, see flat/sharp/in-tune feedback in real time. Audio is processed entirely on-device and never recorded or transmitted. Perfect for quick adjustments before you start playing.

Tuner interface on iPhone
Playback and metronome on iPad

Playback & Metronome​

Tempo wheel for live BPM changes and granular subdivision control. The follow-tab automatically scrolls the song along with the metronome for a completely hands-free practice experience. Simulated playback seamlessly respects all your configured repeats and section markers.

Private iCloud Sync​

Songs, folders, and preferences sync automatically through your private CloudKit database. No accounts. No analytics. No third-party servers.

Export & Share​

Export any song as a clean vector PDF or image to print and share. You can also send the native .strum file directly to other users for seamless app-to-app collaboration.

Support​

Need help, found a bug, or want to suggest a feature? Email [email protected]. Include your device model and OS version — it makes most issues quicker to diagnose. I read every email.

Frequently asked questions​

Where are my songs stored?

On your device, and synced to your private iCloud account. Nothing is stored on a server I control. See the privacy policy below for details.

A song I made on iPad isn't showing up on iPhone.

Both devices need to be signed into the same iCloud account, with iCloud Drive on. Open Strum's Settings → About tab — if it says "Local-only fallback", iCloud isn't reachable; sign into iCloud in the system Settings app and re-launch Strum. Sync usually catches up within 30 seconds.

I deleted a song by accident.

Songs go to Trash for 7 days before they're permanently removed. Open the Trash section in the sidebar, swipe the song, and tap Restore.

The tuner says my strings are wildly out of tune.

Make sure you've selected the right tuning in Song header → Tuning (high-G, low-G, or guitar standard). The tuner expects the notes for the active tuning.

Can I print or share a song as PDF?

Yes — open the song, tap the share icon, and choose to export as a PDF, an Image, or a native .strum file (perfect for sending to other Strum users). When exporting a PDF or Image, the output will exactly match what is currently configured in your view—if you toggle off the staff or lyrics in the app, they will be hidden in the export too. To export many songs at once, use Settings → Export library.

Does Strum support [feature X]?

The current scope is described above. If the feature you need isn't there, write in — I read every email and feature requests inform what ships next.


Reporting a bug

Useful details to include:

  • A short description of what happened.
  • What you expected to happen.
  • The Strum build number (visible in Settings → About).
  • Your device and OS version.
  • A screenshot, if relevant.
  • For song-specific bugs: the exported .strum file (Editor → ⋯ → Export Song).

Privacy Policy​

Last updated: May 4, 2026

Strum is built by Mateusz Dąbrowski. This policy explains what data the Strum app handles and how. It is short because Strum collects very little.

Data Strum stores​

When you create a song, folder, chord shape, strum pattern, or preference inside Strum, that data is saved to your device and synced to your private iCloud account through Apple's CloudKit service. Specifically:

  • Songs and their sections, measures, beats, tab notes, and lyrics.
  • Folders and the songs contained in them.
  • Custom chord shapes you create.
  • Custom strum patterns you create.
  • App preferences (default tempo, tuning, time signature, default fingerings, metronome settings, follow-tab options).

This data never reaches a server controlled by me. It is stored in your iCloud private database and is visible only to you, on devices signed into the same Apple ID. I — the developer — cannot see it.

Data Strum does not collect​

Strum does not collect, transmit, or store any of the following:

  • Personal information (name, address, phone, email).
  • Account credentials.
  • Analytics, telemetry, crash reports, or usage data.
  • Advertising identifiers.
  • Location data.
  • Contacts, photos, calendars, or other system data.

There are no third-party SDKs in the app and no external servers the app talks to.

Microphone​

Strum requests microphone permission only when you open the in-app tuner. The tuner listens to a string you pluck and tells you whether it's in tune. Audio is processed entirely on-device, in real time, and is never recorded, saved, or transmitted. If you deny microphone permission, every other part of Strum continues to work normally — only the tuner is affected.

iCloud​

Strum's sync uses your iCloud account. Apple's privacy policy governs how iCloud handles your data: apple.com/legal/privacy. If you sign out of iCloud, or disable iCloud for Strum in Settings, the app continues to work — your library is stored locally on the device. New changes simply stop syncing to other devices.

Children's privacy​

Strum is rated 4+ and is suitable for all ages. Because Strum does not collect any personal information, it complies with COPPA and similar laws by design.

Deleting your data​

Songs you delete in Strum go to a Trash folder for 7 days, then are permanently removed from your iCloud private database. You can also empty the Trash manually from the sidebar.

To remove all Strum data from iCloud at once: delete the app from each of your devices, then go to Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud → Manage Account Storage → Strum on iOS, or System Settings → Apple Account → iCloud → Manage → Strum on macOS, and tap Delete Data.

Changes to this policy​

If the policy changes, I'll update the "Last updated" date above and post the new version at the same URL. Material changes will be called out in the app's release notes.

Contact​

Questions about this policy or about Strum's data handling: [email protected].