Note (12/23/2011): By far, this continues to be the most viewed blog entry on techinmusiced.com. Please note that this article was written in July 2010, and much has changed since then. Many of the music readers have changed significantly in terms of features. I’ve considered writing a follow-up comparison of all the iPad music readers, but the three I still recommend are forScore, unrealBook, and SeeScore. As a further note, SeeScore is a MusicXML-only reader, unique in its function. I’ve written a number of follow-up posts since this article was written, so please consider this comparison as a historical document, reflecting the state of iPad Sheet Music Readers in July of 2010.
A quick search on “Music Reader” in iPad apps results in a list of five specific programs: ForScore, Medley, Music Reader, PDF Sheet Music Reader, and UnrealBook.
The attached PDF shows a feature-by-feature comparison of each of the five sheet music readers. There are some other sheet music readers available, but I would wager that the most popular apps in this category are included in the review.
In summary, as of June 11th, 2010, the music readers with the most features are UnrealBook, ForScore, and Music Reader. Please see the PDF for more information!
Technology in Music Education 