SightKick vs Melodics vs Drumeo
All three help you get better at drums with a kit that talks to your computer, but they're built for different things. Full disclosure: this comparison is written by the SightKick author, so read it with that in mind. I've tried to keep it fair.
| SightKick | Melodics | Drumeo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, open source (MIT) | Subscription | Subscription |
| What it is | A play-along game: sheet music, live scoring | Structured lessons and exercises with real-time feedback | Video lessons and courses from professional drummers |
| Songs | Thousands of community-charted songs, downloaded in-app | Licensed songs from its own catalog | Song breakdowns and play-alongs as videos |
| Scores your playing | Yes, per hit over MIDI | Yes, over MIDI | Mostly video-based, you judge yourself |
| Notation | Standard drum notation, color-coded | Its own scrolling note display | PDF charts alongside the videos |
| Teaches technique | No | Somewhat, through exercises | Yes, that's the whole point |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows, iPad | Web and mobile apps |
When SightKick is the right pick
You have a MIDI kit, you can more or less hold a beat, and what you actually want is to play songs you like instead of exercises. You put on a track, mute the recorded drummer, and take their place. The score at the end tells you whether to move on or run it again. No subscription, because practicing shouldn't have a monthly fee.
When it isn't
SightKick won't teach you how to hold sticks, fix your timing habits, or build a practice routine. If you're starting from zero, Drumeo's lessons will get you much further, and Melodics is good for daily exercise discipline. Plenty of people use a lesson platform for the eat-your-vegetables part and SightKick for the part where you actually get to play music.
Try it
SightKick is a free download for macOS, Windows, and Linux, and the source is on GitHub. If it's not for you, you've lost five minutes. Download it here.