I've spent a nice chunk of change on iPad apps over a few years. None of the music theory apps stuck around, used them for a week or two then ended up deleting them.

These are the apps that I still use on a weekly basis:

• iReal Pro

• ForScore

• Lumbeat Drum Machines (Afro-Cuban, Rock, Soft, Jazz, Reggae, Brazilian, Middle Eastern and Funk)

• DrumPerfect Pro

• Note Trainer Pro (to keep my reading up to speed)

• Flashcards Deluxe

For Flashcards Deluxe I use it mainly as a prompt to play something on the keyboard. For example, I have a deck of key signatures that prompts me to play the Major + Relative Minor Scale (including the basic 1 4 5 chords in each).

For Boogie Woogie Piano, I created a deck of all the bass lines using notation + recorded sound. So I can drill just the notation (and play it on the keyboard) - or drill the recorded sound (this one is great ear training). I also use the auto-play feature, to prompt me to use a different bass line every 15-30 seconds. Tricky to do, but good practice.

I'm still in the process of creating the 8-riffs flashcard deck (notation + recorded sound).

Once I have some bass lines and riffs wired into my system - I practice them in iReal Pro with lead sheet/charts of the chord progression from the beginning of the book.