Some ways to Make Music on an iPhone
(needs updating)
Apr 15, 2011 by Isaac Garfinkle
The following collection of apps are simply those which I found to be the greatest combination of fun and function, but in no way is this a finite list. In addition to the untold numbers of apps out there that I will never find, there are also all those apps available only for the Droid OS, updates that are released for the hardware or software, or the continuous introduction of new technologies will continuously bring changes in what our smart phones and tablets can do. The purpose here is to shine a light on some programs the excel at creating music while not putting the user in a typical setting like that of a DAW or regular VST. Creativity is king, and these apps are a great reminder of why!
1 – Argon: Monophonic Virtual Analog Synthesizer (by IceGear)
“It may be just a monophonic synth with a GUI that’s prejudiced against fat fingers, but Argon has won our hearts. From wispy, nostalgic leads drowned in noise and delay, to formant wobbles, croaking basslines and the soft pulses of thirds and fifths, Argon can – and frequently does – sound awesome. It’s not a broad palette, trapped somewhere between 1972 and 1984, but it’s a sound full of character, complexity and fun.” – Review Opener @ www.musicradar.com
2 – Filtatron (by Moog Music Inc.)
“The Filtatron is much more than your average sound app. It’s a phenominal real-time audio effects suite and powerful studio tool for your iPhome or iPod touch*. The heart of the Filtatron is the Moog Ladder Filter; digitally modeled to approximate the warmth and character of our famous analog hardware. Warp samples, live audio or the build in oscillator, sweeten with overdrive and delay, record your creations anywhere, save your presets, and share them with friends. Life is a rough mix… filter it.” — Product Introduction @ filtatron.moogmusic.com
3 – Jasuto Pro Modular Synthesizer (by Chris Wolfe)
“Jasuto Pro is worlds first (and most powerful) modular synthesizer for the iDevices. The Pro version includes everything that’s in the cheaper Classic version and much more! Jasuto Pro allows you to visually construct your own synths/effects, and use them to make sequences all on your device! With the addition of a fully-featured sampler you can now record/resample/edit, and even create entirely new samples by drawing right in the app. Jasuto Pro uses the relative position of nodes and their connections to control the sound. So the scene not only represents the synthesis structure, but also a custom multi-touch control surface. Motion can be recorded per node giving you rich, flexible automation. Connections can be created automatically by simply dragging nodes around, or manually. Each wire can be double tapped to allow even more control of each connections. Jasuto Pro comes installed with more than 45 modules. Each of the modules have been hand-optimized for your device’s CPU, allowing you to create extremely complex scenes.” — Product description @ Jasuto Pro App Store Page
4 – TechnoBox 2 (by AudioRealism)
“ TechnoBox2 is the next version of our hugely popular technoBox adding many asked for features such as dual 303s and drum machines, export recordings of songs and SoundCloud integration. A performance page has been added which allows access to the most commonly used controls on one page. The drum machines now allow you to load your own samples (via iTunes documents). technoBox2 runs on iPad and retina displays with crisp native resolution.” – TechnoBox 2 @ www.audiorealism.com
5 – Grüvtron (by Sound Trends LLC)
“Want to create a thumping bass line to fill the dance floor or a heart-wrenching lead line? Want to jam along with your friends – any time, any place and sound superb? grüvtron lets you jam and create in a multitude of styles and in any key all on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad – whether you’re a trained musician or not!” – Grüvtron Features @ www.soundtrends.com
6 – Noise.io
“Before proceeding to the Feature List – we would like to underline that Noise.io is a completely new kind of a musical instrument. Noise.io does not reflect of copy any existing synth structure, design or principles. We’ve designed Noise.io to become the true 21st century synth. So you won’t find any “VCO” or “VCF”-like abbreviations. There are no knobs! (“omg! synth with no knobs?! how can that be?!” ) We’ve tried to simplify everything down, in order to let the musicians create, instead of reading manuals. And – thanks to the iPhone excellent features – we’ve designed several new interface elements, which are through all the Noise.io’s Editor.” – Features Overview @ http://noise.io
7 – iSyn: Virtual Music Studio
“audioMIDI.com and VirSyn proudly present iSyn, a virtual music studio for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch that puts an unbelievable number of features including two studio-quality, fully-programmable monophonic virtual analog synthesizers and a drum machine in the palm of your hand! Play iSyn live with the onscreen keyboard or eight drum pads for fun live jam sessions or let iSyn do the playing for you with its grid sequencer for pattern-based music creation. iSyn can even play a beat and synth track while you jam over sequence tracks for a one-man iPhone band!” — Product Intro @ www.isynapp.com
8 – SoundGrid (by Mifki)
“ SoundGrid is powerful yet easy to use matrix sequencer for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, allowing to create stunning audio-visual performances in a moment and wherever you are. It was inspired by famous Tenori-on by Yamaha and popular ToneMatrix web app.” – Product Description @ www.Mifki.com
9 - iGog: Massive Drums (by WaveMachine Labs)
“iGOG is a massive multisampled drum machine unlike anything else available. iGOG sounds better than other drum machines because it uses Drumagog technology. (Drumagog is our award winning drum replacer, used by recording engineers worldwide for over 10 years). iGOG features up to 384 multisampled drum hits per pad. It combines dynamic, random and positional samples to form a drum sound so realistic, you’d swear it was the real thing.” — Product Description @ www.WaveMachineLabs.com
10 - SoundPrism (by Audanika)
“Using an array of rectangles arranged in a harmonically useful way, and color coding for pitch, SoundPrism is a glimpse of a more graphical future for music software design.” Easily create harmonies. Build loops graphically Peter Kirn @ Createdigitalmusic.com
11 – iDrum (all versions) http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/idrum/iphone.asp
12 –Voice Memos (comes as standard with the iPod touch) for iPad for iPad on the iTunes App Store itunes.apple.com/gb/app/...memos.../id364295267?mt....
13 –Virtuoso Piano Free, a new iPod touch, iPhone and iPad instrument. Learn and play the piano anytime and anywhere
14. smule products
http://www.smule.com/products
MadPad Turn everyday sights and sounds like your car, an empty soda can, or your friends into the ultimate percussive instrument. Through the beauty of video and sound, transform your world into an amazing visual music experience. Simply tap on interactive video clips to play the sights and sounds of your world. Anything can be music MadPad for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
Magic Piano™ is available on the iPhone and FREE! Play the hottest songs from Bruno Mars to Mozart - new songs are added every week! Share your performances with other Magic Piano players all over the world on the Smule Globe Magic Piano FREE for iPhone and iPod touch.
Magic Fiddle™ Learn Easily, Play Beautifully, Compete Passionately, Share Globally
Smoke swirls and mist twirls as you embark on your Magic Fiddle journey – uncover your musical talents and learn new techniques effortlessly as your friendly fiddle leads the way. Compete for global high scores. Show off your newly discovered musical aptitude with friends, family or even broadcast it to the world. Learn more about Magic Fiddle exclusively for iPad
Glee With Glee Karaoke, you're part of the club. Perform your favorite Glee showstoppers to complete missions and earn fame and fortune. With a little magic right in the app, you’ll sound great, so sing your heart out, and then check the daily charts to see how high you've climbed. The more you play, the more you achieve! Learn more about Glee for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
Magic Piano HD™ Play timeless pieces on the spiral keyboard, or follow the beams of light- mastery requires only imagination. Perfect for beginners, yet satisfying for accomplished musicians, you can play alone, or travel through a warp hole and duet with other Magic Pianists across the globe Learn more about Magic Piano HD exclusively for iPad
I Am™ T-Pain Voice tuning in the palm of your hand, scrolling lyrics and T-Pain's best beats including Buy You a Drank, I'm on a Boat and Blame It!. I Am T-Pain for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
http://www.smule.com/products
(needs updating)
Apr 15, 2011 by Isaac Garfinkle
The following collection of apps are simply those which I found to be the greatest combination of fun and function, but in no way is this a finite list. In addition to the untold numbers of apps out there that I will never find, there are also all those apps available only for the Droid OS, updates that are released for the hardware or software, or the continuous introduction of new technologies will continuously bring changes in what our smart phones and tablets can do. The purpose here is to shine a light on some programs the excel at creating music while not putting the user in a typical setting like that of a DAW or regular VST. Creativity is king, and these apps are a great reminder of why!
1 – Argon: Monophonic Virtual Analog Synthesizer (by IceGear)
“It may be just a monophonic synth with a GUI that’s prejudiced against fat fingers, but Argon has won our hearts. From wispy, nostalgic leads drowned in noise and delay, to formant wobbles, croaking basslines and the soft pulses of thirds and fifths, Argon can – and frequently does – sound awesome. It’s not a broad palette, trapped somewhere between 1972 and 1984, but it’s a sound full of character, complexity and fun.” – Review Opener @ www.musicradar.com
2 – Filtatron (by Moog Music Inc.)
“The Filtatron is much more than your average sound app. It’s a phenominal real-time audio effects suite and powerful studio tool for your iPhome or iPod touch*. The heart of the Filtatron is the Moog Ladder Filter; digitally modeled to approximate the warmth and character of our famous analog hardware. Warp samples, live audio or the build in oscillator, sweeten with overdrive and delay, record your creations anywhere, save your presets, and share them with friends. Life is a rough mix… filter it.” — Product Introduction @ filtatron.moogmusic.com
3 – Jasuto Pro Modular Synthesizer (by Chris Wolfe)
“Jasuto Pro is worlds first (and most powerful) modular synthesizer for the iDevices. The Pro version includes everything that’s in the cheaper Classic version and much more! Jasuto Pro allows you to visually construct your own synths/effects, and use them to make sequences all on your device! With the addition of a fully-featured sampler you can now record/resample/edit, and even create entirely new samples by drawing right in the app. Jasuto Pro uses the relative position of nodes and their connections to control the sound. So the scene not only represents the synthesis structure, but also a custom multi-touch control surface. Motion can be recorded per node giving you rich, flexible automation. Connections can be created automatically by simply dragging nodes around, or manually. Each wire can be double tapped to allow even more control of each connections. Jasuto Pro comes installed with more than 45 modules. Each of the modules have been hand-optimized for your device’s CPU, allowing you to create extremely complex scenes.” — Product description @ Jasuto Pro App Store Page
4 – TechnoBox 2 (by AudioRealism)
“ TechnoBox2 is the next version of our hugely popular technoBox adding many asked for features such as dual 303s and drum machines, export recordings of songs and SoundCloud integration. A performance page has been added which allows access to the most commonly used controls on one page. The drum machines now allow you to load your own samples (via iTunes documents). technoBox2 runs on iPad and retina displays with crisp native resolution.” – TechnoBox 2 @ www.audiorealism.com
5 – Grüvtron (by Sound Trends LLC)
“Want to create a thumping bass line to fill the dance floor or a heart-wrenching lead line? Want to jam along with your friends – any time, any place and sound superb? grüvtron lets you jam and create in a multitude of styles and in any key all on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad – whether you’re a trained musician or not!” – Grüvtron Features @ www.soundtrends.com
6 – Noise.io
“Before proceeding to the Feature List – we would like to underline that Noise.io is a completely new kind of a musical instrument. Noise.io does not reflect of copy any existing synth structure, design or principles. We’ve designed Noise.io to become the true 21st century synth. So you won’t find any “VCO” or “VCF”-like abbreviations. There are no knobs! (“omg! synth with no knobs?! how can that be?!” ) We’ve tried to simplify everything down, in order to let the musicians create, instead of reading manuals. And – thanks to the iPhone excellent features – we’ve designed several new interface elements, which are through all the Noise.io’s Editor.” – Features Overview @ http://noise.io
7 – iSyn: Virtual Music Studio
“audioMIDI.com and VirSyn proudly present iSyn, a virtual music studio for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch that puts an unbelievable number of features including two studio-quality, fully-programmable monophonic virtual analog synthesizers and a drum machine in the palm of your hand! Play iSyn live with the onscreen keyboard or eight drum pads for fun live jam sessions or let iSyn do the playing for you with its grid sequencer for pattern-based music creation. iSyn can even play a beat and synth track while you jam over sequence tracks for a one-man iPhone band!” — Product Intro @ www.isynapp.com
8 – SoundGrid (by Mifki)
“ SoundGrid is powerful yet easy to use matrix sequencer for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, allowing to create stunning audio-visual performances in a moment and wherever you are. It was inspired by famous Tenori-on by Yamaha and popular ToneMatrix web app.” – Product Description @ www.Mifki.com
9 - iGog: Massive Drums (by WaveMachine Labs)
“iGOG is a massive multisampled drum machine unlike anything else available. iGOG sounds better than other drum machines because it uses Drumagog technology. (Drumagog is our award winning drum replacer, used by recording engineers worldwide for over 10 years). iGOG features up to 384 multisampled drum hits per pad. It combines dynamic, random and positional samples to form a drum sound so realistic, you’d swear it was the real thing.” — Product Description @ www.WaveMachineLabs.com
10 - SoundPrism (by Audanika)
“Using an array of rectangles arranged in a harmonically useful way, and color coding for pitch, SoundPrism is a glimpse of a more graphical future for music software design.” Easily create harmonies. Build loops graphically Peter Kirn @ Createdigitalmusic.com
11 – iDrum (all versions) http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/idrum/iphone.asp
12 –Voice Memos (comes as standard with the iPod touch) for iPad for iPad on the iTunes App Store itunes.apple.com/gb/app/...memos.../id364295267?mt....
13 –Virtuoso Piano Free, a new iPod touch, iPhone and iPad instrument. Learn and play the piano anytime and anywhere
14. smule products
http://www.smule.com/products
MadPad Turn everyday sights and sounds like your car, an empty soda can, or your friends into the ultimate percussive instrument. Through the beauty of video and sound, transform your world into an amazing visual music experience. Simply tap on interactive video clips to play the sights and sounds of your world. Anything can be music MadPad for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
Magic Piano™ is available on the iPhone and FREE! Play the hottest songs from Bruno Mars to Mozart - new songs are added every week! Share your performances with other Magic Piano players all over the world on the Smule Globe Magic Piano FREE for iPhone and iPod touch.
Magic Fiddle™ Learn Easily, Play Beautifully, Compete Passionately, Share Globally
Smoke swirls and mist twirls as you embark on your Magic Fiddle journey – uncover your musical talents and learn new techniques effortlessly as your friendly fiddle leads the way. Compete for global high scores. Show off your newly discovered musical aptitude with friends, family or even broadcast it to the world. Learn more about Magic Fiddle exclusively for iPad
Glee With Glee Karaoke, you're part of the club. Perform your favorite Glee showstoppers to complete missions and earn fame and fortune. With a little magic right in the app, you’ll sound great, so sing your heart out, and then check the daily charts to see how high you've climbed. The more you play, the more you achieve! Learn more about Glee for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
Magic Piano HD™ Play timeless pieces on the spiral keyboard, or follow the beams of light- mastery requires only imagination. Perfect for beginners, yet satisfying for accomplished musicians, you can play alone, or travel through a warp hole and duet with other Magic Pianists across the globe Learn more about Magic Piano HD exclusively for iPad
I Am™ T-Pain Voice tuning in the palm of your hand, scrolling lyrics and T-Pain's best beats including Buy You a Drank, I'm on a Boat and Blame It!. I Am T-Pain for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
http://www.smule.com/products