All the apps you need to create, record, share, and discover music.
Figure #
Rather than mimicking old synths/drum machines/samplers, Figure uses a novel interface designed perfectly for the iPhone. The magic lies in the context-sensitive touch pad, which works for your drums, bass, and lead. Everything is kept in time by the rhythm wheels (unless you don’t want it to), and once you’ve got a basic sound, you can go further by hitting up the ’tweaks’ tab down the bottom.
The interface makes it one of the best apps for beginners, but it also provides enough power for you to grow beyond the basics.
For: iOS · Price: $0.99
Caustic 2 #
A powerful, if intimidating, rack-mount-simulator style music creation app that combines synths, samplers and effects. It’s classic old-skool synth tech here, which doesn’t work in its favour when it comes to ease-of-use. If you’re well-versed in attack and delay, however, you will relish having something like this in your pocket, ready to catch the melody that just flew into your head.
The app is free, but if you want to save or export (wav, ogg, midi), you’ll need to fork out $7.99.
For: Android · Price: Free/$7.99
SoundCloud #
Soundcloud is a well-established music sharing service used by musicians the world over. It’s included here as it’s a great way to upload any new sounds you’ve just created/recorded on your phone, but — primarily — it’s a fantastic way to stay on the bleeding edge of music releases. A tonne of my favourite artists have SC accounts, so flipping through my feed is a brilliant way for me to hear the freshest beats out there.
For: iOS + Android · Price: Free
Discovr Music #
Discovr Music is a great way to find new music related to the stuff you already love. You start by typing in an artist that you like (or selecting one that appears in your music library), and the app branches out similar or related artists. Click on one of them, and another web branches out, showing artists related to them. If an artist relates to an artist already on the app, the web joins up, allowing you to see connections to artists that you already know.
For: iOS · Price: $1.99
Seline #
Let the soft, ephemeral sound of Seline wash over you as you paint ambient music by numbers. The instrument has been designed to complement a touch interface, with all the controls sitting next to the fingers that need them. It’s also almost impossible to play out of tune.
You have a choice of 25 different voices and nine drones, so you can make sure that no matter what mood your yoga party is going for, you’ll provide the right atmosphere.
For: iOS · Price: $2.99
AmpliTube + iRig #
Guitar players need not miss out on the musical benefits of mobile devices. The iRig provides a means to hook your guitar or bass up to your iOS device, and the AmpliTube app gives you a wealth of effects to apply — eg delay, noise reduction, and distortion out of the box plus more effects as an in-app purchases — as well as the ability to record your jams. It also includes a metronome and guitar tuner, and, if you’re feeling flush, you can even purchase an 8-track recorder.
For: iOS · Price: $49.99 for iRig, AmpliTube features vary
DM1 — The Drum Machine #
This is my favourite drum machine. The combination of an intuitive interface and a host of effects make it the kind of app that a first-time user can pick up and get lost in for hours. And hours. There’s a certain hypnotic charm to looped drums that this app helped me discover.
However, it sorely lacks the ability to live record when mixing, or load up one’s own samples. The ease of use makes it great for tinkering, though, which is what I use it for, anyway.
For: iPad · Price: $5.49
Hokusai Audio Editor #
If, like me, you’re into field recordings, then you need a good wave editor to complete your mobile workflow. It’s no good if you’re trying to capture the gentle sounds of rain on the roof, when an impatient truck driver beeps his way out of a traffic jam.
Of course, you can also use the app to record your instrument of choice (clearly, you’re more talented than I), and clean up any mistakes, add effects, and export in your preferred format. Better yet, you can even import sounds from Dropbox.
For: iOS · Price: Free
Spotify #
Having launched in Oz a few months ago, Spotify is the music streaming service. It gives you a massive library of music to choose from, meaning that most people may not have to purchase an album again.
The Spotify app allows premium users (a free, 48-hour trial is available) to either stream music or pre-cache (over WiFi) their favourite playlists. I love the social aspect of being able to see what your Facebook buddies are listening to. Unfortunately, the Android app is borderline rubbish — here’s hoping for an update.
For: iOS + Android · Price: Premium account required @ $11.99 per month
PowerAmp #
With all these streaming, discovery, and creation apps, it’s easy to forget about all the music you have sitting in your collection. PowerAmp is my preferred app to listen to my music. It not only supports a whole tonne of formats, but has a great-looking, skinnable, gesture-based interface, along with a graphical equaliser.
It also comes with widgets, includes lock-screen controls, and even pauses/resumes when you unplug/plug in your headphones — even when the app isn’t open. Brilliant.
For: Android · Price: $5.12