iPhone/iPad iOS music making app round-up: Week 65
Something for everyone
One of the great things about iOS devices is that pretty much anyone - regardless of age or ability - can use them to make music. This week’s apps demonstrate this, running the gamut from a child-friendly composing tool to a full-on virtual studio.
Also make sure you check out:
The best iPhone/iPad music making apps in the world today
If you've got a new iOS app, make sure you let us know about it by emailing musicradar.pressreleases@futurenet.com with all the details.
NEXT: Morton Subotnick Pitch Painter
Compatibility: iPad (requires iOS 5.0 or later)
Morton Subotnick Pitch Painter, £1.99
Any iPad owner who has children will tell you that the little perishers can’t keep their hands off it, so why not let them make some music? Designed for kids aged 3-5, Pitch Painter enables you to paint notes onto a canvas and then play them back as a sequence. DJ-style scrubbing and editing features are also included.
Compatibility: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad (requires iOS 4.3 or later)
Intelligent Gadgets MIDI Mandala, £0.69
A circular MIDI controller app that places the lowest pitched note in the centre and higher ones out towards the edge. Aftertouch controls enable you to make further adjustments to volume and pitch, and you can choose from a range of musical scales.
Compatibility: iPad (requires iOS 4.0 or later)
dlab APG Composer, Free
A 3-voice FM synth combined with an implementation of a Logique Analogique sequencer. This triggers notes when a weighted sum of different signals exceeds a specific threshold. The app is powered by the Audio Plugin Generator and is free.
Compatibility: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad (requires iOS 4.2 or later)
Audanika SoundPrism Pro 2.5, £10.99
This highly regarded app has been given another significant update. As well as support for the new iPad’s Retina screen, there’s MIDI In (so that you can control SoundPrism with other controllers and apps), an enhanced MIDI spec and usability improvements.
Compatibility: iPad (requires iOS 4.3 or later)
Holderness Media Waviary, £1.49
Available on numerous platforms, Waviary is a piece of musical artwork, an instrument, an ambient music machine and virtual wind chimes in one. You can easily create soundscapes using the multitouch control surface or just leave the app to go to work on its own.
Compatibility: iPad (requires iOS 4.3 or later)
Retronyms Tabletop 1.5, Free
One of the criticisms that’s been levelled at Tabletop relates to its piece-by-piece in-app purchasing model, but you can now buy discounted bundles which makes things easy and cheaper (the core app is free these days). AudioCopy is now in place too, as is CloudSeeker, a new community platform that’s powered by SoundCloud.
Compatibility: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad (requires iOS 4.3 or later)
Noe Guerrero eSonar, £0.69
eSonar is novel sample-based groove machine app that is played by dragging and dropping sounds onto a circular 'sonar'-style grid. You can drop drum, bass, synth and FX hits onto it, adjusting the pitch by moving each sound closer or further away from the circle’s epicentre. Check out a promo video to see eSonar in action.
Liked this? Now read: The best iPhone/iPad music making apps in the world today
I’m the Group Content Manager for MusicRadar, specialising in all things tech. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 20 of which I’ve also spent writing about music technology.