iPhone Apps: 19 Music Software iPhone Applications and Hacks

iphone app storeThree things have recently led to my sudden interest in iPhone Apps: 1) my trusty 20 GB iPod recently ceased to function, 2) my Cingular phone plan is up for renewal, and 3) I discovered the iPhone app store and some of the "iPhone hacks" Google groups.

The growing catalog of iPhone 3G apps is pretty impressive, especially since it’s only the first wave in what will become a stream of new music iPhone software to follow.  (Crowdsourced software development rules — thanks Apple)  Some of the best iPhone apps are apps for musicians, bands, and music fans that foster great iPhone experiences…and are quite useful as well.  Following are some of the key free iPhone applications (and non-free) worth checking out immediately.

iPhone Apps for Music Creation

MooCowMusic Band

band iphone applicationMooCowMusic Band is iPhone application simulating a bunch of different instruments, including drum kits, a keyboard, bass, and an electric guitar.  Theoretically, you arm an entire band with this iPhone app…and aparently, it’s been done (more on that).  Costs $9.99.  (MooCow also released iPhone Drummer, which is one of many free iPhone apps available.)

BeatMaker

beatmaker iphone appThe Intua BeatMaker combines beatboxes, loop samplers and software sequencers to become a "mobile music creation studio" where you can compose, record, arrange, and tweak your music through the iPhone touch-sensitive interface.  I totally want this…it be great for those ho-hum marketing planning meetings taking place these days…  Costs $19.99.

MixMeister Scratch

mixmeister iphone applicationThe MixMeister Scratch iPhone application lets you choose vinyl sound samples to scratch with on top of any song you’re listening to.  Flip a bird to all the sound engineers trying to sweeten portable music sound quality by tearing up with oh-so-scratchy goodness.  Nice.  One of many great free iPhone applications.

PocketGuitar

pocket guitar iphone appThe Pocket Guitar iPhone App let’s you play guitar on the iPhone by sensing guitar chord fingerings and chord strumming.  Instruments include acoustic guitar, electric guitar, classical guitar, muted guitar, bass and ukulele.  Also included are effects such as distortion, chorus and delay.  Pretty sweet…although I might just stick with the real thing for a while.  Or at least with Guitar Hero.  (This was originally an iPhone hack, requiring a jailbreak iPhone, but will now be one of several free iPhone apps.)

Noise for iPhone

noise iphone app synthThe Noise for iPhone music app is what it does.  (Is "soundfart" a word?)  According to Amidio, its synthesizer application can create any kind of noise-based sound including mechanical noises, mystic creatures, space engines, swoorls and swooshes, bizarre inventions, blasters and spindles, eerie whistles, howls and growls, intergalactic swirls, flaps and blips, and seas and winds.  How can anyone turn that down?  That’d especially be perfect for those ‘undesired’ phone calls you wish you had an excuse to drop.  "Oh, sorry, the wind is picking up…I’m losing reception [queue noise generator]…gotta go, bye!"  (Cost TBD, likely not a free iphone app.)

iPhone Synth

iphone synth appAnother audio synthesizer application, but a pretty basic one.  It’s not actually an "official" iPhone app yet, but keep an eye on it as it gets developed further.  (One of several free iphone applications…might as well grab it.)

MooCowMusic Piano

I talked about MooCowMusic Band, why not Piano?  The music app’s name is kind of self-explanatory.  Costs $5.99.

iPhone Apps for Listening to Music

Pandora

pandora iphone applicationPandora is pretty much my all-time favorite source of streamed music online, as well as where I go to discover new bands.  In case you’re unfamiliar with it (shame on you!) Pandora plays constant music based on bands and songs you like.  This iPhone music app is a no-brainer.  (Especially since it’s part of the free iphone apps brigade of software.)

AOL Radio

aol radio iphone appThe AOL Radio iPhone application is what it is — AOL Radio on the iPhone.  It includes something like 200 radio stations, some of which are quite good.  And it’s also free.  Absolutely worth checking out if you ever get tired Pandora’s meanderings into less popular music, or want a playlist that less engine-generated.  (As with Pandora, it’s one of many free iphone applications.)

Last.FM

last.fm iphone appLast.FM, the awesome combination internat radio station, recommendation engine, and social network (now owned by CBS) created its own music iPhone application.  It’s actually even more feature-rich than the preceding apps above…scrobbling rules.  And, once again, it’s a free iPhone app.  Definitely worth checking out.

iPhone Apps for Mu sic Listening Enhancement

TuneWiki

tunewiki iphone appTuneWiki kicks serious butt.  While you’re listening to any song on your iPhone, TuneWiki displays all the song lyrics to the song in Real Time, like a karaoke machine.  This would have come in handy during the grunge era 90s.  However, this is less of an iPhone "App", and definitely more of a iPhone hack.  You’ll need to "jailbreak" your iPhone first to install it.  (Enter at your own risk…)

Midomi

midomi iphone applicationMidomi is a cool little song identification iPhone application that can name a song by "listening" to you either hum it, whistle it, or recite its lyrics.  (Neat.)  The core site is also a social network of sorts, where community members find each other based on musical interests.  (Throw this one in the desirable "free iPhone apps" category.)

Simplify Media

simplify media iphone appSimplify Media is free software that enables the sharing of iTunes-managed music…it actually provides a "legal" means of sharing one’s home music library with others over the internet.  The iPhone app lets you, ta-da, do so with an iPhone.  This is actually pretty cool, especially if you’ve completely maxed out the 8-16 GB of space on your iPhone…now you’re no longer limited by the storage space on your iPhone.  Very cool.  Add this to the other free iphone applications.

SeeqPod

seeqpod iphone music appSeeqPod is a cool media search engine that presents immediately playable search results in the form of audio and video clips, tracks, and presentations.  The media can be played, embedded, or shared anywhere, and even merchandise can be purchased.  A good iPhone application if you’re looking for specific music or video online.

Shazam

shazam iphone applicationA cute little iPhone app that will identify a song that’s playing…but not if it’s playing on your iPhone?  You actually hold the iPhone’s microphone up to an audio source for 10 seconds, and Shazam will provide title, artist, and track info.  Not quite as cool as Midomi.  (Another addition to the free iphone applications catalog.)

iPhone Apps as Music Tools

Guitar Toolkit

guitar toolkit app for iphoneThis may very well be the first iPhone App I’d buy once I get an iPhone.  It includes a chromatic tuner with 40 alternate tunings (great for getting beyond the 3 I always use), a chord finder (great for finding Jonathan Coulton-ish chord progressions), and metronome with both BPM (beats per minute) controls and tap-driven sense technology.  That’s two less gig items required for gigs for guitarists…sweet.  Costs $9.99.

cleartune application iphoneClearTune

ClearTune is a multi-instrument tuner. Musicians can use its "note wheel" interface to tune any instrument using the built-in iPhone microphone.  Definitely useful for non-guitarists.  Costs $3.99.

Stay In Tune

stay in tune app iphoneThe Sonzea Stay In Tune is yet another tonal iPhone application that provides musicians with tuning capability.  Stay In Tune contains 8 pre-set string tuning settings for instruments including guitar, banjo, cello and chromatic.  Costs $4.99.

OmniTuner

omnituner iphone applicationAnother guitar tuner iPhone application from Mauvila.  (What can I say, I’m a guitar player.  I like tuners.)  Like Stay In Tune, it provides multiple tuning settings for multiple instruments, including guitar, mandolyn, banjo, and others.  Costs $4.99.

Random iPhone App Notes

  • My personal picks would include the MooCowMusic Band, Noise for iPhone (or BeatMaker), Pandora, and Guitar Toolkit iPhone applications.  But honestly, by the time I make to the nearest Cingular store, I’m sure there’ll be a ton of new iPhone apps to choose from.
  • Peter Kirn is doing a great job of tracking new development around iPhone music applications at Create Digital Music (as well as a thousand other pieces of gear, software, and juicy DIY craziness).
  • Apparently, there’s already a band touting the fact that they create all their music with iPhones, called iBand.   Kind of a cheesy idea…but I wish I’d thought of it first.  🙂

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24 responses to “iPhone Apps: 19 Music Software iPhone Applications and Hacks”

  1. Music D.J. Avatar

    So you wanna’ be a scratch D.J.? Here’s your chance to shine with iTurn! Scratch to any tune.

    Great with any style music – pop, rock, hip-hop, jazz and rap .

    Just play song from your music and then start up iTurn. Move your finger back and forth on the turntable to hear your D.J. magic over your song!

    Touch control Scratch volume.

    Features include:

    – Scratch sounds vary based on direction of motion.
    – Pitch of scratch varies based on speed of motion.
    – Adjustable volume control.
    – Drag horizontally or vertically across the turntable for a single beat scratch.
    – Drag your finger for a variety of multiple beat scratches.

    Entertain friends. Great for parties – just plug into your system and use iTurn to add your D.J. touch to the music.

    Get the beat!
    http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=295779092&mt=8

  2. […] we’re at it, check out some other top music apps for the iPhone/iTouch. ▶ Comment /* 0) { jQuery(‘#comments’).show(”, […]

  3. […] 19 Music Software iPhone Applications and Hacks […]

  4. Joash Chee Avatar

    Hi there!

    I am about to launch a new music suite and I thought this post might be helpful to some here.

    New Scoreless Music App Pre-Launch Announcement!

    Application Name : Scoreless Music Suite

    Application Description :
    *** SPECIAL LAUNCH OFFER – FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME (usual USD$1.99) ***

    Using a revolutionary approach to crafting a portable musical device, only made possible by the technologies put together by Apple Inc., the Scoreless Music Suite is set to change the way people learn and play accompaniment music. The suite features every music application designed by Joash Chee, including the innovative Chordica musical instrument that allows anyone to play thousands of chords with only two fingers.

    The Scoreless Music Suite includes:

    – KEYFINDER 1.2 –
    Use the built-in piano keyboard to play along with a song's melody. As you confirm notes that coincide with what's being played, KeyFinder will narrow down the number of possible keys the song is in.

    – CHORD/CHANGER 1.1 –
    With Chord/Changer, it is now easy to convert chord sheets written in alphabet form to numbers so that you can use them with instruments such as the Chordica. Using the new ChordPlay feature, you can even play a song just by tapping the chords on the charts! (Video demo on website)

    – CHORDICA 1.1.1 –
    Play the only instrument designed exclusively for the iPhone OS and powered by the number system as taught by Scoreless Music.

    For More Information and Preview Videos :

    http://suite.scorelessmusic.com

  5. buzzyteam Avatar

    Please consider easymix, so easy to mix and really trendy !
    http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa
    EasyMix is the only mixer or dj application on appstore allowing anybody to mix high quality and professional sounds on iPhone/iPodTouch.
    The application is a mixer table with loops & samples provided by our partners at Loopmasters (http://www.loopmasters.com).
    Our difference ? With EasyMix you do not have to care about timing, rythm and synchronization:
    EasyMix does that for you ! Just change the sounds when you feel like it and everything is synchronized automatically.
    Our first version gives you acces to 5 different styles: Techno, Trance, Progressive House, Breaks and Disco House.
    Play with each set of loops through a 5 track mixers with 4 samples for each track, which makes a whooping 3125 possible combinations of sounds per style.
    The samples are not just short extracts as for other mixer apps, but high-grade, professional loops of 44,1kHz/16 Bits containg loops of beats, synths, bass, …
    Just go on youtube and search for easy mix to watch demos or go to our channel http://www.youtube.com/user/buzzyteam – check out the amazing sound quality in stereo and prepare yourself to some serious dancing.
    You can visit our blog as well: http://buzzyteam.free.fr/
    A free version exist with only one style and live mixing: it will feature monthly updates provided by our partners at Loopmasters, letting you get a taste & mix of some of their fantastic samples.
    Features include:
    – professional high quality loops (16 bits / 44,1 kHz) from http://www.LoopMasters.com
    – real live DJ music
    – unique synchronization mechanism producing perfect flow in the music
    – recording mode
    – songs management per style
    – flow covers style menu
    – playback of your songs
    – Multi-Touch volume control for each individual track
    – fast positioning in your song during playback
    – random mode to let the application choose and mix loops

    To come:
    – new samples packs
    – new styles
    – audio effects

  6. Technoboy Avatar
    Technoboy

    Thanks for the article. I'll need to check out Shazam – it sounds almost too good to be true.

    I like ZipTunes as well. It's my favorite way to play music on my iPod, and I use it almost every day to make playlists. It doesn't do as much as some of the other apps on the list, but what it does, it does VERY well.

  7. XnT Avatar
    XnT

    Cool article! Just a recommendation: In "Music Creation" you should add Maestro. It's intended for real musicians. Drag and drop, nice UI, several features and MusicXML compatibility. I like it 🙂 .

    1. GarageSpin Avatar

      I'll be sure to check it out, thanks XnT.
      -Mike

  8. prasanth Avatar

    We just released our FREE new iphone app Rhythmic. It allows you to share song info with friends using BUMP or bluetooth. I hope music lovers find it fun and useful to use.
    App store link –http://bit.ly/cOMfKH

  9. sc2player Avatar
    sc2player

    Phonophrenic should totally be on that list
    http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/phonophrenic/id382

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  11. home builders markham Avatar

    I read so many poorly written articles with dull content on this topic that I was pleasantly surprised by yours. It’s great to know there’s at least one writer that writes interesting and unique material.

  12. dhruv Avatar

    Amazing Music Beat Maker Application for iPhone and iPad http://goo.gl/QzW0m

  13. forensics Avatar

    I’m an intermediate writer, but I am certainly not at your level. I think your content is compelling and interesting with many well made points.

  14. iPhone App Reviews Avatar

    The ideas presented in this article are fresh and exciting. I had been bored with the same old articles with the same old clich?’s. It is very good to see something new for a change.

  15. Rap Rivals Avatar

    You guys left out Rap RIvals http://www.raprivals.com or direct download (Free) http://bit.ly/raprivals The app literally turns anyone without any music experience into a Rap Star:
    – Create a Rap Star avatar with 1000's of character combinations
    – Collect 1000's of sounds and mix your own beats
    – Record your own vocals and auto tune your voice.
    – Live multi-player battles, achievements and leaderboards.
    – Live chat

    TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV680WO6Afs

  16. local info Avatar

    iphone applications are really working for the music creation. Through this source you are able to enjoy the high quality music. So, nice to read about this app here. Thanks for providing this informative post here.

  17. Dance Midi Sample Avatar

    I have tried a couple of Iphone music editing software but they can never really equal the post processing available on a PC/Mac

  18. Angelpitson14 Avatar
    Angelpitson14

    Text Service
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