These days, making music on the move is only an app download or two away, so why not give it a go? Agent Smith picks some of his favourite apps and gadgets that are guaranteed to be music to your ears!
Casual music Apps
NodeBeat
NodeBeat is a extremely simple yet effective way of creating music. It uses a funky user interface where all you have to do is drag nodes into the centre of the screen, and the app takes care of the rest.
Where you put the nodes on the screen determines how they interact with each other, and how the nodes interact with each other changes how your new song will sound. You can also add or remove nodes in real time for spontaneous music changes.
This app is very easy to get in to – even if you aren't sure of the more technical aspects of music-making. Its stylish appearance and simple interface are accessible for every level, from beginner to professional. Hours of fun are guaranteed with this one!
Molten Drum Machine
iOS– £3.99
Molten Drum Machine is a neat little app which you can use to create a drumbeat that loops until you tell it to stop. Very cool for a bit of an improvisational jam and as an introduction to sequencers (tools which store sequences of notes or sounds).
You can make the beat as simple or as complex as you like, and add effects and shape the sound for each part of the drum kit. Imagine having a drummer in the room who plays exactly what you want, without argument - and never gets tired. Well that's what this app is!
If you like to make drum patterns or simply want to have a unique backing track to your guitar or piano practice, give Molten Drum Machine a try.
Magellan
iOS– £10.49
Magellan is a professional analog-modelling synthesiser. It includes a full rack of effects, filters, modulation options and MIDI capabilities to use alongside the two synth engines, providing a massive amount of customisation to craft the perfect sound.
This app also features a slick and user-friendly interface, so you'll be able to navigate your way around the various switches and control in no time. This is quite important when making live music, and can make all the difference when you're showing off to your friends. It’s truly the only synth app you’re likely to ever need on your smartphone!
Music Maker Jam
Music Maker Jam lets you pick from thousands of loops of different instruments and effects, and layer them together to create wonderful music. Fade instruments in or out using the sliding interface, and jam to your heart's content!
If you want a music-making app that you can pick up at a moment's notice and start making music that doesn't sound like a broken drill, Music Maker Jam is certainly one of our top picks. While it doesn't give you as much freedom as a synthesiser, it's remarkably quick to get something good out of it.
Jamup Pro XT
iOS - £14.99
Imagine walking into a guitar shop and buying six amplifiers and thirty effects pedals for less than £15. That’s exactly what this app is.
JamUp Pro XT is the ultimate in portable guitar multi-effects. It’s so good, there are bands in this world that use it live rather than carting truckloads of gear from gig to gig. Just connect your guitar or bass in, and go!
To use Jamup Pro XT you'll need to be able to plug your guitar in to your iPhone, which requires specific hardware like the Griffin StompBox, Apogee JAM, iRig HD and many others. From here you can emulate pretty much any FX pedal and amp setup you can imagine!
If you have suitable hardware, give JamUp Pro a go.
Advanced Apps for Making Music
Let's look now at a 'digital audio workstation', or 'DAW'.
Truth be told, the DAW is probably going to be the most expensive app you buy, and I’ve not found a free one yet that was worth keeping. This may have something to do with the fact I use an iPad Mini, which only has a seven-inch screen.
It’s difficult to get all the information you need from a decent DAW on a screen so small – but if you’re using a device with a bigger screen you may have more success. My suggestions are:
FL Studio Mobile
Android - £8.99 / iOS - £10.99
FL Studio– or FruityLoops as it's sometimes known – was originally PC software, and recently got ported to Android and iOS for use on smartphones and tablets.
It's a music workstation in which you can create or load samples of drums or instruments, then arrange them in sequences so that when played all the sounds will synchronise.
This app is easy enough for a beginner to use, but is certainly a professional-level piece of software. Thanks to its many years on PC, FL Studio has had nearly all flaws ironed out – and what's left is a brilliant tool for creating music. If you're looking for the next step in smartphone music, this may be it!
Caustic 3
Android– £5.99 (free to try) / iOS– £7.99
This is another powerful DAW for smartphones and tablets – this time with a much more colourful and vibrant interface. If you've ever played Music or Music 2000 on the PlayStation, you might see some similarities!
There's a lot to explore in Caustic 3, which can make it a bit confusing for the beginner – but once you get used to the app you'll find yourself using all the tools and features you can find.
If you're used to hardware like rack-mounted synths and samplers, you'll be familiar with the hardware-styled modular interface. Wire your modules together to chain sounds and customise your music to how you want it to sound!
Audio Evolution Mobile DAW
Android– £4.49
What I like most about Audio Evolution Mobile is that you can purchase and install additional packs when you want to, rather than having to pay for everything up front and then finding you won't be using parts of it. Don't worry, though! The normal or 'vanilla' version of Audio Evolution Mobile still has all the features you'll need to get started making music.
This app feels very much like a full PC program, and I find it works better on bigger tablet screens rather than small smartphones. If you feel at home infront of PC programs like Ableton Live, you'll enjoy using Audio Evolution Mobile.
Auria
iOS - £14.99 (Lite) / £18.99 (Full)
Auria is a fantastic DAW. Even on a tiny seven-inch screen the user interface isn’t too tricky to use, even though it's got a lot of function crammed into it.
It works well with iTunes, syncing songs and samples with ease. It also syncs flawlessly with cloud services like Dropbox and Soundcloud, which makes storing and sharing your music a breeze!
If you're new to music-making software, it may take a bit of time to get to grips with the different features, but its slick design really pays off. There are enough buttons, dials, switches and sliders in Auria that you could pretend you're on the deck of a starship should you get bored, which makes it well worth installing in my book!
Audiobus
iOS– £2.99
This handy application allows you to connect two or more audio applications together: you can select your 'input', 'output' and any 'effects' apps you might use, and record through them.
For example, if you wanted to record a synth part but you don’t own a real synth at home, you could use one of the synth apps I’ve recommended above as your 'input' and record to your DAW, which would be set as the 'output'.
Want a drum beat? Not a problem. Hit 'record' on your DAW (output), switch back to your drum application (input) and off you go – and you can even add effects in between too!
Audiobus is compatible with all of the main music creation apps available on the App Store, and the list is growing daily. It’s easily the best app I’ve written about in this article, and if you’re a musician and you own an iPhone or iPad, it’s a must-have.
Recording real instruments to your phone or tablet
But, what about if you wanted to record a song? I mean a full song, with multiple tracks and effects? Well, it’s easier than you might think! Let me explain.
A month or so ago, I finally made the transition I’ve been putting off for a while. I made a decision to stop using my bulky home recording studio gear, in an attempt to downsize to something which was much smaller and more suitable for my needs.
I’d read a lot about mobile recording applications and never thought the results would sound as professional as I wanted... but I was wrong.
I’ll be reviewing two items for each category: a 'budget' version, and also what I use myself.
If you’ve got a smartphone or tablet, you’ve already got almost all the hardware you need. The only extra part you'll need is a microphone or input device of some type. You could use the built-in microphone in your device, but this is likely to cause feedback. If you’re looking to avoid this, I’d recommend:
iRig HD-A
Android– €121.99 (around £92)
In the past, it was quite difficult to get an Android smartphone to work well with an electric guitar or bass, due to the high input latency involved. It's difficult to play a guitar when there's a delay between striking a note and being able to hear it!
With the introduction of the iRig HD-A, those worries become a thing of the past. As long as your Android phone supports USB-OTG you can plug in your guitar, open any app that supports real-time processing, and start jamming straight away.
You can even connect the iRig HD-A to a computer instead of using a specialist sound card, and record your music straight to your PC or laptop.
iRig Mic Cast
Android/iOS– €48.79 (around £37)
The iRig MIC Cast is a super-compact recording microphone for use with smartphones and tablets. I admit, really it’s for spoken word applications: meetings, podcasts, and so on. But there isn’t anything to stop you singing into it, or using it with live instruments!
In fact, this gadget actually comes with two applications included. One is a simple recorder/editor for voice, the other is a multi-effects processor aimed at singers. It even comes with a stand to keep your smartphone stood upright and still while you’re doing your thing!
iRig also offer the iRig Acoustic, if you want to record an acoustic instrument instead of your voice, which costs €49.99 (around £38).
Apogee Jam
iOS– £75.00
As a guitarist I wanted something to directly plug my guitar into. I went for Apogee Jam, and I have to say I’ve been very impressed with it.
This little device plugs in between my guitar, and the lightning port on my iPad gives me studio-quality recording for a fraction of the cost.
It also comes with alternative leads for connecting to older generations of iPad, or even a PC or Mac. Perfect!
So that's the Geek Squad round up of the best music-making apps. Let us know your own personal recommendations in the comments box below!
If you need help configuring your computer, phone or tablet Geek Squad can help. We offer malware removal, device set-up, software installation and more. Learn more.