composition, improvisation & notation apps
When you update to iOS 11, you may notice that some of your favorite apps no longer work. This is because app developers may not have updated their app from 32 bit to 64 bit, which is the new iOS 11 requirement.
- Chordion: Musical Instrument, Arpeggiator, Drum Machine, and MIDI Controller. A new way to make music that sounds good! Play chords with one hand and melodies with the other, and never hit a wrong note. The chord buttons are on the left and the keyboard-ish section is on the right. You play with two hands in this app. (In 'Settings', you can set the right hand side of the screen to play any scale you want...and there are a lot of pre-set scale patterns built in.) To start the drum pattern, tap the play button. The arpeggiator makes things more interesting, too. Experimenting with the different sliders and waveforms is fun! Chordion has built-in MIDI capabilities, which means you can use Chordion to play other apps, such as SunRizer with the chords and ThumbJam with the keyboard.
- DoodleBuddy - Paint, Draw, Scribble, Sketch - it's Addictive! A whiteboard app for drawing notes and rhythm.
- Educreations Interactive Whiteboard. The possibilities are endless to privately share back-and-forth ideas during the week between student and teacher.
- Finale SongBook. For the iPad, notate your music in this app and listen to playback.
- forScore. Exclusively for iPad, this is THE app for reading music, and it's the one I use, too. Add scores to your forScore library from your Dropbox account, the Internet, or from email attachments. You can browse and download (and purchase, if you wish) scores from within the app. You can organize your music library easily by composer, title, and genre or make setlists for yourself and different situations. You can "write" on your music, make music notation markings, use a "highlighter", etc. Pages turn with a swipe or touch of your finger. If you purchase an AirTurn pedal, you can turn pages with a tap of your left foot.
- Isle of Tune Mobile. Create your own musical journeys from street layouts. Fun and creative!
- Music4Kids - Learn, create and compose music through play. Write and play music at the same time. Play musical recognition games, too.
- Music Studio Lite. Similar to GarageBand.
- NodeBeat. An intuitive and fun visual music app. Easily create your own music in a matter of minutes. Share your music with others.
- NotateMe. "Hand write" your music on your phone or tablet. The app converts it to music notation. Instant playback and syncs to Dropbox, too. Email your scores to friends and print.
- NotateMe Now. Handwriting recognition app. Quickly and accurately enter music notation with your finger or stylus.
- Noteflight. You can view and play Noteflight scores on the iPhone and iPad. Just login to http://www.noteflight.com/login on your mobile device and tap any score. There's no app to install or purchase. The mobile viewer is a feature of their website. It automatically comes up when you view a Noteflight score on any mobile device.
- Notion. Composition app with numerous instrument categories to choose from - strings, woodwinds, brass, keyboard, guitar, percussion, and vocals.
- Musical Paint Pro. Move your finger around the screen to "paint" musical tones.
- Music Notator. Basic composition app.
- Pro Chords - Instant Inspiration - w. WiFi MIDI. Great when you know what sounds good, but don't know how to play various chord voicings. ProChords give you options as to what chord could be played next after the series of chords you have already chosen in your composition. ProChords makes its suggestions based on pattern recognition to find similarities with the chord progression you are working on. This way you get fresh and interesting ideas, not do the writing for you.
- ScoreCloud Express. Sing or play one note at a time to turn it into music notation.
- ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard. This whiteboard records your voice. Great for privately sharing back-and-forth ideas between student and teacher during the week.
- Sketch-a-Song Kids. Tap and drag to create, move, and edit notes. Build your own ensemble from over 40 free instruments without navigating complicated menus or settings. Hear your music played back in real time as you build it. Add measures to link 8 different sketchpads together and create a beautiful backdrop for your masterpiece. Six instrument categories: keyboards, strings, woodwinds, brass, drums and vocals.
- SongWriter HD Lite - Write lyrics and record melody ideas on the go. Write your lyrics for the verse and chorus. Record audio for each section separately. Use the Chord Picker to easily insert chords. Search for rhymes or synonyms to find inspiration by highlighting the word you wish to look up and then touching Rhyme or Synonym from the menu. Share your music via email.
- Story Dice. A fun tool you can use to create composition and improvisation ideas.
- Toc and Roll. Mix different instruments, add effects, record your voice, play with the tempo, and share your music.
- Toontastic Jr. Pirates Puppet Theater. A tool to inspire composition ideas.
- Whiteboard Lite: Collaborative Drawing. A whiteboard app for drawing notes and rhythm.