You’re a musician, and you have a smartphone. You know what that means: you can do your music-making (and music-listening) work from pretty much anywhere.
But where to start? There’s an app for everything, but not all apps are worth your time. We’ve sifted through the junk and found some of the best apps for musicians, so you don’t have to. So grab your phone or tablet, and let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Best Apps For Musicians
All the applications and resources available for musicians on the internet have completely transformed the musical landscape. Embodied by the thriving Bedroom Pop scene, making music at home has never been easier. It is now possible to write a song, record it, release it online and sign with an independent label. All in the same week!
Applications for musicians exist by the hundreds, designed to learn, create and refine your music. Whether you’re a beginner or the leader of a world-class band, these applications allow you to perform a wide range of musical tasks and modifications in a fraction of the time. Something that was impossible just a few years ago.
Here are 10 must-have applications for musicians in 2021:
- Garage Band
Considered an affordable “audio workstation“, GarageBand is one of the applications for musicians that allows users to turn their smartphone or tablet into a mobile recording studio.
The best apps for musicians – Garage Band
Garageband is a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) recording studio. Not only does this app allow you to record songs, but you can also play with your friends remotely thanks to the virtual jam session feature. If you don’t have your instrument with you, GarageBand provides virtual ones and if typing on a touch device doesn’t give you the right feel for making music, you can plug in a MIDI keyboard. Best of all, the GarageBand app is free to anyone who’s bought a Macbook, iPad or iPhone in the last few years.
The success story of Steve Lacy, nominated for a Grammy Award at only 17 years old
And that’s how a young artist like Steve Lacy came to produce tracks for Kendrick Lamar, J Cole and his band The Internet from his bedroom. In his Ted Talk titled “The Bare Maximum” (2017), the then 19-year-old Californian recounts that for four years in a row, all he wanted for Christmas was a MacBook Pro: “The reason I wanted a MacBook was because all my friends and everyone who did art stuff had MacBooks, you know?”.
Eventually, Lacy got an iPod Touch and downloaded Garage Band, which led him to discover that he didn’t need the most sophisticated equipment to produce music. “I just realized I didn’t need what I thought I did, and that’s what I like to call the ‘Bare Maximum,’” he explains. This unwavering creativity led to a Grammy nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album in 2015 for “Ego Death” with his band The Internet at the age of just 17 – he was the named one of the “30 Most Influential Teens of 2017” by TIME Magazine.
Steve Lacy’s speech is incredibly inspiring and proves that there is beauty in simplicity and that economy of means sometimes leads to great things.
- flowkey
flowkey is an application that reinvents piano learning thanks to its playful approach and its simple interface. If you never dared to take the step, if you just want to improve, or if you haven’t touched a keyboard for years, you will be able to (re)start gently with this application. There is a library of more than 1,500 arrangements of all kinds (classified by difficulty level) and easy to follow lessons. One of the highlights of flowkey is that when the score of the piece scrolls down your screen, a video showing the hands of a pianist runs simultaneously to help you get your bearings. Other features such as real time note recognition or looped playback allow you to progress more efficiently, and at your own pace.
The best applications for musicians – flowkey
- Guitar Tuna
Tuning your instruments can be a laborious process and needs to be meticulous. With the Guitar Tuna app, using it is easy, efficient and fast, even for beginners. The application offers more than 100 chords, including standard, Drop-D, half-tone and 12-string chords. In addition, there is a metronome, chord learning games and a chord library.
The best applications for musicians – Guitar Tuna
- Take
Take is a creative voice recorder. In one fell swoop, you record your instrument (guitar, bass, synth, drum machine, etc.), play beatboxing, overdubs (record over) like on a loop pedal or riffs. A tool that I use every day and that has become indispensable when I sketch out song ideas.
The best apps for musicians – Take
The application combines child’s play simplicity with singer-friendly features. You can record harmonies along with your voice, add effects to smooth out the sound, and sing along to a series of rhythms. Take is the ultimate voice memo sketchbook to instantly capture your musical ideas.
- Minimoog Model D Synthesizer
The ability to carry a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) production space in your pocket is valuable, but let’s face it, the real work happens in the studio. However, it is now possible to take them into your room and fulfill all your creative impulses. Synthesizer and drum machine emulators are some of the tools that allow you to extend the capabilities of your studio at a fraction of the cost of the original instrument.
The best apps for musicians – Minimoog Model D Synthesizer
The Minimoog Model D application is a mobile transmutation of the world’s first portable synthesizer, the Minimoog Model D®. Optimized for use on the iPad or iPhone, anyone can jump in and play with over 160 included presets. The perfect opportunity to explore vast sonic realms.
- Thumbjam
ThumbJam is a virtual instrument designed specifically for iPad and iPhone. Rather than providing an on-screen keyboard linked to instrument sounds, ThumbJam turns your device into an instrument. It features over 40 high-quality, multi-sampled instruments. The hundreds of scales included allow you to play effortlessly in any style, from rock to classical, whether you’re a musical beginner or an experienced professional. An ideal tool for experimenting with your creative process.
The best apps for musicians – Thumbjam
- Pro Metronome
A metronome is a staple in every musician’s arsenal, and Pro Metronome provides a quality metronome that works well for most musical needs. The application has a nice and efficient interface that allows you to set the time signature and use it in the background. It does the job perfectly, we don’t ask for more. - Hokusai Audio Editor
Hokusai Audio Editor is an audio editing application that allows you to edit multiple tracks side by side, mix them and export them to an application of your choice. It is very useful for recording and organizing song ideas for further development.
The best apps for musicians – Hokusai Audio Editor
- Capo touch
Whether you’re playing for the world or for yourself, all musicians need a good ear for harmony, melody and rhythm. Using songs from your music library, the Capo Touch application guesses the beats, chords and keys of songs to help you break them down into their individual parts.
The best apps for musicians – Capo Touch
It is also possible to slow down and speed up the songs. So if you’re having trouble getting a particularly delicate solo, you can play it over and over again at the speed you like. Other features are also available, such as adding a virtual capo, changing the key and isolating instruments, for example.
The application sometimes shows some interpretation flaws but is still particularly useful to help you detect the melodic structure of songs by improving your ear along the way.
- Artist Growth
This application covers all aspects of the financing process of an artist or band such as tour management, guest list management, event notifications, collaboration tools, merchandising sales inventory, etc.
The best apps for musicians – Artist Growth
Artist Growth also includes a ton of useful integrations to bring the tour ecosystem together (real-time financial management, built-in templates to create your schedules, logistics cost tracking, etc).
Each of these 10 applications can be useful to musicians and bands, regardless of their skill level or instrument of choice. From apps that help users practice and tune their instruments to smart voice recorders to all-in-one recording studio simulators, these applications have collectively expanded and enhanced the music experience and helped introduce many new users to the world of music.
best apps for musicians 2021
Musicians come in all shapes and sizes. You may be a woodwind player in an orchestra or a guitar player in a rock band. That makes the subject of musician apps a little difficult to approach. There are many types who have many needs. We have a decent list here that should help most people. However, we encourage musicians to leave a comment with apps that have helped them. Here are the best musician apps for Android.
Please note that these won’t be close to professional software you find on PC or Mac. However, they should be good enough to get some groundwork going until you can get some more complex software. Steinberg does have a mobile version of Cubase, called Cubasis (Google Play link). It runs for $54.99 with a free trial (Google Play link) if you want it.
The best musician apps for Android
Audio Evolution Mobile Studio
Caustic 3
gStrings Tuner
Hi-Q MP3 Voice Recorder
iReal Pro
KORG Kaossilator
Metronome Beats
MuseScore
Perfect Ear
SoundCloud
Bonus: Gear shops
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Audio Evolution Mobile Studio
Price: $6.99 with in-app purchases
Audio Evolution Mobile Studio is a decent mobile DAW (digital audio workstation). It has a lot of the required stuff, including MIDI sequencing, multi-track recording and playback, looped playback, a metronome, latency correction, and all kinds of neat little tricks. Like most DAWs, it’s a little bit cluttered on mobile phones, even ones with large screens. However, it is manageable to use. The app goes for $6.99 up front with in-app purchases for extras if you want them. There’s a bit of a learning curve, but it’s above average in this space. FL Studio Mobile is pretty good in this space as well.
See also: The best guitar tuner apps for Android
Caustic 3
Price: Free / $0.99
Caustic 3 is another mobile DAW app. This one is more for electronic and vocal-centric styles. It’s similar in scope to apps like Fruity Loops and Edjing (two more excellent musician apps). You pick a bunch of virtual machines that make virtual noises. You then combine them together to make songs. The app also lets you record your own vocals, cross-platform support with its PC app, and more. Apps like this usually go for vastly more than $0.99. That makes this one a steal and easier to recommend than the others, even if the others work just as well.
gStrings Tuner
Price: Free / $3.99
gstrings is one of the best musician apps for android
gStrings Tuner started out as a guitar tuner app. It now works for virtually everything. That includes woodwinds, stringed instruments, and even your own voice. It also supports a variety of frequencies. A simple UI rounds out the experience. This is a good app for practically any musician. You can tune virtually anything with it. You can get it for free as long as you don’t mind advertising. The paid version costs $3.99. It’s definitely one of the best musician apps.
See also: The best sound apps for Android
Hi-Q MP3 Voice Recorder
Price: Free / $3.49
Hi-Q Voice Recorder is one of the best musician apps for android
Hi-Q is a competent voice recorder app. It does the basics like record your voice and that’s really all it needs to do. However, there are some extra features here as well. It includes 44kHz audio sampling, MP3 recordings, and support for WAV, OGG, M4A, and even FLAC formats. There are also gain controls. This should work great for musicians who want to record new ideas or songs that they are working on. Most voice recorder apps will do that. However, this one just adds that little extra, and we liked that. It’s also relatively inexpensive at $3.49 for the pro version.
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iReal Pro
Price: $13.99 with in-app purchases
iReal Pro screenshot 2021
iReal Pro is another powerful app for musicians. This one is basically a massive toolkit with a bunch of interesting things. That includes chord charts, emulated music to practice with you, 1,000s of songs to play with, and tons of tools for learning more stuff. This isn’t a DAW or a sound editor or anything like that. However, we found it useful when practicing playing along in a band setting and you can even print chord charts for various instruments to help you learn better. It’s very expensive up front with some additional in-app purchases for extra content, but Google Play reviewers seem to really enjoy it.
See also: The best study apps and homework apps for Android
See more:
The best Android apps available right now
The best education apps for Android
KORG Kaossilator
Price: $19.99
KORG Kaossilator is a synthesizer app with a bunch of neat little tools. It features a virtual touch pad along with over 150 different sounds. You tap and swipe in the pad to create various sounds. The app also comes with a scale feature to eliminate wrong notes, a loop sequencer to keep your stuff going while you think of more good ideas, and you can record it as well. It seems purpose built for live performance, but you can record some neat stuff with it. The app goes free occasionally, but the retail price is $19.99.
Metronome Beats
Price: Free / $3.99
Metronome Beats is one of many metronome apps. This one happens to be free. It supports one to 300 beats per minute. It can also accent the first beat of a bar, show Italian tempo markings, and more. You can even tap the screen to define your own beat. The app supports background play. Thus, you can move over to other apps while the beat plays. It certainly won’t work for everyone, but it should work for most. Thankfully there are plenty of other options out there as well.
MuseScore
Price: Free / $6.99 per month / $49.99 per year
MuseScore screenshot 2020 final
MuseScore among the best musician apps for sheet music. It offers a ton of sheet music options from its online community. There is also a desktop version. The desktop version allows you to notate music. You can even upload your own as long as it’s in the right format. It takes a bit of work to properly get into. However, it’s a great little community. You can also play the sheet music at various tempos. It can display only portions that you want to practice as well. It works well. There was also a redesign in late 2018 that made everything look and feel much more modern.
See also: The best soundboard apps for Android
Perfect Ear
Price: Free / Up to $2.99
Perfect Ear screenshot 2020
Perfect Ear one of the better musician apps for aural skills. It teaches how to learn sounds by ear. The app can also do rhythms. Some of the other features include customizable exercises, customizable scales, music theory articles, and more. It may not get you to professional levels. However, ear training is valuable for most musicians. The app is free to download. You can purchase additional stuff as in-app purchases.
SoundCloud
Price: Free / Optional subscriptions
SoundCloud screenshot 2021
SoundCloud and ReverbNation are excellent musician apps. They offer cheap, quick spots to upload music. That’s helpful for things like sharing your music with other people or listening to it on multiple devices. SoundCloud allows you to upload a certain amount of music for free. You’ll have to pay for it after you hit your limit. ReverbNation also offers free services. You can get more features if you pay for their subscription. Either one (along with YouTube) is an excellent spot. Plus, you can find royalty-free music there for incorporation into your own work.
See also: The best music streaming apps and music streaming services for Android
Bonus: Whatever gear shop you like
Price: Free
Guitar Center is one of the best musician apps for android
There are a lot of places to buy music gear. Guitar Center, Sam Ash, regional stores, used stores, and even large retailers like Amazon. Musicians need their music gear, obviously. They may also need headphones for mastering, amplification, picks, reeds, replacement parts, and other stuff. Google Maps is another excellent app for finding local shops that may not have their own apps. It’s worth knowing where the good stuff is in your town. Those looking to learn more music should check out Yousician, but otherwise, every app on the list should aid in the creation of actual music.
Conclusion
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