Best Apps: Music

musicThe App Store's music category has apps that can help you tune your guitar, remember song names, learn Indian drumming on the tabla, and listen to radio stations from all over the world. Some apps let you use the touchscreen to simulate real instruments like a ukulele, piano, or guitar; others let you play wind instruments using the microphone. There are plenty of drum apps that will let you join in the rhythm section around a campfire jam session. There are also great apps for learning how to read sheet music.

Best of the Best

BeatMaker ($9.99; app2.me/308) is a great mobile music creation studio for iOS.

NPR Music (Free, app2.me/2811) Music programs with the quality storytelling you expect from NPR. You can read music news and reviews while listening to interviews, live concerts, or exclusive streams of albums before they're released.

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Pandora Radio (Free, app2.me/2410z) is the leader in streaming music. This app lets you listen to your stations while on the go.

Shazam (Free, app2.me/2812) can identify any recorded song by listening to it.

Slacker Radio (Free, app2.me/2333) lets you create your own custom stations or choose from over 120 expert programmed radio stations utilizing the entire Slacker music library, featuring millions of songs from thousands of artists.

Streaming Music

iHeart Radio (Free, app2.me/2816) lets you listen to your favorite radio stations from all over the country.

Last.FM (Free, app2.me/2815) Create personal radio stations based on any artist or genre and listen to commercial free music for hours.

Pandora (see "Best of the Best")

Slacker Radio (see "Best of the Best")

Apps for Concerts

Local Concerts (Free; app2.me/2784) is personalized for you using artists in your music library and shows from their global database of concerts and live events.

Sonic Lighter ($0.99; app2.me/2783) turns your iphone into a lighter so you can rock out at the show.

Stubhub (Free; app2.me/2782) Get to the show only to find it's sold out?  Now you can have the world's largest fan-to-fan ticket marketplace right at your fingertips.

Recording Apps

Dopplerpad ($9.99, app2.me/2779) lets you quickly create and perform musical hooks, phrases, and loops with a variety of custom synth and sample-based instruments.

FourTrack ($9.99, app2.me/154) is great for recording and mixing music.

iDrum Club Edition ($0.99, app2.me/2780) All the sounds you need to create everything from classic, old school, hip hop breaks to crunk.

iSequence ($6.99, iPad version available, app2.me/2781) is a complete, mobile music production environment designed to play and compose real music.

Noise.io Pro Synth ($14.99, app2.me/313) is a great sound synthesizer with excellent programmability and easy sharing of presets.

Karaoke Apps

Karaoke Anywhere ($1.99, lite version available, app2.me/2819) gives you the full Karaoke experience without the expensive equipment or the need to go to a crowded Karaoke bar.

Lady Gaga iOKi ($4.99, app2.me/2817) lets you sing along to all your favorite Lady Gaga songs with both vocal and instrumental mixes.

Karaoke Channel Mobile ($0.99, app2.me/2818) More songs than any other karaoke app: 50 top hit songs and 7,000 more through subscription.

For Musicians

Band ($3.99; app2.me/303) is a collection of virtual instruments that lets you create music yourself from scratch.

Cleartune Chromatic Tuner ($3.99; app2.me/2788) is a chromatic instrument tuner and pitch pipe that allows you to quickly and accurately tune your instrument using your iPhone.

PocketGuitar ($0.99; app2.me/300) turns your iOS device into a virtual guitar.

Ultimate Guitar Tabs ($2.99; app2.me/2805) is an easy and convenient application for viewing guitar tablatures, bass tablatures, and chords.

BeatMaker (see "Best of the Best")

Lady Gaga iOKi ($4.99, app2.me/2817) lets you sing along to all your favorite Lady Gaga songs with both vocal and instrumental mixes.

Karaoke Channel Mobile ($0.99, app2.me/2818) More songs than any other karaoke app: 50 top hit songs and 7,000 more through subscription.

Issue: 
NovDec2010_BuyersGuide
Department/Section: 
Apps
TOC Weight: 
50