One of the greatest benefits of living in the modern age is the endless opportunities to explore what technology can offer us. Indeed, technological breakthroughs have completely changed the way we create and access music. Even though the ability to play a musical instrument still enables you to enjoy intimate and meaningful experiences, with the emergence of smartphones and tablets, making music has never been easier.
Creating music is no longer out of reach, even if you can’t play an instrument or don’t know a thing about reading and writing music notation. Grab your digital device and unleash the musician in you with these top 5 music making apps.
1. Musyc
Musyc, an app by the winners of the Apple Design Award 2012, is a fascinating, simple, and fun app. It explores the concept of grapheme-color synesthesia, a phenomenon in which letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored. In this case, sounds are triggered by colors and shapes. Musyc basically lets you drag and draw different shapes in various colors and as they fall and tumble around, musical sounds are generated.
2. Pacemaker
Are you a DJ or aspire to become one? Well, Pacemaker might be your new best friend. You can access millions of tracks from iTunes and Spotify and create your own “recipes” in a heartbeat. Straightforward and easy to master, it’s no wonder this app earned a spot as the Apple Editor’s Choice in the App Store in 2015.
3. Keezy
Whoever you are and regardless of your experience and knowledge, making music is a breeze with Keezy. The app consists of 8 colored tiles. You can record a specific sound into each tile by holding it down. Keezy is perhaps the simplest app out there if you want to experiment with triggering samples. Any sound you can possibly produce (really, any sound!) can go into this magic sound box. Start recording and share your jam.
4. Figure
Figure is a little more complicated than the previously mentioned apps. When using Figure, it’s helpful if you are able to read music or play an instrument. However, don’t worry if you can’t. Limited to only 3 elements – bass, drums, and a “lead” (how you add actual pitch to the rhythm) – Figure is a great way to get your head around how electronic or dance music works and of course, how to create your own beats.
5. Reactable
If you’re ready to experience a whole new way of making music, you won’t be disappointed with Reactable. However, hands down, it’s the most complex app in this list; so prepare for a learning curve.
Based on the same audio and graphics engine as the Retractable table instrument, this intuitive app provides a platform for users to create sounds with tangible blocks that represent different sound modules. These blocks can be placed on a semi-transparent table, which then allows you to modify the sounds you want to produce.
So what are you waiting for? Don’t let anything hold you back from creating new beats and sounds. By using apps like these, you’re just as much of a musical composer as anyone else.
What’s your go-to music making app?
Share with us in the comments below!
