Playing with a smartphone or tablet may seem impossible, if it were not for some applications, for iPhone and iPad and for Android, really powerful that allow anyone to make and create music in a simple way and to those who are more experienced to have professional quality mixer and instruments available. In this article we see the best applications for Android, iPhone and iPad to play with your fingers on the touchscreen, trying to privilege the free ones, without giving up on mentioning even the best paid ones. Music apps, mixers and sampling apps and synthesizers are the apps for making music, while apps that work as virtual musical instruments are for playing.
As you will notice, there are certainly more musical instruments for iPhone and iPad, although many of them are also available on Android.
The best apps to generate or manipulate and mix music on iPhone and Android are:
1) GarageBand for iPhone and iPad is free, very powerful as a mixer and synthesizer, by Apple. It is a recording studio with piano, organ, guitar and drums to be played by touching the screen. You can also connect the iPhone to a real guitar to record chords. The app is full of almost professional effects and tools.
2) Auxy is the best music production app on the iOS platform for iPhone and iPad. Auxy tries to simplify the process of composing music with a keyboard to write loop melodies, bass lines and complex drum patterns that can be set up using automatic tools. Auxy is free to download, with a $ 5 monthly subscription to unlock additional instruments, thousands of samples and the ability to import your own sounds.
3) Bandlab for Android and for iPhone is among the best applications for recording music. BandLab is a digital audio workstation that offers the possibility to record up to twelve different tracks, with a hundred virtual instruments and a huge library of rhythms and loops to compose songs. In addition, you can record instruments and your own voice using the phone's microphone. The app is similar to Garageband, simple and easy to use.
4) Humon, free for Android and iPhone is an app for people with zero musical knowledge who can use it to compose songs. The app transforms any song hummed to voice into music and is capable of analyzing melodies and providing musical notation and chords based solely on vocal intonation.
5) Remixlive (Android and iPhone) is a very innovative sampling tool for playing loops and tracks to mix also with recordings. RemixLive is an extraordinarily capable app for mixing loops and effects in original compositions. The user interface is intelligently structured, offering users access to a variety of tools without confusion. The free version of the app gives you access to fifty free sample packs, while additional samples can be purchased.
6) As a free DJ Mixer, which shows the two turntables on the screen and allows you to mix music by switching from one song to another using a mixer you can install Edjing console on Android and on iPhone and iPad.
The application is simple to use and allows you to mix thousands of songs thanks to the integration of the Deezer and Soundcloud online services.
7) The app for Android DJ Studio 5 is another mixer with turntable, very similar to Edjing, which allows you to make DJs using your smartphone or tablet.
Its ease of use makes it a good choice for beginners but which can also be appreciated for more experienced DJs.
READ ALSO: Best apps for DJing and mixing records on PC, tablet and smartphone
8) Figures for iPhone and iPad creates music automatically and allows you to create bass lines playing with time and sounds. There are predefined sounds and paid expansions to expand the samples to be used to create the melody.
9) Music Maker Jam by Magix for Android and iPhone / iPad is a free app to create music from scratch by combining various sounds of musical instruments and mixing them together. With a multitrack interface it is possible to superimpose and combine different loops and chords so you can create completely new and original music, to be recorded or shared.
10) Drummer for iPhone and DrumPads 24 for Android are two similar applications for creating bass rides and rhythms using a grid of buttons to touch and play. In a very simple way, you can create a base to play on or a rhythm to dance to.
11) Caustic 3 for Android is a free app that works like a real professional synthesizer, full of knobs for playing with sounds and music.
It is a very complete and powerful program on which you can also upload your own wav files.
Caustic is also available for iPhone and iPad but costs 11 Euros.
Caustic 3, on the other hand, is a true digital audio workstation geared for musicians looking to compose synth-based tracks. Caustic 3 is equipped with fourteen different machines, including multiple synthesizers, drum machines and vocoders, multiple effects and samplers, parametric equalizer and a sequencer. Caustic 3 is definitely not a beginner program.
12) SoundPrism, only for iPhone, is an app to create music through a fill control interface, perfect for creating melodies and ringtones.
13) Songify and AutoRap are applications already described in the past, for Android and iPhone / iPad, to transform words into music or in a Rap
14) FL Studio Mobile, for Android and iOS is a relatively expensive application, 15 Euros, which works as an almost professional recording studio to create music with multi-track.
Ideally, it would be integrated with the FL Studio program for Windows PC, the most popular commercial music production software, also used by famous artists.
15) The Drum Machine apps for playing drums on Android and iPhone, in another article.
16) Ninja Jam, for Android and iPhone, is a slightly more complex app to learn, but still that turns anyone into a musician.
The application is based on pre-recorded samples (many of which have to be paid for) and once loaded they can be manipulated.
17) SunVox, for Android and iPhone is a professional app, a completely pattern-based sequencer not suitable for beginners. The app includes numerous modular synthesizers and effects processors, including an analog generator, a drum synthesizer with 120 built-in sounds, echo, distortion, reverb, vocal filter and a module to create synths and effects.
18) KORG Kaossilator is an app that costs 20 Euros for iPhone and Android.
This is a real musical instrument, which uses a touchpad to manipulate the built-in sounds and create strange and wonderful music tracks. It provides five channels of audio to be activated at will, to create remixes and control loops in real time.
19) Loopy for iPhone and iPad only is a brilliant and simple app for making music and recording audio. Loopy offers six, nine or twelve empty loops on which it is possible to record and superimpose sounds that may come from the iPhone microphone or from other apps that use AudioCopy and AudioBus or even from the recording of instruments. You can then manipulate and edit sounds, change the tempo, merge tracks together and overdub recordings on others. There is MIDI control for using Loopy with a pedal, making it an ideal instrument for live musicians and street performers.
READ ALSO: Mix and create music by professional DJs on your PC with the best free programs
The best apps to play musical instruments virtually on Android and iPhone are:
1) Touch Xylophone for iPhone and iPad and Xylophone for Android play the xylophone which is fun also and above all for children.
2) Apps for playing the piano and learning (in another article)
3) Drum Set for iPhone and iPad and Drum Studio for Android to play the drums using your fingers.
4) Guitar FREE Steel Guitar and Instant Guitar for iPhone and iPad, Real Guitar, Guitar only lite and Virtual Guitar for Android are apps for playing the guitar virtually, touching the strings and creating chords.
5) Walk Band only for Android is an app to play piano, drums, drums and guitar, to compose your own music even if you don't know anything about notes and staves.
The application also supports Midi keyboards connected via USB.
6) Guitar Player is an innovative and beautiful app that allows you to virtually play a guitar as if it were real, holding the phone with two hands and plucking the virtual strings. This is not an application, however, but an optimized website for Android, iPhone or Windows smartphones.
7) ARPIO, describes itself as a new musical instrument to be played only on Android even if no instrument has ever been played before, and is basically a sequencer.
8) Guitar Tuna Tuner Tuner, for Android and for iPhone is an effective graphic guitar tuner that you just have to look and imitate to tune any stringed musical instrument.
9) Metronome for Android is a metronome app for synchronizing the rhythm.
10) Yousician Guitar, Piano & Bass (Android - iPhone), the best application for learning to play the piano and the guitar, really effective and simple, with lessons for beginners and those who are learning.
READ ALSO: Best music games for Android and iPhone
As you will notice, there are certainly more musical instruments for iPhone and iPad, although many of them are also available on Android.
The best apps to generate or manipulate and mix music on iPhone and Android are:
1) GarageBand for iPhone and iPad is free, very powerful as a mixer and synthesizer, by Apple. It is a recording studio with piano, organ, guitar and drums to be played by touching the screen. You can also connect the iPhone to a real guitar to record chords. The app is full of almost professional effects and tools.
2) Auxy is the best music production app on the iOS platform for iPhone and iPad. Auxy tries to simplify the process of composing music with a keyboard to write loop melodies, bass lines and complex drum patterns that can be set up using automatic tools. Auxy is free to download, with a $ 5 monthly subscription to unlock additional instruments, thousands of samples and the ability to import your own sounds.
3) Bandlab for Android and for iPhone is among the best applications for recording music. BandLab is a digital audio workstation that offers the possibility to record up to twelve different tracks, with a hundred virtual instruments and a huge library of rhythms and loops to compose songs. In addition, you can record instruments and your own voice using the phone's microphone. The app is similar to Garageband, simple and easy to use.
4) Humon, free for Android and iPhone is an app for people with zero musical knowledge who can use it to compose songs. The app transforms any song hummed to voice into music and is capable of analyzing melodies and providing musical notation and chords based solely on vocal intonation.
5) Remixlive (Android and iPhone) is a very innovative sampling tool for playing loops and tracks to mix also with recordings. RemixLive is an extraordinarily capable app for mixing loops and effects in original compositions. The user interface is intelligently structured, offering users access to a variety of tools without confusion. The free version of the app gives you access to fifty free sample packs, while additional samples can be purchased.
6) As a free DJ Mixer, which shows the two turntables on the screen and allows you to mix music by switching from one song to another using a mixer you can install Edjing console on Android and on iPhone and iPad.
The application is simple to use and allows you to mix thousands of songs thanks to the integration of the Deezer and Soundcloud online services.
7) The app for Android DJ Studio 5 is another mixer with turntable, very similar to Edjing, which allows you to make DJs using your smartphone or tablet.
Its ease of use makes it a good choice for beginners but which can also be appreciated for more experienced DJs.
READ ALSO: Best apps for DJing and mixing records on PC, tablet and smartphone
8) Figures for iPhone and iPad creates music automatically and allows you to create bass lines playing with time and sounds. There are predefined sounds and paid expansions to expand the samples to be used to create the melody.
9) Music Maker Jam by Magix for Android and iPhone / iPad is a free app to create music from scratch by combining various sounds of musical instruments and mixing them together. With a multitrack interface it is possible to superimpose and combine different loops and chords so you can create completely new and original music, to be recorded or shared.
10) Drummer for iPhone and DrumPads 24 for Android are two similar applications for creating bass rides and rhythms using a grid of buttons to touch and play. In a very simple way, you can create a base to play on or a rhythm to dance to.
11) Caustic 3 for Android is a free app that works like a real professional synthesizer, full of knobs for playing with sounds and music.
It is a very complete and powerful program on which you can also upload your own wav files.
Caustic is also available for iPhone and iPad but costs 11 Euros.
Caustic 3, on the other hand, is a true digital audio workstation geared for musicians looking to compose synth-based tracks. Caustic 3 is equipped with fourteen different machines, including multiple synthesizers, drum machines and vocoders, multiple effects and samplers, parametric equalizer and a sequencer. Caustic 3 is definitely not a beginner program.
12) SoundPrism, only for iPhone, is an app to create music through a fill control interface, perfect for creating melodies and ringtones.
13) Songify and AutoRap are applications already described in the past, for Android and iPhone / iPad, to transform words into music or in a Rap
14) FL Studio Mobile, for Android and iOS is a relatively expensive application, 15 Euros, which works as an almost professional recording studio to create music with multi-track.
Ideally, it would be integrated with the FL Studio program for Windows PC, the most popular commercial music production software, also used by famous artists.
15) The Drum Machine apps for playing drums on Android and iPhone, in another article.
16) Ninja Jam, for Android and iPhone, is a slightly more complex app to learn, but still that turns anyone into a musician.
The application is based on pre-recorded samples (many of which have to be paid for) and once loaded they can be manipulated.
17) SunVox, for Android and iPhone is a professional app, a completely pattern-based sequencer not suitable for beginners. The app includes numerous modular synthesizers and effects processors, including an analog generator, a drum synthesizer with 120 built-in sounds, echo, distortion, reverb, vocal filter and a module to create synths and effects.
18) KORG Kaossilator is an app that costs 20 Euros for iPhone and Android.
This is a real musical instrument, which uses a touchpad to manipulate the built-in sounds and create strange and wonderful music tracks. It provides five channels of audio to be activated at will, to create remixes and control loops in real time.
19) Loopy for iPhone and iPad only is a brilliant and simple app for making music and recording audio. Loopy offers six, nine or twelve empty loops on which it is possible to record and superimpose sounds that may come from the iPhone microphone or from other apps that use AudioCopy and AudioBus or even from the recording of instruments. You can then manipulate and edit sounds, change the tempo, merge tracks together and overdub recordings on others. There is MIDI control for using Loopy with a pedal, making it an ideal instrument for live musicians and street performers.
READ ALSO: Mix and create music by professional DJs on your PC with the best free programs
The best apps to play musical instruments virtually on Android and iPhone are:
1) Touch Xylophone for iPhone and iPad and Xylophone for Android play the xylophone which is fun also and above all for children.
2) Apps for playing the piano and learning (in another article)
3) Drum Set for iPhone and iPad and Drum Studio for Android to play the drums using your fingers.
4) Guitar FREE Steel Guitar and Instant Guitar for iPhone and iPad, Real Guitar, Guitar only lite and Virtual Guitar for Android are apps for playing the guitar virtually, touching the strings and creating chords.
5) Walk Band only for Android is an app to play piano, drums, drums and guitar, to compose your own music even if you don't know anything about notes and staves.
The application also supports Midi keyboards connected via USB.
6) Guitar Player is an innovative and beautiful app that allows you to virtually play a guitar as if it were real, holding the phone with two hands and plucking the virtual strings. This is not an application, however, but an optimized website for Android, iPhone or Windows smartphones.
7) ARPIO, describes itself as a new musical instrument to be played only on Android even if no instrument has ever been played before, and is basically a sequencer.
8) Guitar Tuna Tuner Tuner, for Android and for iPhone is an effective graphic guitar tuner that you just have to look and imitate to tune any stringed musical instrument.
9) Metronome for Android is a metronome app for synchronizing the rhythm.
10) Yousician Guitar, Piano & Bass (Android - iPhone), the best application for learning to play the piano and the guitar, really effective and simple, with lessons for beginners and those who are learning.
READ ALSO: Best music games for Android and iPhone
