Music Ally

We’ve been banging on about iPhone applications for a while ago, and in last week’s issue of the Music Ally Report, we covered some of the ways iPhone apps are coming onto the music industry’s radar. But which apps are we actually using on our iPhones, hmm?

We thought we should tell you. So, here’s a dozen of the best iPhone music apps, complete with links to buy them.

1. Guitar Rock Tour (£4.99 – right)
A music game that pretty much swipes the Guitar Hero formula and runs off with it cackling. You have to tap the frets at the bottom of the screen as notes travel down a guitar, with an array of proper songs including Beat It, Smoke On The Water, Heart-Shaped Box and – yes! – Rock You Like A Hurricane. Get it

2. Shazam (free)
You should know all about Shazam by now – the music identification service has been pretty popular on non-iPhone mobile handsets too. But the iPhone version has been a big hit, and is simple to use, works well, and has already made us look like an all-seeing guru of all things music show-off twonk several times in the pub. Get it

3. Beatmaker (£11.99)
Yes, it’s expensive, and really it’s for proper musicians who know their way around a sequencer. However, that doesn’t stop Beatmaker being fun for amateurs too, since it’s accessible enough for anyone to string a few samples together into a techno masterpiece (almost). But it’s deceptively powerful too, once you start importing your own samples, or layering stuff together to make single loops. Get it

4. Be Like Lil’ Wayne (£0.59 – right)
This is an official app, released with the blessing of Universal Music, and it goes beyond the obvious ‘buy my tunes’ model. It lets users choose a photo from their iPhone library, then bling it up with a bunch of Lil’ Wayne’s own clothing and items, before sending it to friends. You can even stick the rapper himself into the photo, and turn it into a slidey puzzle. We like it because it’s cheeky and imaginative – if more labels are planning iPhone apps, they should look at this and the Snow Patrol one (coming further down) as good examples. Get it

5. Sonos Controller (free)
There are a number of iPhone apps designed to work with Sonos’ multi-room hi-fi systems, but this is the official one from Sonos itself.  And it’s really, really nifty. You can access all your home music through the iPhone app, as well as internet radio stations and a bunch of online music services (the list it supports includes Last.fm, Napster, Pandora and Rhapsody). We’re also pleased to see a music hardware firm diving into the App Store in this way. Get it

6. Tap Tap Revenge (free)
This was one of the first iPhone games, having been released before Apple even launched its App Store, albeit only playable on hacked iPhones. It’s been legit since the App Store debuted though, and offers more rhythm tapping along to tunes, with an increasing number of artists queuing up to have their music featured. The free version recently introduced online play, while developer Tapulous has launched a separate Nine Inch Nails premium version. Get it

7. Bloom (£2.39)
Otherwise known as ‘that wibbly Brian Eno generative music app’. Bloom lets you tap the screen to create patterns and melodies, with nine different mood settings affecting the degree of wibble. We have to admit to scoffing a bit when we first heard about it, but have since been seduced by its sheer hypnotic-ness. If that’s a word. Get it

8. ZooZBeat (£1.79 – right)
Another music-making app, or as the developers describe it, “a gesture-based musical studio”. The idea is that non-musos can use their iPhone to make sweet, sweet music simply by waving it around and tapping the screen. The app’s music engine turns those movements into something tuneful, with the added bonus of being able to sing or speak into the iPhone mic to have your voice integrated into the music too. Get it

9. Snow Patrol Interactive Booklet (free)
Released by Polydor to promote the new Snow Patrol album, this app takes a commendably un-commercial approach. Rather than pushing iTunes Store links in the user’s face, it provides a more arty experience, getting you to unwrap screwed up paper with your fingers to discover lyrics and videos. Polydor’s digital boss told us they’re pleased with its performance, so expect more of this kind of thing. Get it

10. Last.fm (free)
Please note, Music Ally is based in the UK, so we can’t get the Pandora app – if we could, that’d be in this list too. But as it is, Last.fm is an impressive music streaming application for the iPhone, giving you access to your personalised station (and others) on the go. Sure, we mainly use it when in range of a Wi-Fi network, but it’s a sign of how web streaming music services are using the App Store as their way into mobile. Get it

11. RjDj Album (£1.79)
This is another generative music app, although it doesn’t work in quite the same way as Bloom. You choose from a selection of ’scenes’, and then the app takes whatever sounds that come in through the iPhone’s microphone, and turns them into music and/or ambient sounds. In other words, it turns the sounds around you in the real world into music in your headphones. It’s hard to explain, but very good fun indeed to use. Get it

12. FourTrack (£5.99 – right)
This is another deceptively powerful music-making application – or rather music-recording application, since it mimics a classic four-track recorder, using the iPhone’s mic input. So, you can record a guitar part, then add a vocal, then a harmony, and then some handclaps – and voila! A marvellous musical treat. Or a honkingly bad load of rubbish, if it sounds like our first attempt. A good tool is only as good as its workmen, after all. But FourTrack is very good. Get it

Interested in mobile music? Come to our Mobile Music In The Dock event in London! Full details are here.

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Tags: beatmaker, Bloom, fourtrack, gameloft, guitar rock tour, iphone, last.fm, lil wayne, rjdj, shazam, snow patrol, sonos, tap tap revenge, zoozbeat

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 at 6:35 pm and is filed under Startups & Widgets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.