My Current Top Ten iPhone Music Creation Apps

In no particular order:

Bebot 
This app is truly made for a touch screen device. No other app gives you as much expressive control as Bebot. Plus it's cute.

NLog Synth
My pick for the best sounding analog synth on the iPhone.

bleep!BOX
Amazing new app. Super tweak-able sounds, great looping/stutter effects in "performance mode", great looking UI.

BeatMaker 
Without a doubt, the best drum machine/pad based sample player available for the iPhone.

Star Melody
Super simple/beautiful UI and great sounds. I have created many melodies/song ideas on this app.

Sound Scope Space 
Trip out and scare your pets all with one simple app. The "KUZMOSCILLATOR" is my favorite. Plus draw your own waves... It's like an Asian Horror movie soundtrack creator.

Xewton Music Studio
It's like GarageBand on the iPhone... right down to the over dramatically lit, super detailed instrument illustrations. This app has just about everything an entry level DAW should have. ON YOUR PHONE! Unbelievable!

JR Hexatone Pro 
Thinking way outside the box on this one, Amidio has changed the game for iPhone music creation apps. This thing is endless...

iTouchMidi (iTM) Series: iTM Keys, iTM Matrix, iTM Pad, iTM Tilt, iTM MCU, iTM Dj
Midi control made easy. Download the iPhone app and the desktop app, run, connect, assign controls, done.

TouchOSC
Midi control made hardcore: Not quite as easy to get running as the iTM series but so much more power. And with the latest release of TouchOSC Editor you can create custom layouts on your laptop/desktop and upload them to your iPhone. Limitless..... 

Computer Artist Glenn Marshall

Computer artist Glenn Marshall is from the future. A future where the artist uses code instead of a brush. That future is now. His amazing visual creations are made with Processing.

“Processing is an open source programming language and environment for people who want to program images, animation, and interactions.”

http://processing.org/

 

The Nest That Sailed The Sky from Glenn Marshall on Vimeo.

Electron: for iPhone

Just downloaded Electron. [App store link] My first impression is that this may be a little more advanced than many of the other "Matrix" style music apps. Electron allows multiple layers and patterns as well as the ability to change pitch and instrument sounds. 

Upon opening this app you are greeted with a 16x9 LED matrix. After about 5 seconds the Song List view scrolls up from the bottom giving you the opportunity to either load a current song or create a new one. You get to name your song, tap the Create button and you're back to the matrix. At the bottom of the screen are several navigation buttons. Rewind, Play, Layer and Pattern selection, Options, and Mode.

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Sometimes you know more than you think you do.

On May 15th I attended the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) Photoshop CS2 for Photographers Tour here in Seattle. About 750 people attended and it was a surprising mix. I'd say the average age was about 45. Much older than I expected. It was interesting to see just how much I already know about Photoshop... and also just how vast the program really is.