Best music apps for your smartphone (iPhone, Android, or Windows)

Music Creation apps

If you’re tired of listening to music and would rather start making some of your own, you’ve come to the right place. Here are a list of our favorite music creation apps on iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone.

Jump to:

• Music Consumption Apps

• Music Creation Apps

Learn & Master Guitar (free)

Looking to learn how to play guitar, or perhaps just touch up your already stellar shredding skills? Why not use technology to help you out? Legendary guitar manufacturer Gibson teamed up with Legacy Learning Systems to create one of the most comprehensive guitar teaching apps of all time. And best of all, it’s completely free. 

Ocarina ($1)

Even with tens of thousands of music apps available in the App Store, Ocarina is still something of an oddity. Its really unlike any other music app out there. The app works by picking up sounds as you blow into the microphone, and then translating them into airy, ocarina-like noises. You use your fingers to change the notes, and can tilt the phone to change the level of vibrato. Sheet music for hundreds of songs is available at Smule’s website.

iGOG Massive Drums ($3)

iGOG is a massive multi-sampled drum machine that’s based on Drumagog technology – a drum replacer that’s been used by recording engineers all over the globe for over a decade. There are a wide variety of drum apps out there, but we like this one because it’s extremely simple to use and it sounds far better than most you’ll find for this price.

PocketBand ($10)

There are boatloads of music collaboration apps in the Google Play store, but this one takes the cake. Think of it as a stripped-down digital audio workstation with a focus on social collaboration. It offers a ton of cool features, but somehow the interface isn’t complicated in the least. Most new users won’t have trouble picking it up and making music right away.

Songmaker ($2)

If Britney Spears or T-Pain are any example, it doesn’t take talent to make music anymore. What it takes is technology, and that, my friend, is exactly what your iPhone is filled with. By using a powerful pitch correction algorithm, songmaker can smooth out imperfections in your voice. It’s also got an assortment of drums and loops, so it’s a great tool for developing song ideas.

Tempo Metronome ($2/$1)

If you’re a musician of any kind, you’re inevitably going to encounter a situation where you need a good, reliable metronome. But with so many great metronome apps out there, how do you choose the right one?! When in doubt, go with the crowd. Tempo has consistently ranked in the top 100 music apps ever since it hit the store and for good reason. It has a great interface and all the features you’ll ever need in a metronome.

iMaschine ($5)

Native instruments, the makers of the hugely popular Ableton Live digital audio workstation, Massive Synthesizer, and a wide variety of mixing hardware and DJ controllers, have taken everything that works so well on their Maschine controllers and condensed it down to fit on an iPhone. Despite being rather expensive, this app has enough features to warrant the steep price tag.

Did we miss any of your favorite music apps? Be sure to tell us about them in the comments below!