Smart Phones for Music

Smart phones are certainly getting smarter! You can now keep all your favourite music on your phone along with videos, games and other great apps.  But did you know that the iPhone and iPad can also handle music creation and recording? If you play music, the iPhone can be your tuner, sheet music, recording studio, effects pedal and synthesiser. Some of the apps can do things that no other gadget could do before - even in the top recording studios! Garage Band for the iPad is an eight-track recorder with built-in instruments and the ability to connect a microphone so you can add vocals to your track. The Animoog synthesiser is a clever analogue synth which lets you layer sounds and morph between them in ways you wouldn't have dreamed possible before. And the  iRig interfacecan be used to plug in a microphone, guitar or keyboard to capture your performances or use as an effects processor with the Amplitube app. If you use your iPhone or iPad for live performance, you can get specially designed clips or mountings to allow you to clamp them on your mic stand (or anywhere, really). There’s even a motion-sensing gadget that lets you play instruments by waving your arms in the air. Now that’s progress! Watch out for the new iPhone 5 advert on the telly for a taste of what you can do.