19 Free iPad Apps for Musical Creativity: Play, Improvise and Record Music

19 Free iPad apps for Musical Creativity Pinterest

19 Free iPad apps for Musical Creativity Pinterest

19 Free iPad Apps for Musical Creativity: Play, Improvise and Record Music

Really, there are so many apps available it can be hard to know where to begin and once you find something that looks useful, it’s difficult to assess it properly until you’ve download and installed it on your iPad. iPad music apps that are free can take away the risk of choosing a dud and they can be useful when book-listing apps for students on a tight budget.

Over time, I’ve collected quite a number of free apps on my iPad. Generally speaking, paid apps are nearly always better – they are ad-free, there are fewer necessary in-app purchases to make the app functional, there are more features and they’re better-supported (something that’s often overlooked when deciding between free vs paid).

The following list of apps fall into the “creativity” category. This is the first post in a 5-part series – there were simply too many to list in a single post! The five parts are as follows:

Hokusai Audio Editor

Hokusai

  • “Audacity for iPad”
  • Record, edit, trim, fade in/out, cut copy paste
  • Links with Dropbox

Soundcloud

Soundcloud

  • Record, share and discover music

Loopesque Lite

Loopesque Lite

  • 32-step circle sequencer
  • Create beats and patterns
  • Arrange music
  • Upgrade to the paid version to save and export projects

Mugician

Mugician

Synthesiser with a layout that’s ideal for guitarists.

Groovemaker Free

Groovemaker Free

Remix loops in real-time

Create electronic, dance and hip-hop tracks

Soundrop

Sounddrop

Music and physics combine

Draw lines on the screen and watch/listen to the balls as they bounce off each line

Pattern Music

Pattern Music

Create your own loops and patterns

Variety of instrument sounds

Each loop is created via a tone matrix grid

Jampad

Jampad Plus

Play and record keyboard

Drum patterns

Soundprism

Soundprism

Create melodies and chords

Includes recording function

Falling Stars

Falling Stars

Similar to Soundrop, but more advanced

Create music by dropping “stars” on to leaves and other plants that you draw on the screen with your finger

Good variety of sounds

Can have multiple stars falling at once and you can adjust their speed

Up to four projects can be saved

Finger Stomp Lite

Finger Stomp Lite

The lite version of Finger Stomp

No export of recordings, less flexibility

S4 Rhythm Composer

S4 Rhythm Composer

Drum pattern sequencer

Can export as WAV file

Pocket Wavepad

Pocket Wavepad HD

Cube Jam

Cube Jam

Import songs from your music library

Play along, improvise, record a solo, adjust tempo and pitch

Export your own mix

Especially for younger students

Loopesqu Kids

Loopesque Kids

Improvise musical patterns with gorgeous graphics

Monkey Drum

Monkey Drum Free

Create, play and remix rhythms

Arpie

Arpie

Nice little app, but limited since you can’t save or export your creations

Good for discussing pitch, speed and gravity!

Droptone

Dropophone

Create loops with “drip-drop” sounds

Another one with very limited use

Singing Fingers

Singing Fingers

Sing or play while you draw on your iPad screen, then run your finger over the drawing to hear your performance

Lots of uses in the music classroom

Article by a music teacher who uses Singing Fingers with her students

Singing Fingers Youtube video:

Other parts in this series

iPad Music Project Ideas For Your Students!

iPad Projects for the Music Classroom includes 22 step-by-step projects you can use straight away with your music students. Take the guesswork out of choosing apps and discover how you can use iPads in an engaging and meaningful way.

Click on the image below for more information.

iPad Music Education Ebook

16 Comments

  1. Debbie hawthorn March 9, 2013 at 10:21 am - Reply

    Love this. I am currently teaching music in Ed support and been given funding for 10 iPads. Using 1 at the moment linked to my white board. My knowledge is very limited and really need so ideas. Are you doing any workshops around perth anytime soon?

    Thanks for these apps!!!!

    Deb

  2. Traci cenedese April 24, 2013 at 7:37 pm - Reply

    Free orchestra website fab!

  3. Chrys Alam April 24, 2013 at 10:56 pm - Reply

    This was a great article! I’m getting in touch with our tech head in a minute to see about borrowing the iPads to try some things out in a few classes. Thanks so much. Can’t wait for Part 2!

  4. Melissa Hourigan April 25, 2013 at 7:12 am - Reply

    Wow, this is an incredible list and the singing fingers video is amazing. Want to mention a fun accessory that launched this week designed for kids who play music apps on iPads and Tablets. The product is called Drummerz Tablet Drumsticks. Would love to see if there is a way to work with you on this series and include the drumsticks if it makes sense. Thanks again for this write up. Sharing away.

  5. Week 8 Lecture Notes | Nick Lane April 30, 2013 at 11:22 pm - Reply

    […] During the lecture I also demonstrated some great iPad free iPad applications. Rather than repeat the applications I used, I thought I should just redirect you to a fabulous, pre-existing list collated by the wonderful Katie Wardobe. You have to check out her 19 Free iPad apps for Musical Creativity. […]

  6. […] the second part of my 5-part series about free music iPad apps (following on from 19 Free iPad Apps for Musical Creativity), we take a look at musical […]

  7. Randolph Loder May 17, 2013 at 12:51 am - Reply

    I am looking forward to educational apps in the future.

  8. […] to the third instalment in a 5-part series about free music iPad apps (following on from 19 Free iPad Apps for Musical Creativity and 14 Free Musical Instrument Apps). This time we take a look at apps to help students discover […]

  9. […] to the fourth instalment in a 5-part series about free music iPad apps (following on from Part 1 – 19 Free iPad Apps for Musical Creativity, Part 2 – 14 Free Musical Instrument Apps and Part 3 – 7+ Free Apps for Discovering The […]

  10. Free Music Notation Apps For Ipad August 27, 2014 at 7:01 am - Reply

    […] Free iPad Music Apps For Teachers – Part 1 – 19 Free iPad Apps for Musical Creativity: Play, Improvise and Record Music Really, there are so many apps available it can be hard to know where to begin and once …… […]

  11. Brian Bennnett November 14, 2014 at 9:44 am - Reply

    Simon Says for rhythm with 3d graphics http://musictoolssoftware.com/xbeat.php

  12. all the light we cannot see September 13, 2015 at 8:39 am - Reply

    Yes! Great stuff! Is it OK to share on Google+? This is awesome! Keep up the terrific work!

  13. […] 19 Free iPad Apps For Musical Creativity [Part 1 in a series of 5 posts] http://www.midnightmusic… […]

  14. […] 19 Free iPad Apps For Musical Creativity [Part 1 in a series of 5 posts] http://www.midnightmusic… […]

  15. […] | Midnight Music. 14 Free Musical Instrument iPad Apps | Midnight Music. Hokusai Audio Editor. 19 Free iPad Apps for Musical Creativity: Play, Improvise and Record Music | Midnight Music. Flipped Music Video Lessons On Any Device, Super-Fast | Midnight […]

  16. […] 19 free iPad apps which can be great to use in the classroom: https://midnightmusic.com/2013/03/free-ipad-music-apps-for-teachers-part-1/ […]

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