iKoto 2

Posted on January 16, 2009 by

This app lets you play a traditional Japanese string harp by “plucking” the strings with your fingers. It opens with a lovely intro screen of falling cherry blossoms. Then you touch the screen to get started. If you want to play an individual string, you simply tap it, or you can glide your finger down across more than one make a chord.
iKoto Music iPhone App

After you’ve become a master musician, you can start recording your symphonies by touching the musical note icon at the bottom right of the screen, selecting a recording number and then touching the icon with the black circle on it to start taping, so to speak. If you turn out not to be so good, don’t worry. You can also play preinstalled music by touching the musical note icon and picking one of the songs listed under demo play and then touching the play arrow. Just tell your friends that you recorded the song yesterday.

Those who want a little different sound can change the tone scale. There are 11 options that give you an array of pitches. The names are related to actual Koto instruments, so it is pretty much trial and error for anyone not familiar with them. There are also options to turn the string numbers on or off as well as the pitch bend.

This app can be a little tricky to get the hang of at first, but the help menu is your friend. Just touch the icon at the very bottom of the icon list (the circle with the white center) and you’ll be on your way to annoying – I mean, entertaining – your friends and neighbors in no time.

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Digi Drummer

Posted on December 6, 2008 by

Digi Drummer Music App
The DigiDrummer app is like having a beat machine in your pocket, allowing you to make beats and play them with the most common of drum kit sounds. These include kick drum, snare, various tom-tom sounds and cymbals. To get started, go to patch select in the top right corner of the screen and use the up and down arrows to pick your kit from one of ten options. Then touch your “drums,” which are the eight white circles in the middle of the screen, to make your track. You can then record it and play it back. Just make sure to press record before you start playing.

If you want to go a nontraditional route, you can choose the “crazy” setting. This gives you not only drum sounds but also three different record scratching sounds – perfect for the aspiring iPhone rapper. You can also go to the settings menu, which gives you access to three options. You can choose “fatty thumbs skin” which makes the drums square and a little bit bigger. This was perfect for my boyfriend who has larger fingers. There’s also a volume control and a place to create a beat library by saving your beats permanently after you record them. If you don’t add them to the library the go away after you exit the app.
Digi Drummer iPhone App

This app was fun for me, a tone deaf person, and also for my boyfriend, an amateur drummer. In fact, I had trouble dragging the phone away from him for the purposes of writing this review. His only complaint was that the volume was too quiet, but I think I’ll be thankful for that in the future.

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Mini Piano

Posted on November 15, 2008 by

Mini Piano Music iPhone App
This is probably the best piano application available on the iPhone – and it’s infinitely more superior because it is free. It reminds me of those song books you can buy for kids that give you a simple little keyboard and the basic notes you have to play within the pages.

All you have to do is touch the realistic looking “keys” and play. They look just like the ones you would find on a regular piano, only smaller. You have an entire octave of notes to choose from, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to change the pitch in order to play any complicated songs. However, you do have the black in-between keys for flats and sharps as well as the ability to play chords.

I had a lot of fun playing simple tunes that I remembered from when I was a kid, and I actually had a hard time putting it down and moving on to other things I needed to do. Even funnier is that as soon as I did, my roommate picked it up and started tapping out the theme song to Inspector Gadget for a solid ten minutes.

This app can be used as a simple teaching tool for those just starting their music careers and also as a fun way to entertain others or to simply amuse yourself. Just be aware that if it gets into the wrong hands it can be really annoying. So keep it away from toddlers and those who think they are masters of rock.

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Ocarina

Posted on November 15, 2008 by

Ocarina Music iPhone App
Finally, an app for all the Zelda lovers out there. Anyone familiar with the Ocarina of Time will love this app (okay, so I wasn’t, but someone else brought it up) as well as anyone who is musically inclined or who likes to think they are.

To use it, you simply hold your iPhone parallel to the ground and blow into the microphone. (If you’re not sure where the microphone is, there is a convenient helper arrow that shows you.) Once you’ve got a good amount of air going into the phone, push the “keys,” the four circles on the display, to change the pitch of your instrument. You can push one at a time or up to all four if you have the dexterity and long enough fingers. Blow softer the instrument plays more quietly; blow harder and it gets louder.
Ocarina App Reviewed

This game doesn’t have a lot of options, but there are a few to note. Choose the globe button at the bottom of the screen and you’ll see where everyone is using it worldwide and get to spy on some of the songs being put out. Be aware that you should do this at your own risk since some are better than others. Push the gear button to share your music with the world.

It is amazing the work and effort that went into this app and it is really a joy to play, though you can also get lightheaded pretty fast. Play long and play often. Just be careful not to wake up the neighbors.

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Pandora Radio

Posted on November 7, 2008 by adminitune

Pandora Radio iPhone App
Pandora for the iPhone is amazingly similar to the Pandora program available on the PC. Register and you can begin creating radio stations. Just pick a favorite artist and the app will provide you with songs by him or her along with others that have a similar sound. Pressing a button in the top right corner will give you a description of why each song has been chosen to fit your station. Like more than one type of music? Just make another station. You’re free to switch between them.

Give songs a thumbs up or down as they play by touching the appropriate button with your finger. Downrate a song and you don’t have to listen to the rest of it. It will disappear and be replaced with a new one. Like a song and you have the option to bookmark it along with the artist so you can easily find it to listen to again. Hit the button that says “buy from iTunes” and you’re sent to the site and can immediately make a purchase or save it for later.
Pandora Radio App

I really like this app. It’s a good way to discover new music on the go and can provide the audiophile with hours of entertainment. The music sounds great over the built-in iPhone speaker and there’s an option to turn on higher quality audio for when you plug your phone into external speakers. Over wifi networks, there is no stuttering or pausing during loading or playback and only a slight fidget with Cellular Edge and 3G networks.

You don’t need any Mp3s when you have Pandora. It gives you the freedom rock out whenever the mood hits you.

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Shazam

Posted on October 29, 2008 by

Shazam iPhone Music App
It’s not magic, but it sure does seem like it. Hold your iPhone up to the radio, with the base facing the speaker, and within about ten seconds you’ll get the title, artist and even album cover of the song that is playing. As soon as the program recognizes the song, your phone will vibrate to let you know that you have an answer.

The program does this by analyzing the track makeup of the song and comparing it to recordings in a database. Consequently, it can’t decode tunes it doesn’t have on record, like a live concert recording or your Aunt Agnes singing in the shower. And there are some more obscure titles that the phone does not pick up. For example, it failed to find a song by the band Insane Clown Posse. However, if your tastes are more mainstream or even trend toward the bigger indie bands, you should be golden.
Shazam Music App

Want to listen to the song Shazam identified again? With a tap you’ll be sent to the iTunes store where you can purchase the album or single. The only problem is that there is no back button, so you will have to close out the application to return to Shazam when you’re done.

For additional fun, you can create a list of songs you’ve identified and add photos or tags to refresh your memory of when and where you heard them. Then you can sort them into an online library. If nothing else, it’s a good tool for looking back and reminiscing.

This program is fun for music lovers and for those who love to know what they’re listening to, or even for those who just want to win bets on who is singing a song against their more music loving friends.

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Pocket Guitar

Posted on September 7, 2008 by adminitune

This is one of my favorite Applications so far in the iTunes App Store. This Music App is fun and very entertaining, And one I believe will soon be at the top of the Apps Downloaded chart. Use your fingers to pluck or touch the cords if you place your fingers on the frets your note will change. If you move your iPhone in a upward and downward motion similar to a woo woo bar on a Electric Guitar.

This App allows you to change between 6 different instruments including: Acoustic-Electric Guitar, Electric Guitar, Classical Guitar, Muted Guitar, Electric Bass & Ukulele which can be changed in the settings. There are a few other options in the settings, such as effects, Accelerometer Effects, Alternative Tuning, Pluck Auto, Adjust Positions & turn Left-Handed Play on and Off.

My Overall Rating of this Music App is Outstanding, I would recommend this Music Application to everyone, One of the coolest Apps I have bought to date. I Can Now Be The Bedroom Guitarist I’ve Always Wanted To Be.

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Category Archives: Music

iKoto 2

Digi Drummer

Mini Piano

Ocarina

Pandora Radio

Shazam

Pocket Guitar