Make Music With the iPad

The first thing I thought when I saw Apple's new invention, the iPad, was how can I use that to make music? I've been into music production as long as I can remember and I could see the potential of the iPad immediately. On it's basic level I figured I could at least use it as a controller for Ableton Live! Well, we're not quite up to that point yet but there are a lot of apps coming out specifically for the iPad with the intention of making music. I've had an Ipod touch for a long time and I have a few of the music apps for that. Rebirth is great for it but to be honest with a screen that size it's only going to be used as a time killer and nothing too serious.

I feel that with the iPad's size, making music on it is a much more realistic proposition. Lucky for me there are a few third party developers out there with exactly the same idea. From when the iPad was launched there were several applications available to buy from the App Store that would get your handheld studio up and running. My favorite application so far has to be the iElectribe from Korg. The design is beautiful and the sound you get from it is incredible. It's basically a fully featured emulator of the amazing Electribe-R drum machine. The technology is really incredible that I bet it won't be long before the iPad is being used live by an artist live on stage. You have one of the most portable and functional drum machines right in your hand with the iElectribe.

For fans of more traditional instruments, why not check out Nota which is intended as a tool to teach piano students. An instrument like the piano will obviously be much easier to replicate on a bigger screen compared to the iphone. So how about bring this altogether in a music sequencer? How about Sonoma’s StudioTrack. It's intended as a fully featured multitrack recording studio for the iPad. You can use it with the internal mic and headphones. You can also sync it over wifi with a desktop machine you may have. The best feature is that it supports something called AudioPaste which means you can transfer sounds in from other apps which will make your music a little more interesting and give it much more depth.

The longer the iPad is out the more applications will become available for it and I for one cannot wait. The idea of composing music while on the way to work on sitting a plane really appeals to me and I hope that many more developers jump on this and realise it's potential. Fingers crossed that the guys who make Ableton live and Reason develop applications specifically for the iPad so we can all be creative on the move using the best software.