Life is on the go. We’re always on the lookout for quicker, smaller, more portable, “ready at a moment’s notice” kinds of technology. And if you’re a musician on the go, then you appreciate even more the flexibility of having easily portable equipment! Nothing is worse then having a brilliant song idea hit, only to be out and away from your computer at home. Or if you’re over at a bandmate’s place, and inspiration suddenly comes for a new song, but have no way of recording it. What if all you needed was your phone – not a full computer or laptop – to capture a great recording idea?
We live on the go, and with new software and apps being developed, so can our music ideas. One of the most popular mobile music apps, GarageBand, is a great example of a full Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) in the palm of your hand. While this is a great mobile app for recording, it is only available on Apple IOS devices. But not to worry for the Android users – in this article, we’ll look at a list of some of the best and most versatile music recording apps for Android devices, from DAWs to dedicated vocal recording apps, as well as some powerful composition and arrangement apps!
1. BandLab
BandLab is an Android equivalent to GarageBand. While it mainly functions as a DAW, it’s also a great social network where you can share projects and connect with other musicians. It’s got a wide variety of great features, including the aility to connect and record your own instruments live, or to choose from over 100 virtual instruments. There’s also a huge library of beats and loops to choose from, so you won’t have a problem composing a whole song through this app.
2. RecForge II
RecForge II is your best friend for on-the-go recording. This app is a high quality audio recorder that works great for vocals, acoustic guitar, or percussion. The app pairs with external microphones, and allows you to monitor your recording as you play. It has some great editing and mixing features built-in to the app, so you can make changes to the tempo, pitch, and arrangement of the recording directly in the app. It’s also a great app for video recording and editing, as you can extract sound streams from videos. Add the ability to export your files in multiple file formats, and you’ve got a powerful audio recorder all in this one app.
3. HumOn
Do you ever find a melody stuck in your head, and wish you could simply hum out a song? HumOn can make that happen. All you need to do is hum into your phone, pick a genre from various in-app options, and just like that, the app turns your idea into a complete composition. You can even use the mixing function to do some preliminary mixing directly in the app, and also tweak the arrangement of the song. Another great feature is the ability to notate and chart the chords of your tune using the app’s ‘Score’ function. No more saving phone recordings and trying to re-piece together a song later – now you can do it all on the go with the HumOn app.
4. Remixlive
Remixlive is a beatmaker’s best friend (from their phone). This app allows you to create and arrange beats, mix loops and samples, and create your own sounds with a built-in sample editor. The standard sample pack comes preloaded with 50 samples, but you can expand this library by buying more. You can export your beats in various file formats, and even upload directly to SoundCloud from the app. Plus, the app supports finger drumming, so beatmaker’s – check it out!
5. The Metronome
Every musician (especially if you’re recording) should have a metronome app. Playing in time is just a subliminal sign of professionalism when playing music, and practicing with a metronome is the best way to ensure this. All that aside, The Metronome app is a powerful app that does more than just click in time. You can select different time signatures when choosing your tempo (with a tap feature to set it manually), and choose from various rhythmic patterns, subdivisions, and accents. It’s also got a playlist feature, so you can create set list of song tempos for performing.
6. PocketBand Pro
PocketBand Pro is a great app for virtual instrumentation – synths, drums, samples, analog simulators and modulators. Lots of great options, with the ability to record up to 32 loops and on up to 16 channels. One of its best features is the ability to import files into the app from other services (like Dropbox, an external card, or a sound library), so its sampling capability is great.
7. MixPads – Drum pad & DJ Audio Mixer
DJ’s and hip hop producers will love the MixPads app – a powerful remix composition and looping app. This app makes it very easy to remix songs with a library of original loops and over 30 drum sets. You can record your voice directly into the app for mix up effects, use the 12 sample pads to remix on the go, add reverse effects or pro DJ sound tracks – this app can handle many of the recording/remixing needs of a DJ.
8. SongMemo
Likely one of the most convenient apps to have as a creative, SongMemo is a multi-track audio recorder with some cool features. With SongMemo, you have the ability to attach lyrics and arrangement notes directly with an audio recording, all in the same location (no more jumping between your notes app and recording app). You can also organize all the recording files by playlists, as well as add basic instrumentation later on to complete the project. For organizing recording ideas, SongMemo is a must-have.
