The 4 Best iPad Apps That Can Make You A Better Musician
May 26, 2010
Chris Taylor
We’ve posted the best iPad apps for musicians before but now, lets take a closer look at the best apps to help musicians learn a musican skill or develop their pre-existing skills. Here are the 4 best apps to make you a better musician:
Karajan

Karajan was featured on our list of the 5 best iPhone apps for musicicans a few months ago and now that there’s an iPad version of the app it may be the best mobile learning tool for music. The app provides lessons for learning to recognize intervals, chords, scales, pitch and tempo where you can either click the right answer or play it on a simulated piano or guitar thanks to the Multi-Touch screen. 
Now musicians can train their ear and work on their piano/guitar skills virtually anywhere. Practice makes perfect and with a built-in headphone jack you can do your roommate a favor by not forcing them to hear you work your way to perfection.
Price: $9.99

Guitar Lab
Guitar Lab is a great app for anyone learning to play guitar that doesn’t have the time or money to take guitar lessons. The app streams guitar lessons to your iPad (as long as you have WiFi connection or 3G) and includes text, standard notation and guitar tabs so you can practice guitar where ever you happen to be. The app is free with additional lessons available to purchase and add to the app at anytime. This tool is great for anyone who wants to learn to play guitar but needs an on-call guitar teacher to fit in their busy schedule.
Price: Free

Piano Man

Piano Man is Guitar Hero for pianists without the fickle virtual crowd. This app is great for piano players to practice timing and learn to play the instrument regardless of whether or not they can read sheet music. But wait, it gets better. There is now a “Battle Arena” feature where up to 4 people can battle from all over the world to see who can tickle the ivories the best.
Price: Free


SyncSing HD

The SyncSing HD app allows songwriters to turn their iPad into a mobile songbook so you can carry your lyrics and their accompanying chords/tabs with you at all times. This app has been great for the song writer on the go since it came out but, the newest version includes new features that make practicing easier with the iPad. You’re now able to associate sound files with your songs so that you can play along with a beat. 
Player & Singer Mode allows you to adjust the settings so that only the lyrics or only the chords (above) are shown so that you can master your craft whether you’re singing or playing an instrument. In addition, Karaoke Mode allows you to sing along with instrumental versions of your song. The last new feature I found particularly notable was Training Mode. Training Mode gives you the ability to loop a specific segment of the song over and over. This is a great feature for that tricky solo you just can’t get right and don’t want to have to keep restarting the song from the beginning. Check out this video from SyncSing’s official website for more info.
Price: Free

Did we leave out any apps that have helped you become a better musician? Let us know in the comment section so we can include your feedback in our next iPad post!

Chris is the co-founder of MicControl, a music blogging network based on a music social networking platform. This post originally appeared on the MicControl blog on May 26, 2010. Chris can be found on twitter and facebook.
Article originally appeared on Music Think Tank (https://www.musicthinktank.com/).
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