Idea Generators

[Deleted User]

What are you're favourite iOS idea generators at this time.

You know, those apps that you just fiddle with for an hour or so and song ideas are born.

At the moment I'm finding Different Drummer to be my first point of call. Maybe because I don't have a clue what is going on or how to use it properly

TF7 is another app that gives me sounds that help ideas. I was never any good at programming DX synths, but I do find TF7 easy to get those very happy accidents.

What are your apps that just spew out ideas?

JohnnyGoodyear

A big and ever-changing list. Perhaps too big at that. Currently (this week), Xynth and B-Step, but also Tin Pan, Chordbot, Borderlands, Egoist, Beathawk, ChordPolyPad, Alchmy, Neo, Cream, Samplr, Thor and a thousand bad poems written on less sunny days.

JiggyWig

Gadget, Cream, Fugue Machine, Suggester. Auxy, if I'm on the phone, though TBH I'm getting pretty bored of it.

Suboidua

i love apps that have a randomizer: rhythm studio, chordpolypad, steppolyarp, arppegist. just press the random button again and again until you hear something nice or something that you could build on.

imagine if gadget or fugue machine has a randomizer... i hope the devs are reading.

richardyot

Personally I tend to mess around with chord progressions and melodies. Generally on the guitar first, but I also like playing around in Gadget writing little melodies, or in a chord-making app like Firo or SoundPrism. Firo is particularly good for easy access to suspended chords which are among my favourites - a typical guitarist's trick is to build build a riff around a sus2 and/or sus4 that resolves to the root.

JeffChasteen

Xynthesizr and ChordPolyPad

Seangarland

@Suboidua said:
i love apps that have a randomizer: rhythm studio, chordpolypad, steppolyarp, arppegist. just press the random button again and again until you hear something nice or something that you could build on.

imagine if gadget or fugue machine has a randomizer... i hope the devs are reading.

Magellan's "SPAWN" feature works well for this for me. Random sound presets can influence what comes next.

[Deleted User]

@richardyot said:
Personally I tend to mess around with chord progressions and melodies. Generally on the guitar first, but I also like playing around in Gadget writing little melodies, or in a chord-making app like Firo or SoundPrism. Firo is particularly good for easy access to suspended chords which are among my favourites - a typical guitarist's trick is to build build a riff around a sus2 and/or sus4 that resolves to the root.

yep I use Firo and Jam Maestro for working out chord progressions. The wife and myself have been so tempted to learn guitar, but other things keep taking my money

funjunkie27

Different Drummer and Guitar Tool Kit are my most used. In the case of the latter, it's really useful to create a chord sheet based off a scale and then tap the chords to sound them then determine how best to sequence them. In the case of the former....most of you already knew that would be my front runner.

richardyot

@Fruitbat1919 said:
The wife and myself have been so tempted to learn guitar, but other things keep taking my money

I need to learn the piano, but other things keep taking my time

The guitar is special though, much more rhythmically interesting than almost any other instrument, and also allows for phenomenal expression with all the different phrasings and bends etc you can do with. Definitely worth learning.

AndyPlankton

I find it matters less which app i am using and more on the level of groove I am feeling at the time. If there ain't no groove going on I get nothing.

In order to raise my level of groove I will adopt well known inspirational methods, namely mind altering substances such as, alcohol, yes, let's say alcohol
This however means my finger accuracy and ability to remember to save diminishes.....
So for me at the moment Gadget is where I go to 'jam' as it easily and reliably lets me try lots of different stuff out in an instant without issues

[Deleted User]

The mind altering substances ordering app.....hmmm don't think Apple will go for it

[Deleted User]

And NO, we don't want to know who sings naked to get their vibe going

AndyPlankton

@Fruitbat1919 said:
The mind altering substances ordering app.....hmmm don't think Apple will go for it

Well we already have JustEat.co.uk so why not JustSmoke.co.uk or JustSniff.Co.uk LMFAOOOO Man I'd like shares in those if they were allowed

hellquist

Fiddling/faffing about in SunVox always gets me on a creative track due to happy accidents and lots of "aha?" moments. TF7 I also agree with, I think it is the pads and the fact I always forget to turn off the whammy, which leads to quite cool things when I don't think about it, and which I then can spend the rest of an evening trying to recreate in a controlled fashion. Also the *tikl apps have been know to get me out of pickles.

Samu

The 'randomiser' that is present in all the arpeggiators in VirSyn apps and Yamaha's Synth & Drum Pad app and well SunVox, never know what the outcome is when playing around with it

u0421793

@richardyot said:

@Fruitbat1919 said:
The wife and myself have been so tempted to learn guitar, but other things keep taking my money

I need to learn the piano, but other things keep taking my time

The guitar is special though, much more rhythmically interesting than almost any other instrument, and also allows for phenomenal expression with all the different phrasings and bends etc you can do with. Definitely worth learning.

Yes, hardly a month goes by that I don’t look at my guitar at least once.

Tones4Christ

Where is the randomized in sunvox?

Samu

@Tones4Christ said:
Where is the randomized in sunvox?

There is no 'randomiser' in SunVox but it's possible to make the noise generator to control the frequency frequency or any other parameter of another generator using soundctl that can create some random 'melodies'.

Usually when I'm out of ideas i just put the iPad down and go out for a walk and if inspiration strikes take a few pictures.

[Deleted User]

@u0421793 said:

@richardyot said:

@Fruitbat1919 said:
The wife and myself have been so tempted to learn guitar, but other things keep taking my money

I need to learn the piano, but other things keep taking my time

The guitar is special though, much more rhythmically interesting than almost any other instrument, and also allows for phenomenal expression with all the different phrasings and bends etc you can do with. Definitely worth learning.

Yes, hardly a month goes by that I don’t look at my guitar at least once.

I'm frightened a guitar would become wall art

Samu

@Fruitbat1919 said:

@u0421793 said:

@richardyot said:

@Fruitbat1919 said:
The wife and myself have been so tempted to learn guitar, but other things keep taking my money

I need to learn the piano, but other things keep taking my time

The guitar is special though, much more rhythmically interesting than almost any other instrument, and also allows for phenomenal expression with all the different phrasings and bends etc you can do with. Definitely worth learning.

Yes, hardly a month goes by that I don’t look at my guitar at least once.

I'm frightened a guitar would become wall art

This is how it should be played

mschenkel.it

During the last week I've being doing some copy-paste work of a opera(woods, brass, violins, percussion piano and a few other things)in Notion. Not exactly inspiring job BUT:
it is like doing crosswords or playing video games; relaxing and way less frustrating then feeling stuck with creativity; loads of problems , specially if you aren't deep in music notation, which will more likely get a solution along with some knowledges; some composition/arranging/harmony/melody training, even just trying to find a better workflow so you'll find where and when and how to copy paste, how often insert some variation and so on and so on.

Long story short: copying by hand from scratch an orchestra is a recommended experiences do Notion, as far as I know, is definitely a recommended app for the job(the handwriting thing once you have a stylus is great and the orchestra sounds are damn good if you know how to modulate them with notation).

Can't wait to get over with this, make something with midi files and get on with another piece.

eustressor

Tin Pan Rhythm - literally throw a few chords together, dial in piano, bass and drums and respond = song I never would have have otherwise written.

'Cause it appeals to knee-jerk creative response, rather than my usual composer architectural approach.

JohnnyGoodyear

@eustressor said:
Tin Pan Rhythm - literally throw a few chords together, dial in piano, bass and drums and respond = song I never would have have otherwise written.

'Cause it appeals to knee-jerk creative response, rather than my usual composer architectural approach.

I agree with this. Well put. I have long been trying to transcend my outer architect and soothe my inner jerk.

lukesleepwalker

Going for a long walk, leaving iOS at home. My best ideas come when I'm totally unplugged.

BiancaNeve

@eustressor said:
Tin Pan Rhythm - literally throw a few chords together, dial in piano, bass and drums and respond = song I never would have have otherwise written.

'Cause it appeals to knee-jerk creative response, rather than my usual composer architectural approach.

Tpr is nice. Would be great if you could export to midi though

JohnnyGoodyear

@BiancaNeve said:

@eustressor said:
Tin Pan Rhythm - literally throw a few chords together, dial in piano, bass and drums and respond = song I never would have have otherwise written.

'Cause it appeals to knee-jerk creative response, rather than my usual composer architectural approach.

Tpr is nice. Would be great if you could export to midi though

Add me on.

oat_phipps

As far as iOS goes, the most inspirational to me when I'm stuck is Soundcaper. I'll chop 2-3 samples from my existing songs, load em up and usually come up with a weird idea that can be straightened and tamed if necessary.

[Deleted User]

@oat_phipps said:
As far as iOS goes, the most inspirational to me when I'm stuck is Soundcaper. I'll chop 2-3 samples from my existing songs, load em up and usually come up with a weird idea that can be straightened and tamed if necessary.

I'm just trying out SoundScaper now. Quite amazing what it can do to liven up some loops given some experimentation

[Deleted User]

Actually I meant to say FieldScaper

Ashlan

@JohnnyGoodyear said:

@BiancaNeve said:

@eustressor said:
Tin Pan Rhythm - literally throw a few chords together, dial in piano, bass and drums and respond = song I never would have have otherwise written.

'Cause it appeals to knee-jerk creative response, rather than my usual composer architectural approach.

Tpr is nice. Would be great if you could export to midi though

Add me on.

Me too, why not