What did you wish you were told before embarking on using iOS for music making?

Bluepunk

That family law solicitors can’t spell Guitarism. Three grand in letters because of a ‘t’.

“No Mr Leeches, the ‘g’ in Fugue is silent as in FuckYou.”

Telstar5

@chimp_spanner that’s genius! True!

SlowwFloww

• The iPad’s touch screen DOES feel a way more intuitive to control virtual synths then using usb controllers on a computer. Using an iPad synth feels like working with hardware. You can directly push a button, move a fader, turn a knob.
After using Push, Maschine.. the iPad is what I was looking for when controlling virtual synths.

• It’s very versatile. IAA, IDAM, low latency, network session. If you want to make music, don’t even consider an Android tablet. It will save you a lot of time choosing between a cheaper Android tablet or an iPad…

• Don’t go crazy buying apps.. Buying apps can be tempting.. Turn on restrictions on the iPad and choose ‘don’t allow buying apps, don’t allow installing apps’. This way you won’t see the app store icon. Just check for updates once in a while.

GeertBevin

@SlowwFloww said:
Turn on restrictions on the iPad and choose ‘don’t allow buying apps, don’t allow installing apps’. This way you won’t see the app store icon. Just check for updates once in a while.

Great tips, I didn't know that enabling those restrictions completely hides the app store icon. Thanks!

GeertBevin

@Carnbot said:
For me personally:

• Use it for it's strengths, not as a complete all in one solution.
• DAWs on iOS can't beat DAWs on desktop but as a sketchbook and idea creator, it's more immediate, portable and fun.
• Treat it like hardware, use with ableton Link and when you can, combine with other hardware/ multiple ipads to offload processing and avoid app switching.
• Always use AUv3 when possible so you can save your sessions.
• Backup your work regularly.
• Best with sequencer apps controlling into a host like AUM + using hardware synths and controllers.
• Avoid app switching when recording.
• Use an audio interface like an iConnectaudio4
• Get the official Apple cables and adapters, you'll only regret it otherwise.
• It's still a young platform and every year it gets better.
• Find a workflow which suits you, it probably won't be the same as anyone else's. This will take time
• Don't rely on one app or app combo for your workflow, experiment.
• Get a 12.9 ipad with as much storage as you can. I'm much more productive than on my 9.7
• It's going to be an expensive journey because you can't try before you buy.
• Beware of getting sucked into this forum

Great list, thanks so much!

GeertBevin

@tomato_juice said:
Some good points from @InfoCheck about the iPad's value as an educational tool (some good points from everybody in fact). I'd tell the younger version of me to diligently put in the hours with Syntorial. Learn what all of the knobs do and learn to hear the differences. It looks expensive, but I've found it to be a bargain.

The same goes (albeit in a less structured way) for learning lots of music production techniques. Back in the days of yore, when this was all fields, you'd need access to special equipment, places and people - with our precious apps, tutorial videos, this forum (go team) and the occasional written 'how to', we all have an opportunity to level up. There's something ephemeral about apps and the mesmerising glowing rectangles that hold our gaze, but our skills will endure.

'hearEQ' is another good one.

I'd tell younger me that it will be more expensive than expected. Curiosity will get the better of you most times, but that's ok. I'd say stop wasting so much time acquiring new synths and tweaking pad sounds that don't go anywhere. Maybe set a time limit on sound design sessions, actually. It's not that I regret buying the apps I've bought, but the culture of acquisition over mastery doesn't suit me at all. It's easy to get swept up in and I think I might've managed the balance a little better. I'd probably skip over the intermediate steps in many cases and take things right to their logical conclusion (i.e. Auria Pro + FabFilter plug-ins). I'd have saved some money that way.

I'd also give myself a reality check: iOS is not a substitute for Ableton Live, so stop waiting for the new thing that will magically make that click. It doesn't have to be all iOS, or all desktop, or all hardware, or all acoustic. They're all just different faces of the same thing. Play each one to its strengths. As far as iOS music making goes, for me it's the (relatively) cheap and varied sound sources, the tactile connection between fingers and sound (Samplr!), the portability, the educational aspect and the experimental playground opportunities.

Thanks so much for writing all this up! I really like this: "so stop waiting for the new thing that will magically make that click. It doesn't have to be all iOS, or all desktop, or all hardware, or all acoustic"

GeertBevin

@InfoCheck said:

@GeertBevin said:

@InfoCheck said:
If I knew what I know now when I first started with iOS music, I would have spent more time learning about music, synthesis, and programming and invested less time in trying to do some sort of punk approach where you just try things and see what happens.

iOS is an excellent way to learn any aspect of music you’re curious about. I’ve found that I rarely use my other music or hardware because I feel such a direct connection to the touch interface plus I don’t have to clear any space or setup gear. I really enjoy the modular aspect of using apps. I believe it’s very important to support the developers, app reviewers, and people who do app tutorials.

Take what people say about apps with a grain of salt as musicians can frequently be very parochial in their approaches and what works for them may not be for you and vice versa.

In the beginning I had visions about connecting all sorts of gear, microphones, analog instruments, iPhones, iPads, hardware MIDI controllers, keyboards, mixers, USB hubs, speakers, etc... After doing this for a few years, I realized that I really didn’t know enough to use such a setup effectively. The time I spent setting up gear could have been better spent learning using just one iPad.

A room full of music equipment connected together with cables and cords plus lots of flashing lights looks impressive; however, it didn’t sound so great as you can only have so much going on simultaneously without sufficient planning to justify such a Rube Golderberg musical monstrosity.

The iPad has allowed me to experiment with a wide array of setups without needing to redecorate my studio as if it were a massive musical Christmas tree I was compelled to fill with every decoration I’d acquired over the years in order to stave off humbuggery.

Thanks so much for writing down what iOS means to you, very much appreciated.

I'm interested to hear more about the modular aspect of using apps. Do you have any favorite combos that you keep going back to or that have become the cornerstone of your music making?

Audiobus, synths, effect apps (e.g. filtatron), AudioShare, and MIDI apps (e.g. SoundPrism) were the foundation for chaining together apps. SunVox showed how multifaceted an app could be and the idea of being able to incorporate visual data into music was interesting. More recently, AUM, the ApeSoft apps, AC Sabre, Bram Bos apps, Audio Damage apps, and the FAC apps.

Some apps have introduced me to music programming such as MobMuPlat (Pd), Lemur, K Machine (glsl), and Audulus.

Others such as TC-Data, GeoShred, and AC Sabre have such great MIDI control capabilities that I will use them to control great apps like the Model15 or complex multi app synth preset setups in AUM and/or Audiobus.

The introduction of the Files app, Link and AU have really facilitated the modular approach as they enhance being able to recreate setups, to have apps sync up, to pass information to one another, and the ability to control them via MIDI.

Apps like MoebiusLab, zMors Modular, and Rotor put their own spin on a modular environment.

Apps like TB MIDI Stuff, MIDI Designer Pro, Lemur, TC-Data, and KRFT have allowed me to create my own playing surfaces.

Apps which allow me to incorporate my own samples like AUM’s file player, Sector, ReSlice, BeatHawk, BeatMaker 3, and Animoog are great.

The Twisted Wave app has been very valuable for preparing samples.

The FAC Maxima and Transient apps have really helped to shape the sound and bring an appropriate balance to the music.

There are apps that create more non-traditional sounds like Soup, SoundScaper, and Erik Sigth’s apps. My favorite in this category is BitWiz which uses C expressions in a stack to create complex repeating waveforms which are great combined with more traditional musical elements.

Learning more about scales has been facilitated by apps like Wilsonic, ThumbJam, Dhalang, ChordMaps2, and ScaleGen.

The idea of polyrhythms incorporated in apps like Patterning and Different Drummer has been very helpful.

In general I am not attracted to traditional DAWs as they remind me too much of accounting spreadsheets plus I have relatively little interest in creating a finished product. My main focus is the act of playing and composing music so I have no problem with buying a wide variety of apps even though I know I won’t be able to master all of them. The process of learning them has been very educational. What I learn from one app will often help me to use other apps and introduce me to new areas for exploration/exploitation.

What a great summary and write up of the different apps and their strengths! Thanks a lot for the time you took to write this all down!

GeertBevin

@db909 said:
I guess one of the greatest effects iOS music has had on me is that I have learned so much more about mixing and music and the whole process that I don’t think I would have learned on desktop.

My favorite types of apps are sequencer/groovebox types apps. Where you can’t do everything but in general, the ability to make a complete track is there. They all go about this is different ways, with different interfaces. With the different approaches to sequencing (loop based, timeline, hybrid, this clever feature or that clever feature), you actually begin to understand music on a deeper level when you stop and think about why the developers went with this paradigm over that. You can see what their preferred organizational method of music is and using many of these over time, you realize that there about as many ways to make and conceptualize music as there are genres.

Furthermore, working within the limitations of such apps, you have to get the most out of them. Maybe one doesn’t have any EQ capabilities and all you really have mixing related is some volume and panning. Well here’s an opportunity to get really good at setting levels and panning properly if you want the best sound from that app. And that’s how it’s played out for me. Working within limitations has made me better at everything to the point where now I don’t even think I need anything that a desktop daw offers over iOS. I’ve become a master at getting more out of less.

Perfect example: iKaossilator. There is no mixing whatsoever. None. No volume fader, no pan, no eq, no adjusting the sounds in any way. The only thing you have to work with is the expressive fx programmed into the sounds that depend on where you are playing on the xy pad. So I want better “mixes” out of this thing, but how? By using masking and phase cancellation to my advantage. Also having to learn the art of choosing complimentary yet contrasting sounds. I put the iPhone audio into mono in the settings and i listen carefully as I play and record, because my performance is the mix, so I listen for where things pop in and out, where one sound masks another but by just the right amount to sound balanced. Doing it in mono means there won’t be any nasty surprises. And yeah, bottom line, I’ve gotten some pretty damn good mixes from that thing that really only require a bit of mastering.

So the point is, working within the limitations of the platform and the apps have made me a better musician.

I really like this approach, thank you for sharing it and writing it up so eloquently!!!

AndyPlankton

@JohnnyGoodyear said:
Sorry (a little bit) for just cherry-picking this excellent thread but thanks for the nudge as regards:

@echoopera
2. Novation Launchkey Mini or 25
- Groovebox integration is just stellar

It really is. Had no idea.

I have just this weekend discovered partnering the Launchkey 25 and Groovebox ...with sample/audio launching using AUM and NanoKontrol 2......alongside Transport control on the NanoKontrol as well for easy audio recording.

Launchkey + Groovebox also makes a great tool for learning to play the different scales on a keyboard.

lukesleepwalker

@db909 said:
I guess one of the greatest effects iOS music has had on me is that I have learned so much more about mixing and music and the whole process that I don’t think I would have learned on desktop.

My favorite types of apps are sequencer/groovebox types apps. Where you can’t do everything but in general, the ability to make a complete track is there. They all go about this is different ways, with different interfaces. With the different approaches to sequencing (loop based, timeline, hybrid, this clever feature or that clever feature), you actually begin to understand music on a deeper level when you stop and think about why the developers went with this paradigm over that. You can see what their preferred organizational method of music is and using many of these over time, you realize that there about as many ways to make and conceptualize music as there are genres.

Furthermore, working within the limitations of such apps, you have to get the most out of them. Maybe one doesn’t have any EQ capabilities and all you really have mixing related is some volume and panning. Well here’s an opportunity to get really good at setting levels and panning properly if you want the best sound from that app. And that’s how it’s played out for me. Working within limitations has made me better at everything to the point where now I don’t even think I need anything that a desktop daw offers over iOS. I’ve become a master at getting more out of less.

Perfect example: iKaossilator. There is no mixing whatsoever. None. No volume fader, no pan, no eq, no adjusting the sounds in any way. The only thing you have to work with is the expressive fx programmed into the sounds that depend on where you are playing on the xy pad. So I want better “mixes” out of this thing, but how? By using masking and phase cancellation to my advantage. Also having to learn the art of choosing complimentary yet contrasting sounds. I put the iPhone audio into mono in the settings and i listen carefully as I play and record, because my performance is the mix, so I listen for where things pop in and out, where one sound masks another but by just the right amount to sound balanced. Doing it in mono means there won’t be any nasty surprises. And yeah, bottom line, I’ve gotten some pretty damn good mixes from that thing that really only require a bit of mastering.

So the point is, working within the limitations of the platform and the apps have made me a better musician.

A+