Using iOS Apps to Create Electronic Music
Adam Pollard presents in-depth iOS videos using a wide variety of iOS apps to create electronic music! Learn to use some of the best apps available to make interesting new sounds and productions. These iOS tutorials are great for those just starting out making electronic music on their portable devices, as well as intermediate iOS producers.
Videos
• Introduction (01:02) - Adam welcomes you to the course and discusses what he will be covering.
• iOS to iOS (06:38) - In this first video, let?s start off by getting one iOS app to play another iOS app, in this case getting SoundPrism Pro (one of my favorite apps) to play (send MIDI to) the synth Animoog. This video covers ?background audio?, polyphony and Audiobus 3 too.
• USB Keyboards (04:54) - Adam shows how to connect USB MIDI keyboards, looks at MIDI input/output options, and uses multiple keyboards, each playing a different app. Also, Adam discusses the various limitations some apps have regarding this.
• Manually Routing MIDI with Audiobus (05:37) - In this video, we take a look at an important iOS app called Audiobus. We explore MIDI routing options using it. We also first encounter instruments as ?audio units?, and learn about the benefits of using them over normal synth apps.
• Keyzones (02:38) - Learn how to split a single keyboard into multiple keyboards, using the Midiflow Splitter MIDI effect in Audiobus 3. This is called ?keyzoning?.
• Scales MIDI Effect (03:15) - Learn how to use Midiflow Scales to make it impossible to play a note out of key! Choose a scale, and this MIDI effect maps all incoming notes into that scale.
• Chords from Single Notes & FabFilter Plug-Ins (02:56) - In this video, Adam discusses two ideas: using Audiobus 3, Midiflow Transposer, and parallel lanes to create chords from single notes, and FabFilter plug-ins.
• Hardwiring MIDI to Computer DAW (04:50) - Adam shows two ways of connecting the iPad to a computer DAW, so we can send MIDI from one to the other (in either direction). E.g. playing Serum using the iPad, or playing the iPad using the Ableton Push. This video focuses on hardwire ways of doing so (midimux/USB, and using an audio interface).
• Wireless MIDI to Computer DAW (03:24) - Adam sends MIDI from iPad to computer DAW wirelessly. First through the router, and then using an ?ad hoc? network. He then hardwires this network.
• Latency & Jitter (04:12) - Learn about latency (the time it takes between sending and receiving a signal) and jitter (the variation in this time), and how different cabling/routing setups give wildly different latency and jitter results.
• Audio Interfaces (01:58) - See how to use audio interfaces with iOS devices. It?s not quite as simple as ?just? plugging it in, but it nearly is. Power is the critical consideration here, as many interfaces are ?bus powered?, and the iPad/iPhone can?t supply as much power as a laptop/computer. See Adam discuss all of this and more.
• Analog to iOS MIDI (01:26) - Adam adds a piece of analog/outboard gear to the mix, allowing one to send MIDI from the iPad to an analog synth, or vice versa!
• Recording: In & Out (03:31) - This video is a full exploration of recording both into, and out of an iOS device. Covering: simplest way to record (Music Memos), using audio interfaces, and manually recording out through the headphone jack into an external recorder.
• Syncing iOS Apps with Ableton Link (01:54) - Ableton Link is the best way to keep things in sync, either app to app, app to device, or device to device. In this video we?ll look first at keeping two iOS apps in sync.
• Syncing iOS to Computer DAW (01:18) - Next, let?s explore Ableton Link syncing an iOS device to a DAW running on a computer. In this case Ableton to an iOS app.
• External MIDI Clock to Ableton Link (04:36) - In this video, Adam shows how syncing to things that don?t have Ableton Link (e.g. an analog synth), we can use an app called MIDI Link Sync. We use both USB and traditional MIDI cabling via an audio interface. We also first see analog ?jitter.?
• Using Headphone Mic as an Input (04:28) - Adam shows how in some situations it possible to record using the headphone mic as an input. He aslo shows why it?s probably not the best idea, all things considered.
• iOS DAWs & Loops (03:52) - Adam talks about DAWs on iOS devices. What are they? Should you use one? Which to get? Do they stay in sync? What if all you want to do is run loops in the background? I also throw in a bonus trick at the end to get MUCH better loops (for free) than come included in most apps.
• Custom Touch Interfaces (17:20) - Learn how to create custom touch interfaces to control DAWs and other computer software, using your iOS device.
• Suggester (02:07) - Adam shows one of his favorite apps, called Suggester. Choose a scale, tap chords to find a progression you like, and then save or export those chords to another app! It allows you to focus on the emotion of the chord progression, not the music theory.
• Arpeggionome (02:00) - Adam demonstrates what he feels is THE best iOS app for creating arpeggios. It works great for both performance, AND in the studio.
• ZX Plectrum (02:14) - Take a look at another one of Adam's favorite iOS apps. It?s weird and wonderful. It only does one thing and there are no settings/options. The on-screen visuals make it perfect for live performance. Adam used used this in DJ sets all the time!
• Drop Dots (02:50) - Drop Dots is a strange, but interesting app that allows you to create rhythms (and even melodies) that you just wouldn?t have otherwise. The trick is to record the audio, and convert this to MIDI after the fact, in a DAW. It?s fun, and interactive too!
• Quincy (05:14) - This app generates MIDI based on something called Conway?s ?Game of Life?, which shows how the simplest mathematical rules can give rise to complex and what can look like intelligent life. This may be the most obscure, but possibly most interesting iOS app I know of.