My 5 Most Used Music Apps
Hello again! As someone who plays and interacts with music everyday either for myself, practice, or my professional career I have some resources and apps that I reach for almost daily. Some of these are for listening, others are for charts, and some are only really used when I’m on stage. I don’t feel like there’s a whole lot of introduction that needs to be made for this one, so without further ado: My 5 most used music apps
DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with any of these apps, opinions shared are only my own. These are genuinely the apps that I use daily and how I use them, they do not reflect the views of any of the app companies mentioned in this post.
#1: YOUTUBE (FREE)
Youtube is my preferred music listening platform, even with ads. I find that for me, this is the easiest way for me to get specific versions of songs especially if I’m preparing for a performance and I need a reference track. Not to mention how many things you can learn on Youtube about music (music theory, instrument tutorials, etc.). I always have youtube as an easily accessible app for me to open on my phone and any other electronics I have.
#2: PIANO (FREE)
I find it incredibly helpful to have a little pocket piano I can pull up at all times. I will use this as a pitch reference, for tuning other instruments, or for ear training exercises. I pull this app up anytime a guitar string is out of tune or I’m doing vocal exercises when I don’t have access to a full piano or guitar.
#3: ULTIMATE GUITAR (FREE)
Though I don’t reach for it all the time, it sure is nice to have a reference point for chords to songs that I may need a little refresher on. This app can also be helpful to quickly pull up lyrics to songs if I don’t know all of the words in the moment. This also has a web version, and it has options to upgrade to a version where you can immediately transpose songs to fit different voices and so you don’t have to close out of ads.
#4: iReal Pro ($11.99)
iReal Pro is like the app version of the Real Book. If you haven’t seen one yet, a Real Book is a large book of jazz standards that has chords (lyrics if it is a vocal version), and notates the melody line. Usually because of this format a Real Book can put an entire song on one page which is super convenient if you’re on a stage because there’s no page turning necessary. Well, iReal Pro is kind of like that but only chord charts and words, and it’s on your phone or tablet. iReal Pro also has the added bonus of a forum where you can download all sorts or chord charts, and you can even make your own. So you can have thousands of charts and lyrics at your disposal. This app does have a one time price of $11.99.
#5: EARPEGGIO (FREE)
Earpeggio is an ear training app that helps you to sharpen your ear training skills. And, it makes it into a game that (I think) is pretty fun and doesn’t feel like you’re training your ears to be more accurate in recognizing interval distance and rhythms. I find that for me, keeping up with ear training is helpful especially when it comes to learning new songs or pieces.
So, those are my 5 most used music related apps on my phone. These are apps that I would definitely feel the loss of if I didn’t have them at my fingertips. Are there any music related apps that you use or would recommend? I would love to hear from you too! I’m always looking for new technology and resources that can help make me a better musician overall.
Thank you for reading and for being here on my website as I continue to work on making this as up to date and as organized and user friendly as possible. Thank you again, the world is better with you in it!
Sarah
