10 Mobile Apps Every Drummer Should Download
Shout out to technological innovation for making the life of a drummer much simpler and more efficient. There are countless apps filling the iTunes store that aim to further drummers’s musical pursuits, so it’s not always easy to filter the must-have saving graces from the never-use-again flops. That’s where we come in. Whether you’re in the market for a new metronome, interactive drum lessons, reliable tuners or a high-tech beat-maker, these apps have got you covered. Check out these 10 essential additions to any rhythm-keeper’s tablet or smartphone.
GarageBand
Platform: iOS
Price: $4.99
GarageBand is the OG of music creation programs and its accompanying mobile app is a must-have for drummers looking to practice their craft on the go. It gives you a selection of simulated drum kits, and lets you input, layer, and manipulate custom beats. The app makes putting together a multi-track song ridiculously simple, making it arguably the best app of its kind on the market.
Impaktor
Platform: iOS
Price: Free
Impaktor is a crazy realistic drum synthesizer that takes sound recording to a new level. Here’s how it works: simply tap on any surface as if you were playing the drums, and Impaktor utilizes the acoustic impulses from its built-in microphone to map percussive sounds. Essentially, it translates your tapping into real-life drum beats. The app comes equipped with dozens of preinstalled instruments
Tempo Advance
Platforms: iOS, Android
Price: $3.99
Tempo Advance is a super-clean metronome app with tons of recording functions, a wide range of sounds, and huge time signature options. The app’s developers have recently added a polyrhythm mode, allowing the user to hear any combination of up to 20 beats per panel. It also possesses automated acceleration and deceleration modes, customizable sound sets, and personalized themes.
Ratatap Drums
Platform: iOS
Price: Free
Ratatap Drums is a simulated drum app featuring images of actual drums, making the experience as authentic as possible. The harder you tap the screen, the louder the drum sounds become. You can also swirl around on the drum heads to create drumrolls, bend the pitch of the notes, and even rock out to songs from your iTunes library.
DM1 - Drum Machine
Platform: iOS
Price: $4.99
Drum Machine is a top of the line beat-making machine, and an essential addition to the iPhones of drummers worldwide. It not only sports a 16-trigger pad drum machine, but it also carries a sampler, sequencer, and effects rack. Its sampling and wave editing functions are arranged in a seamless, simple interface, and it even boasts an abundant and diverse sample library.
MAPEX Drum Masterclass
Platform: iOS
Price: $4.99
The MAPEX Drum Masterclass is an easy-to-follow instructive app that will make you reconsider your private drum lessons and music theory classes. The app comes equipped with 32 interactive lessons, making it ideal for beginners or even those who want to brush up on sheet reading. With four different modes — Lesson, Drill, Tuning, and Crib Sheets — the Masterclass walks you through various aspects of drum playing and allows you to practice what you’ve learned.
Song Beats
Platform: iOS
Price: Free
Created by the folks at Yamaha, Song Beats is a drum-along app that synchs a digital drum kit to songs from a preset collection or your iTunes library. The glowing drum rings and scrolling display guide you in your playing, Rock Band-style. You can also toy around with tempo changes and A-B looping, and a new feature even allows you to connect your device to a Yahama electronic drum kit.
Modern Drummer Magazine
Platform: iOS
Price: Free
Whether you’re an amateur or a touring rock star, staying in the loop with the drum industry is an effective way to advance your craft. Modern Drummer is a leading magazine in the drum world, and features interviews with popular professionals, reports on industry trends and cutting-edge products, and practical playing tips. The publication has compressed all of this drummer knowledge into a free app, making it easily accessible from the convenience of your back pocket. What more could you ask for?
Gumdrops
Platform: iOS
Price: $4.99
Gumdrops is an innovative beat-making sequencer that allows composition and editing on the fly using the same theory that applies to a physical drum kit. The app’s interface features eight groups of eight pads, each assigned a different sample sound. They are also broken into groups based on note lengths, beginning with half-notes and working up to sixteenths. You can play with and create tracks using the sounds, edit the 32-step pattern on all 64 pads, and set velocity for each step. It’s simple and high-tech, and the experience is completely customizable. Welcome to your new audio production platform.
Amazing Slow Downer
Platforms: iOS, Mac OS X, Windows
Price: $14.99
The function of Amazing Slow Downer is simple. It slows down any section of music without altering the pitch. The app can slow a song down to 25 percent of its original speed, making it ideal for drummers who want to transcribe and learn others’s music. The app also allows you to change the tuning or the musical key, lets you set up seamless loops, and works with most audio file formats.
Shout out to technological innovation for making the life of a drummer much simpler and more efficient. There are countless apps filling the iTunes store that aim to further drummers’s musical pursuits, so it’s not always easy to filter the must-have saving graces from the never-use-again flops. That’s where we come in. Whether you’re in the market for a new metronome, interactive drum lessons, reliable tuners or a high-tech beat-maker, these apps have got you covered. Check out these 10 essential additions to any rhythm-keeper’s tablet or smartphone.