Apple releases new Music Memos app for capturing and organizing beats on iPhone

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in iPhone
Apple on Wednesday unveiled a surprise addition to its iOS lineup with a new Music Memos app, designed specifically to help musicians and songwriters craft new musical ideas on the go.




Apple says it took inspiration from the existing Voice Memos app when crafting Music Memos, adding features that would make musicians' workflow much easier. The iPhone's built-in microphone can be used to record instruments in a lossless format, and the resulting recordings can be analyzed for rhythm and chords.

The app can then add instant drums and a bass line to help flesh out the song, and it will also provide a basic notation view. Music Memos are synchronized via iCloud and can be opened directly in GarageBand or Logic Pro X.

"Musicians around the world, from the biggest artists to aspiring students, use Apple devices to create amazing music; the innovative new Music Memos app will help them quickly capture their ideas on iPhone and iPad whenever inspiration strikes," Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said in a release.

Music Memos launched with support from some big-name artists, including singer-songwriter Ryan Adams.

"Sometimes ideas come faster than I can get them into my notebook so I've used Voice Memos and Notes to quickly capture songs before they're lost. Music Memos is like if those two apps came together to form some kind of superpower for songs," Adams said. "It quite literally blew my mind how Music Memos could transform a single guitar idea into a whole composition with a virtual drummer loose enough that it felt like you were having your mind read by some A.I. musician and a choice of stand-up or electric bass accompaniments."

Music Memos is still rolling out through iTunes, but will be available as a free download from the App Store.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    I love this company, I really do. I love the way they think and do, just because they can. It's great.
    potatoleeksoup
  • Reply 2 of 16
    Good new tool. Would love it if Apple spent some time developing accompanying percussion in the same way we have a drummer available. And more options for unconventional time signatures would be great.
    edited January 2016 dysamoria
  • Reply 3 of 16
    And more options for unconventional time signatures would be great.

    Neil Peart applauds this comment.
    SpamSandwichslprescottpotatoleeksoupdysamoria
  • Reply 4 of 16
    Very interesting app! Thanks Apple! I will definitely use it to record my music ideas, this will replace the voice memos app which was not ideal for that and didn't use iCloud.
    edited January 2016 SpamSandwich
  • Reply 5 of 16
    And more options for unconventional time signatures would be great.

    Neil Peart applauds this comment.
    4/4, 3/4 and 7/8 just don't cut it sometimes.
  • Reply 6 of 16
    Thanks, Apple.

    This is the sort of thing I thought Jimmy Iovine planned to do when announcing Apple Music: actively court the content-creators (musicians) to build a vibrant creative community, similar to what Apple did in the apps space with Xcode, App Store, WWDC, etc.  To date I haven't seen too much evidence of that, but perhaps this new app is evidence of Apple taking a more active role in empowering musicians (composers & performers).
    cali
  • Reply 7 of 16
    Thanks, Apple.

    This is the sort of thing I thought Jimmy Iovine planned to do when announcing Apple Music: actively court the content-creators (musicians) to build a vibrant creative community, similar to what Apple did in the apps space with Xcode, App Store, WWDC, etc.  To date I haven't seen too much evidence of that, but perhaps this new app is evidence of Apple taking a more active role in empowering musicians (composers & performers).
    Interestingly the PR release quoted Phil Schiller not Eddy Cue. Maybe that's just because he's the App Store guy, but it makes me wonder if Schiller has oversight of pro apps now.
  • Reply 8 of 16
    Thanks, Apple.

    This is the sort of thing I thought Jimmy Iovine planned to do when announcing Apple Music: actively court the content-creators (musicians) to build a vibrant creative community, similar to what Apple did in the apps space with Xcode, App Store, WWDC, etc.  To date I haven't seen too much evidence of that, but perhaps this new app is evidence of Apple taking a more active role in empowering musicians (composers & performers).
    Interestingly the PR release quoted Phil Schiller not Eddy Cue. Maybe that's just because he's the App Store guy, but it makes me wonder if Schiller has oversight of pro apps now.
    As long as the pro apps keep getting regular, intelligent improvements I don't care who takes credit. ;)
    dysamoriajohn.b
  • Reply 9 of 16
    Okay this is kinda hot. I've wanted something like this for my "on the go" inspirations. This plus NotateMe could be a great "one-two" combination in that regard. Will definitely check it out.
  • Reply 10 of 16
    Is this basically a multitrack recorder, akin to a good old 4 track cassette tape recorder, in a phone?
  • Reply 11 of 16
    Nice idea. I've been using the voice memo app to quickly capture song ideas for a while. It would be great if this new music memo app allowed you to record a track, then playback into earphones while recording another track so that you could make a mini multi-track of your idea...maybe up to three tracks. Sometimes I have new ideas that involve a main melody, a counter melody, and maybe one or two other melodic phrases. It would be cool to be able to capture all of that very quickly and easily when the inspiration strikes.  I will have to download the app and see what it can do.
  • Reply 12 of 16
    This does sound good – however, Apple doesn't have a good track record in keeping its apps alive and up to date: e.g. iWeb, Aperture, iBooks Author, iWork has its problems – I just hope these kind of apps are not intended as 'inspirational' for similar apps, and then don't update it.
    dysamoria
  • Reply 13 of 16
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Awesome! I use the voice memos app for humming instruments and beatboxing the drums afterwards. Unfortunately it's harder to remember the music days later because of "instrument" seperation.

    astra4 said:
    Is this basically a multitrack recorder, akin to a good old 4 track cassette tape recorder, in a phone?
    larz2112 said:
    Nice idea. I've been using the voice memo app to quickly capture song ideas for a while. It would be great if this new music memo app allowed you to record a track, then playback into earphones while recording another track so that you could make a mini multi-track of your idea...maybe up to three tracks. Sometimes I have new ideas that involve a main melody, a counter melody, and maybe one or two other melodic phrases. It would be cool to be able to capture all of that very quickly and easily when the inspiration strikes.  I will have to download the app and see what it can do.

    This is what I'm hoping for since I need multiple tracks for my ideas. I never think of just one melody at a time, usually it's a whole damn beat or orchestra playing in my head. Keeping the orchestra together until the next time I hit the studio is nearly impossible and I've lost multiple hit songs :(
  • Reply 14 of 16
    Breaking News! Samsung announces new app called Music Notes. 
    makemineamac
  • Reply 15 of 16
    astra4 said:
    Is this basically a multitrack recorder, akin to a good old 4 track cassette tape recorder, in a phone?
    Something like that. The good thing is that it shows you the cords being played and a basic notation view. It can also be opened directly in Garageband and Logic Pro, so if you are invested in those environments, this is a real sweet app.

     
    As for "in a phone", just like how the calculator, flashlight, tape recorder, discman, etc. have been consolidated into one single device, more and more things will be built into the smart phone. 
    edited January 2016
  • Reply 16 of 16

    Neil Peart applauds this comment.
    4/4, 3/4 and 7/8 just don't cut it sometimes.
    Ugh... I meant 6/8. (Head slap!)
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