iPad Essentials for Singers and Vocal Pros
As a singer, your iPad or tablet can be a powerful tool to help you with your craft. Here are some iPad essentials for singers.
1. Voice Memos: Use the built-in Voice Memos app to record and listen to your singing practice sessions. This will help you identify areas where you need improvement and keep track of your progress over time.
Useful for:
lessons & coachings
vocal warm-ups
creating your own music
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/voice-memos/id1069512134
2. Metronome apps: A metronome app like Smart Metronome & Tuner or Sooundbrenner can help you stay on beat and improve your timing.
I use a metronome when I am learning new pieces. That way, I keep myself grounded and precise. It can sometimes feel tedious and elementary, but it is worth it if it helps improve overall accuracy.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/smart-metronome-tuner/id889571826
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-metronome-by-soundbrenner/id1048954353
3. Vocal warm-up apps: Apps like Warm Me Up or VocalEase 2 can guide you through a series of vocal warm-up exercises, helping you to prepare your voice for singing.
These tools are great if you want more interaction and understanding of what you are doing and need help figuring out where to start. Warm Me Up, and VocalEase 2 have interfaces that are incredibly easy to use.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/warm-me-up/id427362797
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vocalease-2/id1053564288
4. Sheet music apps: A sheet music app like forScore can store and organize your sheet music, make annotations, and quickly flip between pages.
I adapted to forScore while in grad school, which made my life so much more convenient. During my first semester, I carried around all my rep in one binder and a Mozart score in another. While in opera rehearsal, one of my castmates used their iPad instead of a meticulous three-ring system. They gave me the app's name, and now I only prep binders for accompanists if asked. Just remember always to bring a charger.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/forscore/id363738376
And apps like Musicnotes, where you can purchase music and play accompaniment.
5. Ear training apps: Ear training apps like EarMaster, Perfect Ear or Earpeggio can help you improve your pitch recognition and ability to identify different musical intervals.
These apps are beneficial if ear training and sighting are instilled in you or foreign concepts. They have encouraging exercises that make practicing and repetition easy.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmaster-music-theory/id1105030163
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/perfect-ear-ear-trainer/id1440768353
6. Music apps: Many music apps, such as GarageBand, are available on Apple products, which can help you create and record your own music.
https://www.apple.com/mac/garageband/
7. Audio interfaces: If you want to record high-quality audio of your singing, you can use an audio interface like the iRig with AmpliTube CS to connect your iPad to a microphone.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/amplitube-cs/id373309342
8. YouTube: Lastly, don't forget about the wealth of singing tutorials, lessons, and performances on YouTube. You can use the YouTube app to search for and watch videos related to your specific vocal interests and goals.
https://www.apple.com/us/search/youtube?src=globalnav