Can you make music on your phone?

The capability to create and produce music on your phone is on the rise. Thanks to revolutionary advancements in smartphone audio quality and technology, it’s now possible to make professional-sounding tracks directly within your phone. With the power of high-end processors and studio-quality audio, you now have the tools needed for mobile music production in your pocket.

Mobile music production, using only a smartphone and apps, has seen immense growth over the last five years. According to reports, the mobile music production software market size was valued at $84,610 thousand in 2023 but is projected to reach $157,548 thousand by 2030, exhibiting an impressive CAGR of 9.3% [1]. The continued proliferation of smartphones and music production apps indicates the mobile route is fast becoming a mainstream and viable option for today’s artists and producers.

In this article, we’ll explore the smartphone specs and apps that enable you to create, record, mix, and share music entirely from your mobile device. You’ll discover just how far mobile music production has come and the possibilities it unlocks for musicians on the go.

Smartphone Specs for Music

When it comes to using your smartphone for music production, having sufficient processing power, RAM, and storage capacity is crucial. Most experts recommend opting for a phone with at least a quad-core processor and 4GB of RAM (Source). The quad-core CPU provides enough horsepower for running multiple music apps simultaneously and handling effects processing. Meanwhile, the 4GB RAM minimum enables you to run digital audio workstations (DAWs), instruments, and other music software smoothly (Source).

In terms of storage, you’ll want a minimum of 64GB. However, many musicians recommend getting 128GB or even 256GB if your budget allows. Recording high-quality audio tracks, installing sound libraries, and saving projects takes up ample storage space quickly (Source). Having sufficient storage ensures you don’t run out of space mid-project. Overall, opting for a more powerful processor, ample RAM, and plentiful storage provides headroom for music creation on your smartphone.

Recording Audio

Using your smartphone’s built-in microphone is an easy way to start recording audio. However, built-in mics have some limitations when it comes to audio quality. They tend to pick up a lot of background noise and have a narrow dynamic range compared to external microphones.

Connecting an external microphone to your smartphone can greatly improve the audio quality of your recordings. Condenser microphones designed for vocals and acoustic instruments are a good fit for smartphone recording. Make sure the microphone is compatible with your smartphone’s connector – usually either USB-C or Lightning. Popular external mic options include the Shure MV88 and Rode VideoMic Me (source).

When recording with external mics, be mindful of placement to reduce background noise. Also enable manual input gain controls in your recording app, if available. This allows you to adjust gain to optimal levels. With quality gear and proper technique, your smartphone recordings can sound nearly as good as those from dedicated audio recorders and DAWs.

DJ Apps

There are many great DJ apps for making music with your smartphone. Some of the top apps for mixing and dj’ing include djay Pro, YOU.DJ, Edjing Mix, MixVibes Cross, and Virtual DJ Mixer (source). These provide features like waveform views, studio-quality effects, beat syncing, crossfading, looping, and vinyl simulation for scratching and mixing tracks.

djay Pro is an extremely full-featured DJ app, allowing you to mix tracks from Spotify, Apple Music, and your own local files (source). It provides turntables, 2 or 4 deck support, a mixer with EQs and filters, effects like reverb and echo, and analyzes tracks for seamless beatmatching. YOU.DJ also simulates turntables with scratching capabilities along with a mixer, effects, and advanced time-stretching for matching tempos.

For beginner DJs, Edjing Mix and Virtual DJ Mixer provide an easy way to blend songs with automated beatmatching. Edjing includes remixing capabilities as well with drum pads and synthesizers. With a robust set of DJ features and accessible interfaces, these mobile apps make it simple to start mixing music professionally right from your smartphone.

Synths and Samplers

Smartphones have become incredibly powerful for running virtual instruments thanks to advances in mobile processing power. There are many excellent synthesizer and sampler apps available on iOS and Android that rival hardware synthesizers in sound quality and features.

Some of the top virtual instrument apps include Moog Model D, Korg Kaossilator, Caustic 3, GarageBand, and FL Studio Mobile (1,2). These apps provide fully featured synthesizers, samplers, drum machines, and more. Moog Model D emulates the iconic Moog Minimoog hardware synthesizer. Kaossilator offers a touchpad synth. Caustic 3 provides a modular rack with synths, effects, and more. GarageBand and FL Studio Mobile are full music production studios.

Virtual instrument apps offer great portability, touch controls, and low cost compared to hardware. While mobile devices have limitations in processing power, developers continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible. Overall, mobile music production has never been more powerful thanks to incredible synth and sampler apps.

Sequencers and DAWs

Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) allow for full music production on your smartphone. Powerful mobile DAW apps offer features like virtual instruments, effects processing, mixing and mastering tools, sequencing, editing, MIDI, and compatibility with audio interfaces and MIDI controllers. They essentially provide a complete studio environment right on your mobile device.

Some of the most popular mobile DAWs include FL Studio Mobile, Steinberg Cubasis, and PreSonus Studio One. These apps allow you to record, sequence MIDI and audio, mix tracks, add plugins and effects, timestretch, pitch shift, arrange compositions on a timeline, export stems, and more. Their interfaces are designed and optimized for touch screens.

The advantage of mobile DAWs is having access to a powerful production studio anywhere you go. You can start a project at home then continue working on a bus, plane, or anywhere inspiration strikes. Some apps sync projects between desktop and mobile versions. With pro-level features squeezed into your pocket, mobile DAWs make music production highly portable.

MIDI Controllers

One of the most powerful ways to make music on your phone is by connecting external MIDI controllers via USB or Bluetooth. This allows you to use dedicated hardware controllers like keyboards, drum pads, faders, and more to control virtual instruments and DAWs on your phone. Some MIDI controllers have powered USB ports that can provide power to your phone while connected.

For USB connectivity, you’ll need a USB OTG cable or adapter to connect your phone to a standard MIDI controller. Many Android phones support USB host mode for MIDI. Once connected, you can map the controller to virtual instruments in apps like Caustic 3 and control transport functions in DAWs like FL Studio Mobile. The DAW IT app even lets you customize MIDI mappings.

For wireless control, Bluetooth MIDI controllers like the Korg MicroKey Air 37 let you connect to your phone wirelessly. This gives you freedom of movement and distance from the phone. You’ll need to pair your phone and MIDI controller via Bluetooth first. Apps like touchDAW provide customizable MIDI assignment templates for many popular Bluetooth controllers.

With a suitable MIDI controller hooked up to your phone via USB or Bluetooth, you unlock tactile control of virtual instruments, effects, mixers, and other parameters in your mobile music setup.

Sharing and Distributing

Once you’ve created music on your smartphone, you’ll likely want to share it with others. There are several ways to upload and distribute your tracks through streaming platforms and social media.

Many streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and SoundCloud allow you to upload your tracks right from their mobile apps. You can then share the links to your songs or add them to playlists. Just make sure the audio quality meets the platform’s requirements. For example, Spotify requires files to be under 10MB and encoded as MP3s at 96kbps or higher.

Social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook are great for sharing short clips or snippets of your songs. These sites make it easy to add your music to videos or stories that followers can discover and share. Just be aware of any copyright issues if sampling other material.

You can also share full tracks through messaging apps, email, and services like WeTransfer. For local file sharing, Bluetooth is an option if both devices are in close range. Or you can use offline alternatives like Apple’s AirDrop which utilizes WiFi.

In general, smartphones provide versatile options for distributing your music digitally. With a few taps you can upload your compositions to platforms with potential audiences of millions.

Collaborating Remotely

One of the great things about music in the mobile age is the ability to collaborate remotely with other musicians and producers. There are a number of excellent apps that facilitate real-time collaboration on songs, beats, and tracks from anywhere in the world.

Some top apps for remote music collaboration include Soundtrap, Ableton Link, Endlesss, and Gismart’s Jambl. These tools allow musicians to share projects, make edits in real-time together, and record tracks that sync up no matter where the collaborators are located.

Platforms like Soundstorming also facilitate remote collaboration through cloud-based services. Musicians can upload tracks, provide feedback on each other’s work, and iterate on songs together asynchronously.

By taking advantage of these mobile apps, artists are no longer limited by geography when it comes to musical collaboration. They can team up with producers, vocalists, and fellow songwriters from anywhere across the globe. Mobile music collaboration breaks down barriers and brings creative minds together through the power of smartphones and tablets.

Conclusion

Mobile music creation has come a long way in recent years. What started out as simple tone generators and early synthesizer apps has evolved into full-fledged music production suites rivaling desktop offerings. The combination of more powerful smartphone hardware and innovative software means you can now produce broadcast-ready tracks entirely on a phone or tablet.

Going forward, expect mobile music apps to become even more advanced as smartphones continue improving. Some emerging trends to watch are uncompressed audio support, lower latency, and standalone operation without a computer. More seamless integration between desktop and mobile workflows is also on the horizon. This will empower musicians to start songs on the go and finish them in the studio.

In summary, creating music is eminently possible on a smartphone today. And as the technology progresses, mobile devices will enable musicians and producers to be even more prolific. The future is bright for writing, recording, and sharing music using just the computer in your pocket.