The smartphone, a pocket instrument

Composers have long been interested in using cell phones to make music. Golan Levin created Dialtones: A Telesymphony back in 2001, but the technical possibilities were then limited to the basic ringtones of the devices of the time. Today, smartphones are computers. Their computing power is sufficient for truly musical applications, and their touch screen enables real interaction with the user.
Today, there are 12,000 music apps for Apple iOS (iPhone and iPad), and around 400 for other systems (Android and Windows 8). Apple is ahead in
in this field, as its devices are the only ones capable of generating sound without delay. Apart from
some instrument manufacturers who have embarked on applications programming
for smartphones (Korg, Yamaha), the majority of developers of this kind of tool are
amateurs.
GarageBand is probably the most complete music application for iPad. It
allows you to imitate several existing instruments: keyboards, guitars, drums. But no
None of these imitations is as versatile as the original instruments. The most interesting thing, therefore, is to invent applications that take advantage of the characteristics of smartphones and tablets, to create music that would be impossible on other instruments.
We can take advantage of the various sensors installed in these devices: the camera
lets you play a virtual instrument (as does the Air Guitar app); motion detectors can trigger sounds, often drums (Samplodica); the gyroscope
can modify sound parameters according to the position of the device (GyroSynth); the microphone can function as a breath detector, imitating a trumpet or a clarinet.
saxophone (Wivi Band); the compass can be used to control the sounds according to
their spatial orientation (Sound Wand).
By combining several of these sensors, it is possible to imagine truly innovative applications.
new and increasingly musical, also accessible to non-musicians.

Full article in German: www.musikzeitung.ch/de/service
Illustration : App Rockmate (Screenshot)