Best music apps for iPhone and iPad: songwriting and production

The best music apps for iPhone and iPad depend on what you’re doing: a notes app and a voice recorder for capturing ideas, a songwriting app for lyrics and rhymes, a beat maker or DAW like GarageBand for production, and a practice app if you’re learning an instrument. Most people end up with one app from each group rather than one app that does everything. Below is an honest look at well-known options, grouped by job.

We make Lyric Studio, which is one entry on this list. We’ve tried to describe every app, including ours, by what it’s built for rather than ranking them. App features and pricing change often, so check each App Store listing before you commit.

How to choose a music app

Before downloading anything, ask:

1. What’s the job? Writing lyrics, making beats, recording vocals, mixing, or practising are different tasks.
2. Phone or tablet? Detailed editing is much easier on an iPad’s bigger screen.
3. Where will the project end up? If you’ll finish on a computer, check that the app can export audio, stems or project files your DAW can open.
4. Do you need collaboration? Some apps are built around sharing and cloud projects; others are single-user.

Capturing ideas

Voice Memos

Apple’s built-in recorder is still one of the most useful songwriting tools on an iPhone. Hum a melody, freestyle a hook, or record a chord progression the moment it arrives. Name your memos clearly so you can find them later.

Notes

Apple Notes is where many writers start lyrics. It syncs through iCloud, it’s always there, and it doesn’t get in the way. What it lacks is anything music-specific: no rhymes, no syllable counts, no beat.

Songwriting and lyric apps

Lyric Studio

Lyric Studio is a free songwriting app for iPhone and iPad (iOS 16 and later). It combines a lyric notepad with a rhyme finder that covers perfect, multisyllabic and slant rhymes with syllable counts, a syllable counter, an AI lyric generator and autocomplete, an AI beat generator and a library of 100+ beats, plus a recorder for laying vocals over a beat and sharing the result. It’s built for writing, so you won’t mix or master a track in it. You can see the full list on our features page.

Rhyme and syllable tools on the web

If you’d rather not install anything, browser tools work on any phone. Our free rhyme finder and syllable counter run in Safari and are handy alongside Notes.

For a broader comparison of writing tools beyond iPhone apps, see the top 5 songwriting tools.

Beat making and production apps for iPhone

GarageBand

Apple’s GarageBand is the most common first stop for making music on iPhone and iPad. It includes virtual instruments, drum machines, loops, a sampler and multitrack recording. Its Live Loops mode is handy for building beat ideas by triggering loops in a grid. Projects can be opened in Logic Pro if you outgrow it.

BandLab

BandLab is a cloud-based music platform with a mobile app for recording, making beats and collaborating. Projects are saved online, so you can start on your phone and continue elsewhere. It also has a social side for sharing tracks and working with other people.

FL Studio Mobile

Image-Line’s mobile version of FL Studio brings its step sequencer and piano roll to phones and tablets. It’s popular with producers who already use FL Studio on a computer and want to sketch beats on the go.

Koala Sampler

Koala is a compact sampler built around pads. You record or import sounds, chop them, and sequence them into beats. It’s quick and playful, which suits sample-based hip-hop and lo-fi ideas.

Ableton Note

Ableton’s sketching app for iPhone is designed for capturing beat and melody ideas quickly, then moving them to Ableton Live on a computer to finish. It makes most sense if you already use Live.

Korg Gadget

Gadget gives you a collection of small synths and drum machines (the “gadgets”) in a single sequencer. It’s well suited to electronic and pop production, and fun for quick idea building.

iPad production apps

The iPad’s larger screen makes it a serious production device. If you want to produce full tracks on a tablet, these are well-known options.

Logic Pro for iPad

Apple’s professional DAW on iPad, with a touch-first interface, instruments, effects and mixing tools. It’s a natural step up from GarageBand, and projects can move between iPad and Mac.

Cubasis

Steinberg’s mobile DAW, related to its Cubase desktop software. It offers multitrack audio and MIDI recording, mixing and support for Audio Unit plug-ins.

BeatMaker

Intua’s BeatMaker is a sampler-focused production app aimed at beat makers, with pads, sequencing and sample editing.

NanoStudio 2

A compact all-in-one studio with built-in synths and sampler, aimed at people who want a complete production setup inside one app.

AUM

Kymatica’s AUM is an audio mixer and host for routing instruments, effects and inputs. It’s aimed at people who want to build custom setups with multiple iPad music apps rather than work inside one DAW.

A note on plug-ins: many iPad music apps support Audio Unit (AUv3) extensions, which means instruments and effects from one developer can run inside another developer’s DAW. If you go deep on iPad production, this is worth understanding.

Recording and audio tools

If you’re recording vocals on an iPhone or iPad, GarageBand, BandLab, Logic Pro for iPad and Cubasis all handle multitrack recording. For better sound, connect an external microphone or audio interface; many class-compliant USB interfaces work with iPhone and iPad through a USB-C connection or the right adapter.

Our guide on how to record vocals at home covers mic placement, room setup and basic mixing, all of which apply on a phone too.

Moises

Moises uses AI to separate a recording into parts like vocals, drums and bass. Musicians use it to practise along with songs, isolate a part to learn it, or slow a track down. Be careful about what you do with separated audio from other people’s recordings; practising is one thing, releasing is another.

Learning and practice apps

• Yousician offers interactive lessons for guitar, piano, bass and singing, listening to you play and giving feedback.
• GuitarTuna, from the same company, is a widely used tuner for guitar and other stringed instruments.
• Chordify shows chords for songs so you can play along.
• Simply Piano teaches piano with lessons that listen to your playing.

Even a little instrument practice pays off for songwriters. Our guide to music theory for songwriters covers the basics worth learning alongside them.

A note on Android

If you’re on Android, BandLab, FL Studio Mobile and Koala Sampler are among the apps also available there, though features can differ between platforms. Apple’s own apps, GarageBand and Logic Pro, are not available on Android. Always check the Google Play listing for current support.

A simple iPhone music setup

If you’re not sure where to begin, this combination covers most writers:

Job	App type	Example
Catch melodies	Voice recorder	Voice Memos
Write lyrics	Songwriting app	A lyric app, or Notes
Make or find beats	Beat maker or DAW	GarageBand, BandLab, Koala
Record vocals	DAW	GarageBand, BandLab
Finish on iPad	iPad DAW	Logic Pro for iPad, Cubasis

Music app checklist

• You know which job each app is for
• You have one place for all lyric ideas
• Your beat app can export audio or stems
• Projects back up to the cloud or a computer
• You’ve checked the current pricing and subscription terms
• You’ve tested with headphones or an external mic for recording

The best app is the one you’ll open when an idea hits. Start small, use it daily, and add tools only when you hit a real limit. If you’re new to production, beat making for beginners is a good next read.