Music has always been at the centre of the mobile experience. Depending on just how far back you would like to go, Sony’s Walkman and Apple’s iPod have been the most popular of mobile personal devices to have ever come out.
Music consumption has moved away from the music CDs to MP3 and other digital formats. The undisputed leader of the pack, the iTunes music store, is not yet available in India. But Flipkart’s Flyte looks rather promising. (This writer found current chart toppers like Barfi and Neethaane En Ponvasantham for throwaway prices, and what’s more it is DRM-free.)
There are other sites that feature streaming music content such as >www.raaga.com and >www.saavn.com with enough content to satiate most music lovers.
But a new generation of Apps for mobile devices like the iPad are taking the musical experience up several notches. Here is a look at a few of them.
Tonara: This is an interactive digital sheets music App that listens to the musical instrument one plays and turns the pages accordingly. The App will listen to any instrument being played — be it the piano, flute, violin or cello — and keep track of the music. This solves a major headache most musicians, amateur or professional, face when playing: that of flipping the pages.
While the App itself is free, one can purchase the music sheets for a price via in-App purchases. The App has tied up with big music sheet publishers and has in its sales inventory all genres of music. Visit >www.tonara.com to learn more.
Aweditorium: This App combines the worlds of music streaming and music discovery. Made to fit the gorgeous Retina Display of the new iPad, Aweditorium is a meld of beautiful photography, music, HD videos and social networking all on one platform. One can discover new music simply by scrolling through the tiles of various artistes.
The music plays alongside the lyrics and images of the artiste. It is difficult to explain just how good it looks on the iPad, especially if one sets it up on a stand. Aweditorium can make your iPad a good centrepiece for a party. The App is available for free. Visit >www.aweditorium.com for details. The App is available only for the iPad right now.
Aupeo!: The personal radio for mobile devices is different from other Apps because it has a strong recommendation engine that keeps coming up with lists based on the kind of music you consume. The interface is beautiful and minimalistic. What sets it apart from a few other music discovery Apps that are available is it features songs of well-established artistes.
Aupeo! is available across platforms. Visit >www.aupeo.co.uk to learn more.
Shazam: One of the oldest mobile Apps around, Shazam can be a lifesaver for most average music buffs who would like to immediately identify what song is playing but are too shy to ask. Just load the Shazam App on your smartphone or tablet PC and point it towards the music. Shazam also has an active community of users who tag streaming music the world over. The service has also introduced in-app networking through ‘Shazam Friends’ to find out what songs one’s friends are listen to.
Shazam is available across all mobile platforms. Visit >www.shazam.com to learn more.
