Best apps for amateur composers

TonePad Pro offers a “nearly foolproof” way to write “a catchy electronic ditty.” Tap circles laid out on a grid to sound each note, and the app edits the range of available pitches as you go so that you can’t wander off-key. ($1, iOS)

Soundrop turns making music into a game. Falling onscreen balls create sounds when they hit a line you create—“the harder the impact, the higher the pitch.” Angling lines “create structures for the balls to bounce through, playing a string of notes in the process.” (Free, iOS)

KORG iKaossilator “may seem intimidating at first.” But ignore the various “esoteric” settings and simply begin. “Thumping techno and hip-hop loops” will start playing; you use your touch pad to manipulate the melody, tones, rhythms, and relative volumes of each part. ($20, iOS)

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Source: The Wall Street Journal