If you are a musician, you may not think of the iPhone or iPad as an accessory for your instrument. It may seem difficult to imagine, but your iOS device has the potential to be a better companion to your creative endeavors than your band mates.
I’ve been playing music for almost two decades now and for years I’ve have actively sought out iOS apps to help me practice my licks, record my band, and make my guitar sing like a Siren.
We’ve got a list of our favorite apps for the guitar. Whether you are a beginner looking for a cheap music tutor, or an old pro trying out new guitar sounds, this list has something for musicians of all capabilities.
The best guitar apps for iPhone and iPad
GarageBand
No self-respecting, iOS-owning musician should be without GarageBand. It is the best way to create and record music on the iPhone without spending a lot of money. If you use a guitar connection adapter, like the iRig Pro, to hook up your axe to your iPhone or iPad, you can play through the app using nine different traditional amp sounds and 10 different stompbox effects. In addition to the guitar features, you can record an entire band’s worth of tracks, all by yourself using the virtual instruments. With the help of the Smart Instruments, you don’t even have to know how to play. This app is available for $4.99.
UltraTuner
There are dozens of virtual guitar tuners in the App Store all promising different features. This one promises one important thing – to get the tone right. It helps you tune your guitar to near-perfect pitch while being faster than most virtual tuners. It has two modes, one for getting ready on stage, which features a bright interface that is easy to see in the dark, and one for studio recording, which features a grid wave pitch detector for precision tuning. It is Apple Watch compatible with a note-reading feature so you can quickly glance at your wrist between songs. This app is available for $9.99.
Jam Multi-tool
With all this shredding, it is sometimes easy to forget that a well-rounded musician works on music theory. This app features helpful study guides and lessons for finding chords that fit together, learning scales for different styles of music, and working in the circle of fifths. You can play virtual guitar, hear chords and scales for every key, and perfect your song-writing skills. You can even play along with a virtual band to work on those shredding solos. This app is available for free.
Songsterr Tabs & Chords
This app is a simple tablature download app with access to 500,000 high-quality guitar and bass musical notations. It also includes a playback feature that will let you play tracks from the downloaded tablature while you play along. Single out specific tracks and change instruments depending on what you prefer. You can also slow down the playback so you can practice at your own pace. You can download songs for offline listening and practicing. You’ll never be without access to hundreds of thousands of songs. This app is available for free.
Amplitube Slash
IK Multimedia makes some of the best musician’s apps in the App Store. They are constantly coming up with new instrument simulations that feature high-quality sounds. The AmpliTube line of apps is one of their best and my personal favorite is Slash. This app features a digital effects processor that is based on the former Guns ‘N Roses guitarist’s favorite amps, including the Marshall JCM Silver Jubilee, the Marshal AFD100, And a vintage 1960 Marshall cabinet. It also includes six different virtual guitar pedals, like the OctoBlue, WahDist, and X-Chours. Plus, each pedal is preset to Slash’s own preferences. Need I say more? This app is available for $14.99.
Anytune Pro+
If you want to learn cover songs for your band, but are having trouble figuring out certain complex solos, this “slow-downer” app will playback your music at a slower BPM (beat per minute) without changing the pitch. You can also loop certain sections and replay them over and over again, and then increase the speed until you are playing along at the correct speed. Any guitarist who has ever tried to recreate a solo will know how useful this feature is. You can import any song from your music library, so you don’t have to worry about not being able to find that obscure jazz artist from the 1940s. One additional feature is that you can plug your guitar into your device using a connector like the iRig and play along inside the app with EQ adjustments. This app is available for $14.99.
GuitarToolkit
This comprehensive app is from the makers of Tab Toolkit. It supports Guitar Pro and Power Tab formats, as well as PDF and text files. In addition to being a full-featured musical notation app, it features a metronome, a guitar chord finger placement reference with more than 200,000 chords, scales and arpeggios, and a tuner. It supports a number of instruments, including six, seven, and 12 string guitars, four, five, and six string basses, ukuleles and more. Tune your instrument using standard tuning or a variety of alternate note tunings. Basically, everything you normally cram into your gig bag can be replaced with this convenient app. This app is available for $2.99.
Guitar Suite HD
O.K., so you’ve been playing guitar for a few years now and you think you are pretty dang good at chords and scales. Well, this app will put your knowledge to the test by asking you to play on a virtual fret board. You won’t be playing songs on a pretend guitar, but you will be practicing your chords. You’ll be tested on 50 scales and more than 25,000 chords with a variable tempo metronome and support for bass, guitar, ukulele, banjo, and lute. It also comes with a guitar tuner and a tune-by-ear option so you can learn how to get your axe in order without needing a tuner. This app is only available on the iPad. This app is available for $2.99.
JamUp Pro
If you are looking for a virtual stomp box, look no further than JamUp Pro. It comes with a huge collection of stomp box effects, various simulated cabinet sounds, and presets from some of the industry’s greats. Through in-app purchases, you can add up to 36 amp simulations, 30 different stomp box effects, and an 8-track recorder. There is a built-in tuner, a metronome, and iTunes playback from your device’s music library. It is also Audiobus compatible so you can add your JamUp Pro guitar licks to Loopy, or some other sampling app for a seriously good time. This app is available for $19.99.
moForte Guitar
Maybe you’ve never picked up a guitar before, but you know you want to learn. One great way to prepare for the big purchase is to learn the basics with this app. It is a virtual guitar that features useful and helpful lessons for learning chords and scales. You can even learn some of the more advanced techniques of strumming and plucking, like harmonics, pick slides, and palm muting. Just don’t forget to go out and buy a real guitar once you’ve built up the confidence to become a shredder. This app is available for $4.99.
Do you have a favorite guitar-related app? Please make sure to share your feedback in the comments section below.