GarageBand is a popular app for iPhone and iPad that allows users to play virtual instruments, record music, and create professional-sounding tracks. If you’re an Android user hoping to use GarageBand, you’ll need to consider other options, as the app is limited to the Apple environment, but there are plenty of fantastic GarageBand Android alternatives to choose from. Check out our top picks.
Good to know: enjoy the Spotify environment? Check out the best Spotify alternatives for music streaming.
1. Walk Band
Price: Free with premium options
Music enthusiasts will find Walk Band to be a versatile tool, suitable for both novices and experienced musicians. Although the app’s user interface could have been more modern, it doesn’t diminish the fact that it is remarkably user-friendly, allowing users to begin composing music within seconds of opening it.
Just like GarageBand, the app enables you to use various virtual musical instruments, such as piano, bass, drum machine, and multitrack synth. You can interact with these instruments by tapping on your device’s screen. In addition, the Walk Band offers a wide range of styles and effects that can be applied on top of the original sound, providing users with ample choices to customize their music recordings.
The integrated recorder allows you to lay down multiple tracks to build rich and layered compositions, including vocals and various instruments. If you have a MIDI keyboard, you can connect it to the app for a more tactile and expressive experience. It’s also possible to add various sound plug-ins. The app doubles as a social platform, where you can interact with fellow musicians and listen to their creations. You can also leave encouraging comments or tips.
Tip: if you’re a Mac user, check how to apply an equalizer to your music.
2. BandLab
Price: Free with premium options
BandLab is a cloud-based DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) app that allows users to create and edit music, as well as share their creative processes with others. The application flaunts a robust set of features and an appealing interface that makes composing much easier and more accessible.
Bandlab puts at your disposal a 16-track Mix Editor that records live audio, imports tracks, and adds creative effects, such as beats, loops, and one-shots. There’s a Looper functionality for creating layered arrangements and adding dynamic elements to a composition. The app also allows you to capture several takes, and then select the best recording.
Here’s another cool feature for you: SongStarter. It’s an AI-powered tool that comes in handy when you need a creative boost, especially on those days when inspiration is a bit elusive. Just pick a music genre (and throw in your lyrics if you want), and let the app handle the rest for you. Although we appreciated how intuitive the app is, the abundance of features may be a bit overwhelming for less experienced users.
3. Song Maker – Music Mixer
Price: Free with premium options
Song Maker is a user-friendly app for musicians and enthusiasts, that allows you to create songs effortlessly. You’ll find a few free audio samples to help you learn the ins and outs of the app. If you need more guidance, the app has a tutorials section you may wish to visit.
When it comes to making music from scratch, you can tap into Song Makers’ library of sounds, beats, and loops. Naturally, you can also upload your sounds. Each audio section is editable on its own, which is very convenient. The app also lets you listen to a track while you’re recording your voice.
While Song Maker proves to be a great app, tons of annoying ads plague its interface. You can remove these by opting for a subscription, which also unlocks additional music demo samples.
Tip: learn how to remove sound from a video on Android.
4. Cubasis 3
Price: $29.99
While it has been confined to the Apple environment until quite recently, Cubasis 3 has finally made its way to Android. This is a powerful app that unlocks professional music creation on your Android device. Packed with advanced capabilities, the app caters to users seeking an advanced mobile music production experience, in exchange for a fee. You can, however, get a hands-on taste of Cubasis 3 with a free trial app.
Featuring a 32-bit floating point audio engine and support for 24-bit/48kHz resolution, Cubasis 3 provides users with an unlimited array of audio and MIDI tracks. This allows them to work with high-quality audio and build complex arrangements, depending on their device’s capabilities.
The app offers a selection of great-sounding instruments, such as Micrologue, MicroSonic, or MiniSampler. Micrologue serves as the app’s virtual analog synth, providing a range of presets, and MicroSonic allows you to access a vast library of virtual instrument sounds. The MiniSampler allows you to load and manipulate your own sounds or audio loops. Due to the extensive feature set of Cubasis 3, some users prefer the larger screen space of an Android tablet over a smartphone, for optimal clarity and control over icons and labels.
5. Audio Evolution Mobile
Price: $8.99
Audio Evolution Mobile is another app for advanced users seeking a portable studio companion. The app has your back when it comes to recording, editing, and arranging mic or USB audio and MIDI tracks directly on a mobile device. The app is not free, but it’s available in a trial version so that you can play around with the basic recorder and mixing functionalities before purchasing.
While its range of virtual instruments is rather limited, the app offers valuable features, like a vocal pitch and time editor, a virtual analog synthesizer, real-time effects, and Soundfont (sf2/sfz) support, giving you creative control over your music. This app has flexible editing options for your audio tracks. You can easily rearrange them, trim them for precision, split sections for experimentation, or cut and paste effortlessly. In addition, time-stretching lets you adjust tempos, while the full undo/redo functionality ensures a consistent workflow.
To help you explore all its available features, the app offers guided tips and suggestions, making it approachable to curious beginners who are just getting started. As the app boasts a rather conventional-looking interface, it will look pretty familiar to those who have used DAW software before.
FYI: if you ever need help identifying a certain song, these methods can help solve the mystery.
6. FL Studio Mobile
Price: $14.99
FL Studio Mobile is another robust choice for music creators. While this is a fantastic app, it’s a paid option that does not offer a free trial. But if you’re committed to creating music and an experienced user, purchasing a subscription may be worth it.
This app features a large collection of virtual instruments and effects, allowing you to record, edit, and export multi-track projects in various formats. It also supports MIDI connectivity for external instruments. In FL Studio Mobile, you can tap into a collection of excellent effects, such as distortion, reverb, or phaser, enabling you to enhance your audio mix.
There’s a mixer available, and for those who are new to mixing, the app includes a series of tutorials to make it easier to get started with the process. Even better, FL Studio Mobile takes advantage of a high-quality audio engine so that the app won’t drain your phone’s battery in the blink of an eye.
If you need some audio samples, check out these websites to download royalty-free music for your next project. If you’re looking for music composition software to write sheet music, check out the best Windows web apps that will enable you to write the next musical masterpiece.
Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Alexandra Arici.
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