Composer's Sketchpad
A modern, mobile-centric take on music sequenc-
ing? An intuitive & interactive diary for comp-
osition? A melodic, painterly canvas for creat-
ive fiddling? A stage for microtonal & rhythmi-
c experimentation? Amazingly: all of the above!
A Huge, Fluid Canvas
Composer's Sketchpad is a sequencer that combines musical staff paper with an artist's sketchbook. To make music, just draw notes anywhere on the canvas with your finger, then move to a new spot or zoom out using familiar pan and pinch gestures. There's hardly any friction between your ideas and their execution!
Easy Controls
Draw or erase notes with your finger. Play back your ideas using handy buttons on the bottom of the screen. Switch instruments, meter, and tempo with the flick of a finger. Use the tools panel to quickly snap and shift your notes around. Undo or redo on a whim. Everything you need to quickly iterate on your ideas is always by your fingertips.
Flexible Notes
Don't feel constrained by antiquated notions of time and pitch: start your notes at any point and bend them to any frequency! Notating curvy guitar solos and complex polyrhythms becomes as easy as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". (But you can also snap to the grid if you wish.) If you happen to have an Apple Pencil lying around, good news: you can use it, too!
Over 100 Instruments
Choose from a variety of instruments across many different genres, including keyboards, guitars, orchestral instruments, and many more. You can also use more than 50 different percussion instruments.
Multiple Documents and Conversion Options
Your compositions are saved automatically, and there's no limit to the number of pieces you can save. Once you're done, export your works to MIDI, AAC, or JSON for easy editing and sharing.
Recent Updates
AAC Export
Export your compositions to AAC for easy playback.
ZIP Archiving
Batch-export your compositions to ZIP for quick backups.
Shift Notes Mode
Rapidly shift notes en-masse using this new tool.
One Touch Mode
If you prefer, you can now draw with a single finger.
Winner of the Children's Tech Review Editor's Choice Award! This award is given to 'no fail' products, worthy of their cost, and able to keep children engaged for days at a time."
Composer's Sketchpad is made by Alexei Baboulevitch — a.k.a. Archagon — a software-type fellow currently living in California. You can check out my other projects on my work-in-progress homepage, or reach me at support@composerssketchpad.com.