The details on the Magic Flute are kind of limited. It looks like this was released in 2007 and intended for musicians with disabilities. As the video shows, it can add an extra layer of control for anyone.

Video Description:

The iRig MIDI interface connects the Magic Flute to an iPad to control not only the included SampleTank FREE but also a world of MIDI-compatible apps such as GarageBand.

It is possible to assign breathcontoll in Sample tank but it is very limited and you need to use 2 extra apps to get the job done: MidiBridge and freewi. Maybe we get better control in the future , time will tell. So far I only could control the modulation wheel, any better results? let us know.

http://www.mybreathmymusic.com

NotesFlash offers a way to practice reading sheet music on your phone, with Flashcards and an on-screen keyboard.

iTunes Description:

This app is for budding musicians still trying to fully memorize and internalize all the different notes, keys, clefs, sharps, and flats!

The goal is for you to eventually be able to see a note in ANY key and INSTANTLY play that note.

You determine the following:
• Treble clef, Bass clef, or Both
• Number of Ledger Lines to add
• The Key Signatures that you want to work on
... and then start practising!

Flashcards may seem a little childish, but it really is a good way to learn. And it's free!

Buy NotesFlash for iPhone on iTunes: Free

4LittleFonzies has released a dedicated MIDI control surface for the Arturia Mini-V Virtual Instrument.

This is a convenient way to control the Mini Moog VST without having to make a custom one in something like TouchOSC.

iTunes Decription:

The Mini-V Controller is the latest 4LittleFonzies iPad controller. It controls the Arturia Mini-V virtual instrument like you're turning the knobs on real hardware. No fiddling on the screen with your mouse; just control the Mini V while your performing on the keyboard.

It uses the wireless MIDI possibilities of the IOS CoreAudio framework. On the VST side, the wireless MIDI is enabled with: OSX -> Build-in Wireless MIDI Windows -> rptMIDI (http://www.tobias-erichsen.de/rtpMIDI.html)

Buy Mini V Controller on iTunes: $3.99

That's a nice deal for a dedicated controller app, at one-tenth the price of the competition. Here is an overview from the developer.

Yamaha continues to release subpar apps, but this one is particularly sad. Once again they miss an excellent opportunity.

Song Beats is a finger drumming app, and perhaps the best for learning the finger independence necessary to finger drum. You get little visual indicators to let you know which note is coming up next, and they light up when you should tap the on-screen drum pads. This would be an amazing app and easy to recommend, but Yamaha insists on crippling the app to sell you songs for $3 a pop! Due to licensing issues, you don't even have that as an option if you're outside of the US.

Since 60% of the people coming to this site are outside of the US, I've spent the morning hacking at the internals of this thing trying to find a way to make it useful. The files it uses are just MIDI, but they are a proprietary version of the MIDI format. No matter what I try I can't get anything else to work.

There are seriously thousands of free MIDI files for many popular songs, so it would have been nice if you could just plug one of those in. Instead you need to have a Yamaha MIDI file, which are about $8 each on Yamaha's site. The In-App Store has only a handful at the $3 price.

I'm done with this. If anyone else wants to pick up the torch, there is The Unofficial YAMAHA Keyboard Resource Site. It has lots of utilities people use to fight with Yamaha's files just to get them working between different Yamaha keyboards. I couldn't get any of them to work, and some of the files actually crashed the app.

Buy Song Beats for iPhone on iTunes: Free

DJ Galactic has a new track called Beach, which is made entirely in DM1. That is kind of impressive. A whole song in 1 drum app!

Via MATRIXSYNTH

Buy DM1 on iTunes: $7.99