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The new Apple Voice Memos features are a game-changer for musicians.
- The launch of iOS 18 and the iPhone 16 comes with long-awaited new features for the Voice Memos app.
- You can now record and layer multiple tracks in one voice memo, such as recording your vocals over top of a guitar track.
- There is also now transcription, ideal for quickly viewing and editing your song lyrics as you come up with ideas.
As a music producer, I frequently receive demos from songwriters that they’ve recorded using the Voice Memos app on their iPhone. It’s the best way to quickly get an idea down, but the app has been severely lacking in functionality, until now. With the release of iOS 18, and the announcement of a new lineup of iPhones, Apple has unveiled some new features for the Voice Memos app that are sure to make songwriters and music producers happy.
You can now record and layer two tracks in one voice memo. This is super helpful for singer-songwriters who want to record themselves playing an instrument and singing. Here’s how you can layer tracks using Voice Memos:
- First, record your instrumental track such as your guitar or piano chords.
- Next, tap the “+” symbol on your voice memo, and start recording onto track 2. This allows you to sing overtop of your instrumental recording or add an instrumental melody to your chords.
If you are struggling to play the instrumental at the same time as singing the vocal, this new feature inside Voice Memos will save you, without needing to open up your DAW.
As a music producer, I don’t often sing in my tracks, but I do enjoy coming up with musical ideas while playing the piano. Oftentimes, I will start by playing a few chords, and then jam on top of those chords until I come up with a melody that I like. With this update to the Voice Memos app, I easily layer those ideas into a recording using just my iPhone. That said, as of 2024, you can only record two tracks at a time. I would love to see the option to record a few more tracks in the future, so you could build out a proper song idea.
Once you have recorded the two tracks, there is a slider that lets you mix between the two. For example, you can turn down the instrumental track and increase the vocal track to ensure you can make out every lyric.
Another new feature coming to the Voice Memos app is transcription. I’ve worked with many songwriters who come up with lyrics while listening to an instrumental track on loop. You can now record yourself singing a few different lyrics, and then quickly view everything that you sang inside of the Voice Memos app. Here’s how you can view the transcription of your voice memo:
- Tap the three dots that appear next to the name of your recording in the Voice Memos app.
- Tap “View Transcript”
- Alternatively, you can tap “Edit Recording”, and then tap the speech bubble that appears in the bottom left corner of the edit screen.
If you like the lyrics up to a certain point, but want to re-record the rest, you can also do that. Simply tap on the part of the transcription you want to change, and then tap the red “Replace” button on the bottom of the screen. This will let you keep everything in the recording up to the part that you replace.
How do you feel about these new Apple Voice Memos features? Would you ever use the Voice Memos app to quickly get an idea down, or are you sticking to your DAW?