The coolest music tech available today for casual musicians

The best dance music today lives and dies by its tech. This is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, anyone can begin to make music, with the technology available and easy to learn online. On the other hand, some of the best technology is incredibly expensive. This can be disheartening to the casual musician, who wants to make music as a hobby. GarageBand may come free on a Macbook, but it has significant limits especially when making dance music.

However, the more advanced technology becomes, the more accessible it is. Today, there are startups making incredible products that won’t cost you your rent money.

If you’re looking for some inspiration for making music, try finding out a bit more about who you are and where you came from. This DNA test kit comparison shows which are the best options for learning about your genealogy. The best music is personal, and the better you know your heritage, the more you can incorporate it into your creations.

Looking for some cool music tech? Here are some great options.

 

ROLI

For the past few years, ROLI has been creating some of the most incredible music tech for casual musicians. Their modular product range has provided people with everything they need to intuitively create soundscapes of their own. It works with gestures, and getting to know the tech is a very cool process in itself.

The Seaboard is a versatile keyboard that can be used to make sounds of all kinds. It is a wonderful innovation all on its own, but becomes even more powerful when incorporated with other ROLI “instruments”. It is modular, you see, which means you can choose which tools will suit you most and use them together seamlessly.

Their latest product, LUMI, is launching on Kickstarter. It is, essentially, a keyboard that lights up to help beginner players learn to make music in no time.

 

The Oddball Drum Machine

Oddball is a “drum machine crammed into a ball”. It is truly one of the coolest tech instruments I have ever come across. It fits easily into your hand and can be used no matter how little space you have.

It is the sort of thing that has to be seen to be believed. Throw it against the wall for some nice, rhythmic booms. Rub it, press it, slap it, flick it, do anything to it, and you’ll learn how to get the most out of your smallest, coolest instrument.

It connects to an app on your phone or computer that you can use to edit your beats, loop, perfect, and incorporate into whatever app you are using to create your songs. Alternatively, simply use it for the fun of it, sharing your loops with friends and challenging them to do better.

The Oddball isn’t the most useful piece of technology around, but it is a lot of fun and very cheap at just £89 or $110.

Music tech doesn’t have to be expensive. Everyone should be able to make great dance music, and tech advances are making that so much easier.