Published on Mac|Life (http://www.maclife.com)


Trombone Hero
Created 2009-05-14 00:57

HOLIDAY BUYING GUIDE
    • 10 1337 Gifts for H4x0r World Domination
    • 10 Gifts for the Mac Switcher
    • 10 Creative Gifts for Designers

    Sponsored
SEE MORE ARTICLES

FEATURES
  • The Complete iMac History -- Bondi to Aluminum
  • New Apple Products--as Imagined by the Elite Gadget Press
  • Satire: 10 Ideas Steve Pitched to Disney
  • 50 Common Mac Problems Solved
  • From iMac to iPhone: A Video Trip Down Apple Announcement Memory Lane
SEE MORE FEATURES
TOP STORIES
  • iPhone Captures 17% of Smartphone Market
  • New Macs! Redesigned White MacBook, LED iMacs, Mac mini Refresh, and a Magic Mouse
  • 69 Awesomely Free Snow Leopard Compatible Apps
  • Fifth-Generation iPod nano
  • Screencast Video: Create 3D Photo Effects in Final Cut Pro
SEE MORE TOP STORIES
iPhone
Trombone Hero
Posted 05/14/2009 at 3:57:00am | by Ray Aguilera
  • commentComments
  • printPrint
  • emailEmail
  • Delicious
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Slashdot
  • MacBlips


We’re guessing Slash never thought Sweet Child O’ Mine would look this rad.

We’re big fans of Smule’s nerd-tastic Ocarina app, which allows us to run around the office playing Legend of Zelda tunes, and then laughing about what big dorks we are. Smule’s latest musical app, Leaf Trombone: World Stage is half musical instrument and half game. If you just want to jam, as it were, Leaf Trombone offers a free play mode where you can work out your Dizzy Gillespe by either blowing into the iPhone’s mic, or tapping & dragging the screen to play notes. Plus and Minus keys let you jump up or down an octave, and adjustable sensitivity helps new players get used to the app’s controls.

You can also pick user-submitted tunes to play, Guitar Hero-style, as leaves fall to indicate where and when to hit the right notes. There’s even an online composer at the Smule website, where you can build your own tracks. We tested the app learning to play everything from the theme to The Office, to the main riff from Black Sabbath’s Iron Man.

Once you’ve worked on your leaf chops, it’s time to take your act on the road, via Leaf Trombone’s World Stage mode. You can either judge other users’ performances, or--if you’re brave--rock your favorite Leaf Trombone tune, and submit it for others to rate. It costs you three Leaf Tokens to unleash your musical genius on others, which you can earn by scoring others’ performances.

We had problems hearing audio a few times while judging, but what’s worse is that there’s no way to tell what song you’ll get stuck listening to. We spent half an hour racking up Leaf Tokens in order to be able to perform awesome tunes like 99 Luftballoons, Sweet Child O’ Mine, and the Mario Brothers theme on the World Stage, but we had to sit through several terrible renditions of Twinke, Twinkle, Little Star, and the supremely boring Auld Lang Syne in order to do it. It would be nice if there was some way to block certain songs, or only judge certain genres. 

THE BOTTOM LINE

Flexible play options make Leaf Trombone fun, and a free version--with only one song and no option to judge or be judged--lets you get a taste of the game before you spend the big buck for the full version.
 

Leaf Trombone: World Stage
COMPANY: Smule
CONTACT: www.smule.com
PRICE: 99 cents
REQUIREMENTS: iPhone or iPod touch with 2.1 software update


Three modes offer different playing options. Online Composer allows you to recreate your favorite songs.Free version lets you try before you buy.
Judging can be tedious.

4/5
COMMENTS: 0
TAGS:  App Store, Music, app store reviews, Smule
  • commentComments
  • printPrint
  • emailEmail
  • Delicious
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Slashdot
  • MacBlips
COMMENTS
  • Login or register to post comments

Source URL: http://www.maclife.com/article/iphone/trombone_hero

Links:
[1] http://www.maclife.com/user/raguilera
[2] http://www.maclife.com/article/iphone/trombone_hero
[3] http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=309080428&mt=8
[4] http://www.smule.com/