MagicFiddle
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Smule's Dr. Ge Wang on what's next for the company and the App Store
Smule is one of the oldest names on the App Store. Ocarina was one of the App Store's first big successes, and they've continued to make music and social-based apps like their most recent app, Magic Fiddle for the iPad. Dr. Ge Wang is not only the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of the company, but he's also an assistant professor at Stanford. We caught him right after his CES keynote last week and asked him a few questions about what Smule's been up to lately and what they're working on next. Magic Fiddle has done very well, Wang told us, after releasing last year. "The very next day, it was actually our fastest app to reach the number one paid iPad app. We saw off the charts engagement with the app. So it's been really positive." Lots of users they've heard from are not necessarily violinists or magicians, just people interested in using their iPads to make music. Read on to hear more from Dr. Wang about why Smule's apps have gotten more complicated over time, and what the next app from Smule will be like.
Smule introduces Magic Fiddle for iPad: Video
It's not perfect, but this video of the St. Lawrence String Quartet performing Pachelbel's Canon in D major is yet another example of how the iPad is revolutionizing music. Created by the innovative Ge Wang of Smule, the folks who have given us Ocarina, I Am T-Pain, Glee Karaoke, and Magic Piano, the US$2.99 Magic Fiddle turns your iPad into a lovely string instrument. No skill is required, and you can play songs that are included in the SongBook by following streams of colored light. If you really want to learn how to play, the StoryBook takes you through eight chapters of different techniques and instructions -- of course, you'll have to practice to master the Magic Fiddle. Enjoy watching the video, and if you and your friends happen to get good enough to do Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor on iPads, TUAW wants your video first -- just sayin'.
