The Ether Surface (or Ether Pad) phone app was developed in 2014 by Paul Batchelor, a composer and computer musician from Stanford University working at the CCRMA (Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics). Batchelor describes the application in its “About” page as, “… a performance surface for the Android device….”It uses the software programs Csound 6 and Csound SDK

Diving into the function and specifics of Ether Surface, one can see that that the application has plenty of musical potential. Musicians and composers can use the Android phone as a musical instrument by pressing/sliding the fingers across a series of lines and spaces, where each space denotes a tone. It works in both ascending and descending motion. Bearing these points in mind Ether Surface has some similarities to a theremin because the performer can control the dynamic intensity of pitches by moving the fingers up and down.
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Ether Surface contains a plethora of practicable features. The "Octave" function allows users to choose up to a two-octave range in both ascending order. The app also features plenty types of scales to choose from. The complete list is shown below:

-Default
-Major
-Minor
-Pentatonic
-Flamenco (possibly a Phrygian modal scale, but the app does not specify)
- Blues
-Chromatic (all twelve pitches in half-steps)
-Whole-Tone
-Octatonic
-Bohlen-Pierce

Some of the scales listed above, like the "Major," "Minor" and "Whole-Tone," are self-explanatory for musicians and composers who had training in music theory. Other scales in this list, like the "Bohlen-Pierce," present intriguing and relatively new theoretical material. In basic terms, the "Bohlen-Pierce" scale is a thirteen-step microtonal scale that avoids traditional Western chromaticism. It was developed from the 1970s to 1980s by Heinz Bohlen and John Pierce. Information about the "Bohlen-Pierce" scale requires further investigation, but I recently found a website from Heinz Bohlen with more details: www.huygens-fokker.org/bpsite/. 
 
The "Key" function enables users to choose from twelve chromatic keys (shown in ascending order). 
"Size" expands or shrinks the total number of tones from four to fourteen. With regard to the "Sound" feature, the app features three effects: "Ether Pad," "Distorted Dreams" and "Xanpalamin." Depending on the chosen sound, loud dynamics increase the harshness of the tone quality.

Ether Surface features touch-sensitive, but easy to use, controls. It functions as both a monophonic and polyphonic instrument because it allows the use of multiple fingers to play chords and slide notes. Perhaps most important, the app consists of very responsive dynamics control. This, coupled with the fact that the app is free, makes Ether Surface a great tool for enhancing creative possibilities for composers

Concerning the gaps and problems with the app, some of these involve practical features that were excluded for some unexplained reason. Ether Surface does not have a “Load/Save” feature to manage music tracks. Similarly, users cannot record the music directly from the app (I found myself having to use an external recording app to complete this task.). One of the more baffling or annoying aspects of Ether Surface involves the sounds having a built-in echo that cannot be turned off in any way. Some of the scales are also verbally misleading ("Default" is actually a combination of hexatonic and pentatonic scales at the full range, while "Flamenco" could possibly refer to the Phrygian modal scale.)

Speaking of scales, there are hidden playable tones that do not appear on the screen. Other issues that I encountered when using Ether Surface involve what happens when minimizing or closing the app. Doing so causes an unintentional clipping or stuttering effect. Even though the app contains many positive musical elements, it is meant more as a musical toy than as a professional instrument: one that simultaneously drains cellphone batteries.

All in all, Ether Surface is a good product this is easily accessible. While it does have its limitations, they are not too egregious to the point where they render the program useless. Some of these issues amount to minor, odd occurrences. In some cases, they can easily be solved with the use of other music apps in conjunction with this one.
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As a composer, I find many opportunities to both expand my musical palate and uncover more about current developments in music technology. I have noticed the myriad music composition and theory apps for cellphones. Suffice it to say, some of these programs are better than others.

Take the DoecMatrix app, for instance. Developed by Dell Angiello Rivas Rivera, this free program functions as a tool designed to educate people (presumably, college students) about twelve-tone serialism. It is a pre-compositional matrix generator for those wanting to write twelve-tone music. 

DodecMatrix uses a simple interface, where users can arrange all twelve chromatic pitches (shown at the bottom of the screen) in any way to generate a twelve-tone grid. The matrix is presented in full after the twelve pitches are filled in the blank squares at the top of the screen. Matrices follow the standard twelve-tone practice by showing all of the row possibilities and types (Prime, Inversion, Retrograde and Retrograde Inversion).

Among the positive aspects of the DodecMatrix app (besides the fact that it is free), user can save and load their pre-composed matrices for future use. The app also comes equipped with three built-in matrices from pre-existing twelve-tone pieces by Ernst Krenek ("Dancing Toys, Op. 83 No. 1") and Anton Webern ("Wie bin ich froh!" and "Variations for piano, Op. 27, No. 2"). Despite these points, DodecMatrix nonetheless contains some noticeable problems.

The first problem that one will encounter when using DodecMatrix stems from the absence of tutorials in this program. Because the interface appears “as is” users must figure out how to use the app on their own. This assumes that composers or students who use it have at least a basic comprehension of twelve-tone matrix construction. The app also does not explain why the generated matrices are correct. It does not show the manual process for creating rows in the matrix.

The representation of pitches in DodecMatrix also presents some confusion. They are presented chromatically at the outset, but there is no clear distinction between natural and and sharp/flat pitches (For example, “C-sharp” appears to the right of “C” simply as “C.”) Because of this error, the app does not clearly stress enharmonic equivalence (eg., “C-sharp and D-flat are the same.”).

Each completed grid is represented in pitches. Some people, however, may wonder why DodecMatrix ignores the more common practice of using numerical pitch classes to generate matrices. In a similar manner, the app does not use  supplementary tools (like a “pitch class clock” or marker/pen) to help people understand the compositional value and properties of a specific twelve-tone row: discreet trichord or tetrachords, symmetry, hexachordal combinatoriality, etc. The app additionally has a slightly confusing "Last Tone" feature which determines the intervalic positioning of the row based on the last pitch used.

Taking all of these points into consideration, is DodecMatrix worth using for compositional or educational purposes? Well, yes... and no. On the one hand, the app provides a (very) basic understanding of how twelve-tone serial composition works. On the other hand, it automatically generates matrices and rows without providing the steps needed to create them by hand. The convoluted nature of the pitch setup and slightly outdated approach to twelve-tone row creation also hamper the usefulness of DodecMatrix. Perhaps, in the near future, a newer version will be released with more supplementary materials, like the ones that previously described

 
  DodecMatrix is avaible for free on the Google Play Store (Android).