2011 has seen sweeping changes in technology and music, alongside the loss of titans Max Mathews and Tsutomu Katoh, two pioneers of our world. Some of these stories passed quietly; some with great fanfare. Here, we reveal those stories that attracted the greatest number of Internet eyeballs, a metric not necessarily of importance but certainly of what reached the widest audience on this site. And there are definite trends: a hunger for mobile, both the explosive growth of iOS and tablets, but also a resurgent interest in MIDI (not to give away the end) and a desire by owners of devices powered by Apple’s rival Android to find tools themselves. Traditional tools, too, make a strong showing – people still care about DAWs, about production. And affordable, do-everything tools fare well.
Hidden from this list are many other stories significant to me, though remembering just which occurred between January the first of last year and now strains my brain. (CDM is external memory.) If you recall a story that was significant to you on this site – or even one we missed – let us know.
In the meantime, here’s what the eyes of the Internet watched – ranked by page views in our analytics tool:
30.
The Handheld Studio Evolves: Beatmaker 2 Developers Explain their iPhone Workflow
29.
Touchable Music: At Last, Lemur’s Interactive Touch Controls Make it to iPad (Videos)
28.
Music Patchwork: Ableton Makes Max for Live Cheaper, Showcases Creations by Henke, Hawtin, More
27.
Spectral Layers Audio Editor Focuses on Editing Sound Visually, a la Photoshop
26.
Mixing and Audio Interface, in the $450 MOTU Audio Express
25.
Euclidean Rhythms in Ableton MIDI Clips for Polyrhythmic Good Times; Microtonal Operator
24.
Tsutomu Katoh, Korg Founder and Chairman, Has Passed Away
23.
Rumors Mounting for Imminent Logic Pro X, a la Final Cut Pro X; No-Brainer Speculation
Yup, those no-brainer predictions were … no-brainer predictions. Spoiler alert: Logic 9 and Updated MainStage on App Store, at Cut-Rate Prices
22.
Mobile Korg Fun: Monotribe Adds Patterns and Sync, Wavedrum Mini is On-the-go Drum; Impressions
21.
FL Studio Mobile, Now Available on iPhone, iPad; Sampling, Android Support to Come
20.
Modeling Analog in a Digital Age: A Conversation with Universal Audio’s Chief Scientist; Gallery
19.
Playing the City: An Eindhoven Pianola Makes Urban Landscape into Music
18.
Expanding Touch and MIDI, Mobile iOS Control Gets More Mature in New and Updated Apps; Round-Up
17.
Akai Turns an iPad Into a Full-Sized Music Keyboard: Akai SynthStation49
16.
FL Studio “Fruity Loops” 10 Adds 64-bit Savvy, Smarter Editing, New Pitch, Time, and Harmony Add-ons
15.
Apple Gets Into iPad Music with $5 GarageBand
14.
Cubase 6: Amidst Familiar Leapfrog Features, A New Approach to Note-by-note Expression Editing
13.
KORG monotron DUO, monotron DELAY Bring Fun Back, via Mono/Poly, MS Circuits and Pocket Size
12.
Tempest, Roger Linn + Dave Smith Analog Drum Machine, is Official
11.
Virtual DJ Controllers: New Hardware for Serato, Traktor from Pioneer, Numark
10.
Useful Music Tools for Your Android Phone, and a New Sketchpad Joins Groovebox
9.
Making Music with Free and Open Source Software: Top Picks from Red Hat, Dave Phillips
8.
Learn Mastering Technique in Free Videos: Limiting, M/S, Dubstep Bass
7.
Reason 6 Combines Record Features, Adds Effects; New Bundles and First Props Hardware Interface
6.
First Look at Roland Jupiter-80, Images, and Reflections on the Jupiter Legacy
5.
Native Instruments’ Razor Synth: Dubstep to Ambience, Free Tutorial and Loops
4.
Android Adds USB Host + Audio, Open Hardware ADK with Arduino; Good News for Mobile Music
3.
A Flute Made on a 3D Printer, and the Possibilities to Come
2.
A Few Good TouchOSC Layouts, from Waldorf to Traktor to Ableton, and a Brief Rant
1.
How to Use MIDI to Make an iPad More Musically Connected, Productive: Video, Resources