I usually don't review entertainment apps on this website, but I'll make an exception for Smule's newest app Leaf Trombone World Stage. Last year, Smule came up with the ingenious idea of Ocarina, an app that turns your iPhone into a flute that works when you blow into the bottom of the iPhone. Leaf Trombone is this year's follow up. Like Ocarina, you can use Leaf Trombone as a musical instrument. You can still blow if you want, but you don't have to; you can instead just tap your fingers to play the instrument. You can either free play the instrument, or you can pick a song and the app will show you which notes you need to play (in the form of leaves that fly in from the left). And on the Smule website, you can even compose a new song that you or others can play. The instrument function alone is a lot of fun and an improvement on the Ocarina app.
But what really makes this app shine are the last two words in its name: World Stage. After you have practiced a song and you are ready to show off what you can do, you can choose to record your song and then immediately listen to your song while it is being judged by three judges. In the spirit of American Idol, the judges can change their emoticon facial expressions, positive or negative, during your performance, can shout out any short words of encouragement (or despair), and can rate you on a 1 to 10 scale when you are done. Both you and your judges are essentially anonymous, except that you can see a username and where they are located on the globe and they can see the same for you. Being a judge is almost as much fun as being judged, plus you get a point every time you judge which you will need to be able to perform on the world stage, which costs three points.
There is a much more to say about the features of this app, and for that I will simply point you to the excellent and comprehensive review by iLounge; I agree with everything that they say. And we know that more features are coming when the iPhone software is updated to 3.0. During Apple's iPhone 3.0 announcement, the guys from Smule showed off a mode in which two Leaf Trombone users in the same room can play a duet. Here is a video:
This app would be entertaining enough without the world stage aspect, but adding the ability to judge and be judged is pure fun. I know a ton of lawyers who play a musical instrument at least a little bit, and if you have any talent at all -- and from what I have seen as a judge, it doesn't take much! -- I think you will find Leaf Trombone World Stage to be easily worth the $0.99 cover charge.
Click here to download Leaf Trombone World Stage ($0.99): 
