What is GarageBand?
GarageBand is a free music creation app that lets you play, record, edit and share music. Made by Apple, you can use it on your iPhone, iPad or Mac (but we’ll be focusing on the iOS version on iPad). You don’t need to be a musician either, with clever virtual instruments, sounds, loops and samples available to play with.
What is GarageBand used for?
GarageBand lets you play and make music however you want. Play smart instruments like keyboards, guitars and bass, then layer your melodies with beats from drum kits and sound packs. You can edit and adjust the various layers using the super-simple interface, and it’s a great way to create music and play around with different sounds without needing to shell out on instruments and sound tech.
How to use GarageBand
We’d say there’s three main ways to use GarageBand on your iPad:
- Choose an in-app GarageBand instrument from the following: guitar, bass, strings, keyboard, world, or sound library.
- Connect a real-world instrument: select amp or external to play and record your instruments into GarageBand
- Use the audio recorder to record your voice (or any sound for that matter)
But, of course, you can put all three together – record yourself singing, add your own guitar and then use GarageBand’s drums and bass to pull everything together. It’s designed to be your own little recording studio.
How to make a song on GarageBand
To get started, it really depends on what you want to create – but for real beginners let’s create a new project for the first time:
- Select the + button (it should be in the top right of your screen)
- Scroll through the instruments and select whatever you want
- You’ll notice there are options beneath each instrument, so you can choose how you play. For first timers, we’d suggest going for Drums – Beat Sequencer.
Beat Sequencer looks like this – with coloured cubes that you can select for various drum and cymbal sounds. It’s great fun to play around with, and really easy to pull something together that sounds decent. Once you like what you’ve made, time to record!
Recording is as easy as pressing the red record circle. The app will count you in, and then you can record for as long, or as short, as you like.
Ready to add more? On the left you’ll see a small icon for the instrument you’re playing, beside the audio you’ve just recorded.
- Select the + button again, and you’ll jump back to the instrument selector menu. (Don’t worry, you haven’t lost anything.)
- Select the instrument you want to play with.
- You’ll jump back to the playing screen, with your recorded audio from the previous instrument at the top.
From here, the options are limitless. Add dozens of instruments, connect a mic to record and add your voice, and really get into the technical side (if you like) to refine your sound.
How to share a song from GarageBand
Got your song ready to go? Let’s share it. There are different options – you can share your GarageBand recording as an audio file or share your project to continue editing it on a different device (or to let a friend work with it too).
But how do you share a song? Let’s break it down:
- From the editing screen, select the top left icon (it looks like a folded page)
- Your project will automatically save, and appear in your recent projects
- In the top right choose Select
- Pick the project, then choose Share on the bottom left
- Select whichever option suits you
- If you choose to share the file as a song, you’ll be able to select the audio quality, add artist info and even choose an album cover. Then choose Share.
- You’ll then select how you want to share it (airdrop, via message, in iCloud etc.) Then you’re done!
How to make a ringtone in GarageBand
You can turn any of your GarageBand projects into a ringtone. Select your project and choose Share, then select Ringtone. Easy as that. You can build an entire collection of custom ringtones, and finally get rid of that generic alarm sound that haunts your dreams. Just us?
And that’s just the basics! There’s so much more to explore about this great app (as well as a thousand other things when you have a new tablet), but we think GarageBand really comes into its own when you have the screen space on your iPad.
