Have you ever wanted to add volume automation curves (the technical term for adding automatic fade-ins and fade-outs) into your GarageBand tracks? This feature is “hidden” in the Track header area for the instrument. This is a great way to add interest to your Smart Drum patterns. The snare pattern will be more complex in the last part of the phrase, giving the effect of a drum fill. One thing I didn’t realise at first is that during the recording you can shift the instruments in the grid – let’s say, move the hi-hat to the far right – and GarageBand will record the changing rhythm.Ī good way of using this is to start with the snare drum placed in the middle of the grid, hit record and then drag the snare to the right side towards the end of an 8-measure phrase. You can then hit the record button to record the pattern in your project. Drag it to the left side for a more simple rhythm. The Smart Drums lets you build a rhythmic pattern by dragging instruments onto a grid.Įach instrument plays a ready-made pattern and if you place the instrument on the right side of the grid, the pattern becomes more complex. I often use GarageBand’s Smart Drums to create a super-fast drum pattern. Vary the Smart Drums while recording a pattern

Note down ideas for the arrangement such as the instrumentation or form of the songģ.

the type of microphone or audio interface)

Make notes about which external hardware equipment you used when recording each track (ie.

Write out the chord progression for each section of the song.

The only drawback is that you can’t keep the NotePad open while playing an instrument or recording. There’s a blank space for you to use for your notes and you can access them at any time by coming back into the Settings menu. Like the desktop version of GarageBand, the iOS app has an inbuilt notepad that can be used to store compositional notes within the project. Use the Notepad to write chords, lyrics and notes Tap on the GarageBand icon to see the settings for that app and then turn on Keyboard Note Labels.Ģ. You’ll need to go to your overall iPad Settings and scroll down until you can see the GarageBand app in the list on the left.

The option to turn note names on or off is a little hidden. True confession time: I only found out recently, too. Keyboard tip #1: turn on note name labels!ĭid you know that this was possible in the GarageBand app? Did you know about these 9 cool new 'hidden' GarageBand for iPad tricks? Click To Tweet

Garageband old version