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Apple Updates GarageBand With New Instruments and Sounds to Celebrate Chinese Music

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Apple today announced a major update to its GarageBand music creation software for Mac and iOS, adding a wide range of Chinese instruments that are designed to celebrate the "rich history of Chinese music." Today's update also includes "extensive Chinese language localization."

In a press release, Apple says the update adds traditional Chinese instruments like the pipa and erhu, plus Chinese percussion offerings that include drums, wood blocks, cymbals, and gongs. 300 Apple-created Chinese musical loops have also been added to the apps.

chinagaragebandupdate.jpg
"GarageBand is the most popular music creation app in the world and we're excited to introduce these new features that incorporate the rich history of traditional Chinese music," said Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of Product Marketing. "By adding classic Chinese instruments and new Live Loop templates, the new GarageBand app makes it fun and easy to make Chinese-inspired music right on your iPhone, iPad or Mac."
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The new instruments are available on both the iOS and Mac versions of GarageBand, and each instrument includes different playing articulations like rapid picking and note bend for the pipa and trill, grace note, and glissando for the erhu.

Apple-created loops have been created from a wide variety of instruments and styles, including guzheng, dizi, yangqin and Peking Opera, which can be combined with the new instruments for a unique sound. GarageBand for iOS also includes two new Chinese templates for Live Loops and new sharing options for popular Chinese social networks.

All of the new features in today's update are automatically enabled in Greater China and for Mac users outside of Greater China. On iOS devices outside of Greater China, the features can be enabled through the advanced settings menu.

Singaporean musician JJ Lin posted a YouTube video of himself using the new GarageBand app for iOS with Tim Cook, which Tim Cook tweeted.

Here's the incredibly talented @JJ_Lin on the erhu as we jam with the new GarageBand, out today. https://t.co/RHJZuahLHi #shotoniphone - Tim Cook (@tim_cook) May 17, 2016
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Apple has been aiming to express its support for China in recent weeks following hints of regulatory trouble in the country. Apple is reportedly being targeted for being "too deeply established" in China's core industries and recently saw iTunes Movies and iBooks Stores in the country shut down following the Hong Kong iTunes release of the controversial independent movie Ten Years, which had been banned in China.

Apple recently announced a $1 billion investment in Chinese ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing, and this morning, he visited the country to meet with Didi Chuxing president Jean Liu. Cook also met with App Store developers at an Apple Store in Beijing.

GarageBand for iOS can be downloaded from the App Store for $4.99. [Direct Link]

GarageBand for Mac can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $4.99. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Apple Updates GarageBand With New Instruments and Sounds to Celebrate Chinese Music
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/05/16/apple-garageband-china-update/
garirry said:
If they can add Chinese instruments and music to Apple Loops, then they have no excuse not to add music and instruments from other cultures as well.
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Only if those other cultures are located within countries which are large money making markets for Apple. I'm sure they wouldn't be doing this if they weren't having a rocky relationship with the Chinese government.
 
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garirry said:
If they can add Chinese instruments and music to Apple Loops, then they have no excuse not to add music and instruments from other cultures as well.
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GB and Logic libraries are packed with stuff from Balkan, Afrika, Latin, America, Japan, basically everywhere... there was nothing Chinese, though.
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BSben said:
Not sure what you tried to do there, but it comes across to me (my perception and understanding) as a bit racist.
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And it'only the opening salvo.
 
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garirry said:
If they can add Chinese instruments and music to Apple Loops, then they have no excuse not to add music and instruments from other cultures as well.
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Of course they have an excuse. Those other cultures aren't actively threatening their business. Why bother catering to customers if they're not depressing your stock price?

Apple changed the naming scheme of their OS releases to reflect place names in California—as well as moved production of the Mac Pro to the United States—at a time when they were under heavy criticism for not paying enough American taxes. That criticism has abated, so what we have now is Apple possibly renaming OS X entirely (see recent stories on the "macOS" trademark; I feel like it's back to the future) and the Mac Pro is so neglected that it is more likely to be discontinued rather than updated, so one has to wonder what will happen to those American production jobs.

Apple was recently threatened by China to the point that the iBooks and iTunes movies stores were blocked in country. Now we have this GarageBand update that is China-focused, coupled with the major investment in Didi Chuxing. I wonder how this will play out?

Don't get me wrong; I'm a fan of Chinese classical music and speak some Mandarin, so this update looks substantive and I'm looking forward to trying it out. But everything else I mentioned smacks of pure politics and betrays an astonishing focus on appearances over substance, which is consistent with their entire product lineup these days. Welcome to the New Apple®, where fickle fashion and reactionary tactics always trump sound engineering and product strategy.

The emperor has no clothes.
 
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Asarien said:
Apple's gunning for China, hard.
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I really had to laugh hard when I read the article.
This way you know there will be no decent product launches in the next three years.

I have nothing against China at all, but Apple and its marketing machine drove me crazy over the last few days.
Relly, ... come on. You don't believe for a second moves like GarageBand and TC driving an Uber in China will sell more phones ...

Technology and bold ideas would ... and the ability to say "No. Needs to be better."
 
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Doubling down on China for sure...

BTW, there are secret airMotors under Apple Campus 2 that will allow its relocation to Beijing :|
 
Tim Cook will use these instruments to put Chinese leaders in a trance. Then he will control their minds and tell them to change their stance on iTunes and iBooks.
 
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BSben said:
Not sure what you tried to do there, but it comes across to me (my perception and understanding) as a bit racist.
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You may want to take a look at the definition of racism, how is this racist? I Fail to see where this person is showing descrimination or prejudice against chinese people or feels one race is superior to another. Care to point that out?

Ridiculous that some people are trying to turn everything into racism.

The comment was actually against cook so are you saying he was racist against white people? Still no, he was talking about one person not a whole race.

Apple dropped 26% in china, cook is going to do everything he can to get it back and more.
 
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