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Garageband on iPad

Gomff said:
No offence meant, but this is no good and is no more use than GB if there's no means of editing notes.

I suspect it's going to take someone like propellerhead to produce something that meets the requirements of more demanding users. I'm not even talking about professional musicians so much as folks who just like making tunes on their macs / PC's for kicks.

Again, no offence but smart instruments is utterly pointless for users with a moderate sense of musicianship.....They're reminiscent of the auto accompaniment yamaha and casio keyboards of the 80's and will sound similarly dated in a few years time. I'm looking for an app that allows me to program a rhythm or baseline if it pops in to my head whilst out and about. or that let's me record a keyboard riff and then edit out the kinks afterwards.
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well, as musician of 20+ years who records regularly and plays live regularly i find it to be awesome for 5 bucks. and i don't see how you can't do what you are talking about on GB or Beatmaker 2 or any other beat based app. i mean just save it to Garageband on your laptop or Mac at home and then edit notes, if you just want to make song sketches.

and as far as this goes...

"Cool. But I really don't want to turn my iPad into a DAW. I have a DAW, and it's is about 1000 times as powerful as my iPad, with 24 bit 196khz sampling ability, professional-grade studio monitors and pre-amps hooked up to it, etc. A DAW on an iPad is kind of moronic, in my humble opinion, considering that to do anything professional one would need, at a minimum: several mics, pre-amps, mixer, much higher bitrates, higher quality A/D converters, etc. And then of course the iPad is not powerful enough to handle more than a handful of simple effects processors. Many of these things are cost prohibitive for a general purpose computing device. Not to mention that they would destroy the portability when you need to haul them around -- so why not just bring your laptop at that point?"

if i can turn my iPad 2 into a mobile DAW i will, and i have a studio at home too. i have nothing more to say to that other than i like options, and i have options and it's great for five bucks. i don't feel the need to argue or insult. i'll just put my GB iPad 2 songs on my next album and be happy.

peace to you all. i hope you find whatever magical thing you are looking for.
 
pj13 said:
well, as musician of 20+ years who records regularly and plays live regularly i find it to be awesome for 5 bucks. and i don't see how you can't do what you are talking about on GB or Beatmaker 2 or any other beat based app. i mean just save it to Garageband on your laptop or Mac at home and then edit notes, if you just want to make song sketches.
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You seem to be prioritising price over functionality. The very nature of the iPad's touch screen inherently limits what you can play on a pseudo keyboard GUI. Since this is the case, surely it makes sense to provide an alternate means of creating melodies, but no.....let's not let common sense get in the way of eye catching interfaces that look good at Apple presentations but which fail to deliver once it's too late and the customer has bought the app.

I didn't buy GB because it was cheap. I have a strong feeling it won't be long before something does come along that's a bit more sophisticated and I don't mind paying a bit more for it.
 
Gomff said:
You seem to be prioritising price over functionality. The very nature of the iPad's touch screen inherently limits what you can play on a pseudo keyboard GUI. Since this is the case, surely it makes sense to provide an alternate means of creating melodies, but no.....let's not let common sense get in the way of eye catching interfaces that look good at Apple presentations but which fail to deliver once it's too late and the customer has bought the app.

I didn't buy GB because it was cheap. I have a strong feeling it won't be long before something does come along that's a bit more sophisticated and I don't mind paying a bit more for it.
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I don't mind paying more either. The original poster asked if GB was any good and it is for a lot of things. I have made two full songs with it. I payed like 20 bucks for the Korg iMS-20 and it is awesome and with the Alesis I/O Dock I can fully integrate in into my home studio, but it is only one instrument, just one, a really good one, but just one. GB has lots of instruments and it can do basic recording. It is a good value. It may or may not do everything eveyone wants, but to answer the original question, yes it is good for what it is. And if you need more control us the Camera Connection Kit and the M-Audio UNO to control the keyboards. If you don't like it cool, but I do and think many folks will.
 
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Gomff said:
You seem to be prioritising price over functionality. The very nature of the iPad's touch screen inherently limits what you can play on a pseudo keyboard GUI. Since this is the case, surely it makes sense to provide an alternate means of creating melodies, but no.....let's not let common sense get in the way of eye catching interfaces that look good at Apple presentations but which fail to deliver once it's too late and the customer has bought the app.
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Like the other posters have stated, GarageBand for iPad is awesome for this musician and many more of us, and I have just about every serious iOS music app there is so I'd like to think that I know what I'm talking about. :)

For portraying yourself as a bit of a hotshot to whom GarageBand on iPad leaves disappointed, are you not aware that with Core MIDI you can connect a USB keyboard to your iPad, or even play it wirelessly through your computer? This works with GarageBand and many more existing apps. And if you like the idea of alternate style keyboard interfaces, try SynthX or BeBot, Thumbjam, or CrystalSynth.

There are lots of apps that have a piano roll editor, and some that will export MIDI files from your efforts. Try Music Studio, iSequence, Nanoloop (soon to be Universal) or the aforementioned mentioned Beatmaker (again, soon to be Universal).
 
gatearray said:
For portraying yourself as a bit of a hotshot to whom GarageBand on iPad leaves disappointed, are you not aware that with Core MIDI you can connect a USB keyboard to your iPad, or even play it wirelessly through your computer? This works with GarageBand and many more existing apps. And if you like the idea of alternate style keyboard interfaces, try SynthX or BeBot, Thumbjam, or CrystalSynth.
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I'm no "hotshot", just a casual composer of dance tunes and beats just for laughs and to mix in at the occasional party I'm asked to spin some tunes at....no higher aspirations than to just make music for kicks.

As far as using midi keyboards is concerned....I have logic and a keyboard at home for playing if I want it.....the point is that when out and about it's not practical to bring a big keyboard along. These are the times when a piano roll and editing facilities come in handy.

Thanks for the tips on the other apps, I'll check them out.
 
Gomff said:
I'm no "hotshot", just a casual composer of dance tunes and beats just for laughs and to mix in at the occasional party I'm asked to spin some tunes at....no higher aspirations than to just make music for kicks.

As far as using midi keyboards is concerned....I have logic and a keyboard at home for playing if I want it.....the point is that when out and about it's not practical to bring a big keyboard along. These are the times when a piano roll and editing facilities come in handy.

Thanks for the tips on the other apps, I'll check them out.
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This is sort of my point. If I wanted to hook it up to a mic, pre-amp, USB keyboard, midi sequencer and a monitors to turn it into a DAW I might as well just bring my laptop. The point of the iPad is its ultraportability. It could be highly useful as a musical idea-pad. The GB app is a good first start. There are just a few major flaws that should be fixed before it can truly function as a musical sketchpad.

Right now its like a note-taking app that is missing some vowels, punctuation marks, and paragraph breaks and the ability to indent. Yea, you can make it work for some things, but it's not really a serious tool yet, because it is really hard to read things that don't have punctuation and paragraph breaks and/or indentation.

Turning into a DAW is like turning it into a fully fledged version of MS Office -- it would be cool, perhaps, but not necessary in my opinion, because if I really wanted to do serious work I'll pull up my laptop. (Face it, without a mouse, keyboard, a bigger screen, etc, it is a pain the ass to do serious work on the iPad.) But, I would like to be able to sketch out ideas on-the-go using actual words, sentences, and punctuation. My point here being that it would be trivial to add these features; they just aren't there yet, and they should be.
 
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deadwalrus said:
This is sort of my point. If I wanted to hook it up to a mic, pre-amp, USB keyboard, midi sequencer and a monitors to turn it into a DAW I might as well just bring my laptop. The point of the iPad is its ultraportability. It could be highly useful as a musical idea-pad. The GB app is a good first start. There are just a few major flaws that should be fixed before it can truly function as a musical sketchpad.

Right now its like a note-taking app that is missing some vowels, punctuation marks, and paragraph breaks and the ability to indent. Yea, you can make it work for some things, but it's not really a serious tool yet, because it is really hard to read things that don't have punctuation and paragraph breaks and/or indentation.

Turning into a DAW is like turning it into a fully fledged version of MS Office -- it would be cool, perhaps, but not necessary in my opinion, because if I really wanted to do serious work I'll pull up my laptop. (Face it, without a mouse, keyboard, a bigger screen, etc, it is a pain the ass to do serious work on the iPad.) But, I would like to be able to sketch out ideas on-the-go using actual words, sentences, and punctuation. My point here being that it would be trivial to add these features; they just aren't there yet, and they should be.
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that is your opinion. i can work on my iPad and do and will with GB and many other apps. just because you can't do serious work with it doesn't mean others can't, because i can and will.

i see this all the time with new technology and music, "it can't be done, "it's a toy" "it doesn't have this or that" but there are those of use who can and will find it useful and helpful and sometimes inspiring.

and if it gets better in the future cool, if not, i can use it just fine. and i would hands down recommend it to anyone.

i can find a million uses for the iPad and Garageband in my studio and on the road.

to each his own i guess.
 
pj13 said:
that is your opinion. i can work on my iPad and do and will with GB and many other apps. just because you can't do serious work with it doesn't mean others can't, because i can and will.

i see this all the time with new technology and music, "it can't be done, "it's a toy" "it doesn't have this or that" but there are those of use who can and will find it useful and helpful and sometimes inspiring.

and if it gets better in the future cool, if not, i can use it just fine. and i would hands down recommend it to anyone.

i can find a million uses for the iPad and Garageband in my studio and on the road.

to each his own i guess.
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"it can't be done" is a lot different than "it's impractical." I would guess most side with the latter. I think it's a pretty cool app and it was one of the first things I downloaded. But even as a simple musical sketchpad type of device it could definitely use some of the improvements people are asking for. I'd specifically like to turn off touch-velocity (it just doesn't work) and have the option for custom guitar chord arrangements (something a lot of guitar apps already do). It's fun to mess around with, but hopefully an update will address these issues.
 
handsome pete said:
"it can't be done" is a lot different than "it's impractical." I would guess most side with the latter.
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Well, would you like to make a ballad in 2/3 time? It's not impractical; it's impossible. A song where the verse changes from the key of G major to A major? It's impossible. A song in the key of G with a rhythm guitar section that has an E major? Impossible.

It's not like these are uncommon things. Songs do this all the time. You can't do them with GB as it currently stands. Period. That should be fixed.

I've made 6 or 8 complete songs as well. But I purposefully had to avoid doing things like using out-of-key chord changes etc -- things I wouldn't do otherwise. It is really limiting. If you are happy making vanilla songs in the key of C well, good for you. I make songs like this too, occasionally. A lot of very good songs are vanilla 4/4 songs in the key of C. But a lot of songs require more. Like, every single Beatles song ever made, every Velvet Underground song, ever Radiohead song. ****, 1/3 of Bob Dylan's songs have out-of-key chords or non 4/4 time signatures.

But again -- in case you didn't notice the first few times I've said it -- GB is a fun toy. I like using it rather than going to my full-scale studio. But it is limiting, and could be so much more with a few tweaks.
 
deadwalrus said:
Well, would you like to make a ballad in 2/3 time? It's not impractical; it's impossible. A song where the verse changes from the key of G major to A major? It's impossible. A song in the key of G with a rhythm guitar section that has an E major? Impossible.

It's not like these are uncommon things. Songs do this all the time. You can't do them with GB as it currently stands. Period. That should be fixed.

I've made 6 or 8 complete songs as well. But I purposefully had to avoid doing things like using out-of-key chord changes etc -- things I wouldn't do otherwise. It is really limiting. If you are happy making vanilla songs in the key of C well, good for you. I make songs like this too, occasionally. A lot of very good songs are vanilla 4/4 songs in the key of C. But a lot of songs require more. Like, every single Beatles song ever made, every Velvet Underground song, ever Radiohead song. ****, 1/3 of Bob Dylan's songs have out-of-key chords or non 4/4 time signatures.

But again -- in case you didn't notice the first few times I've said it -- GB is a fun toy. I like using it rather than going to my full-scale studio. But it is limiting, and could be so much more with a few tweaks.
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Uh, I was pretty much agreeing with everything you said. The impracticality vs. impossible argument addressed the creation of a song as a whole, and not any individual limitations (some of which I mentioned).
 
handsome pete said:
Uh, I was pretty much agreeing with everything you said. The impracticality vs. impossible argument addressed the creation of a song as a whole, and not any individual limitations (some of which I mentioned).
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Ahh, yes you did. Sorry, I got a little excited ...
 
deadwalrus said:
Well, would you like to make a ballad in 2/3 time? It's not impractical; it's impossible. A song where the verse changes from the key of G major to A major? It's impossible. A song in the key of G with a rhythm guitar section that has an E major? Impossible.

It's not like these are uncommon things. Songs do this all the time. You can't do them with GB as it currently stands. Period. That should be fixed.

I've made 6 or 8 complete songs as well. But I purposefully had to avoid doing things like using out-of-key chord changes etc -- things I wouldn't do otherwise. It is really limiting. If you are happy making vanilla songs in the key of C well, good for you. I make songs like this too, occasionally. A lot of very good songs are vanilla 4/4 songs in the key of C. But a lot of songs require more. Like, every single Beatles song ever made, every Velvet Underground song, ever Radiohead song. ****, 1/3 of Bob Dylan's songs have out-of-key chords or non 4/4 time signatures.

But again -- in case you didn't notice the first few times I've said it -- GB is a fun toy. I like using it rather than going to my full-scale studio. But it is limiting, and could be so much more with a few tweaks.
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you can't do these things with the smart instruments but you can with the other included instruments. and you can program any beat you want. and if you plug in a guitar you can play any chord you want.

the question was not, is the Garageband App the Holy Grail of music making software and can it do everything everyone can imagine, it was is it any good. and yes it has some good.

hopefully Apple will make what you want in the future, but right now it is capable of many things. my point stands. you could even plug it into a mixer in your studio and record the instruments directly. there are many possibilities of what it can do right now.

but i will not post here again as this is not a fun conversation due to your anger.
 
I dont think anybody here is being angry, just forthright in their opinions which is fair enough isn't it? This is a forum and we're all grown ups.

Personally, I think GB is largely a toy, designed to make the iPad look cool, which a first glance it achieves. And I suppose FairPlay to those who enjoy it, particularly when it brings a sense of musicality via smart instruments etc. But for me it's too simple and limited.

I bought iSequence though and I'm much happier with that.....I can work out a baseline, a beat and melody on it and put together a simple arrangement which is wha I wanted so thanks for pointing me in that direction.
 
pj13 said:
you can't do these things with the smart instruments but you can with the other included instruments. and you can program any beat you want. and if you plug in a guitar you can play any chord you want.
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You can't use the guitar like this. Which was the point.

And no, you cannot program any beat you want. Try making a 3 bar loop in 2/3. Can't be done -- period.

I suppose you are talking about simulating 2/3 using 4/4 -- which I have done. I.e., you can make a 3 bar loop in 4/4 that would be equal to a 4 bar loop in 2/3. But that only works because 4 * 3 = 3 * 4. Try simulating a 3 bar loop in 2/3 (something I have needed to do and found impossible). This has 9 beats. Try dividing 9 into 4. You can't do it.

the question was not, is the Garageband App the Holy Grail of music making software and can it do everything everyone can imagine, it was is it any good. and yes it has some good.
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Which I've repeatedly stated.

but i will not post here again as this is not a fun conversation due to your anger.
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I'm not angry. Maybe annoyed at your repeated responses of "stop complaining, it's just fine" when I point out what are quite obvious shortcomings.

FWIW, I have admitted at least 3 times now that it is fun and good for what it currently is -- a toy.
 
deadwalrus said:
You can't use the guitar like this. Which was the point.

And no, you cannot program any beat you want. Try making a 3 bar loop in 2/3. Can't be done -- period.

I suppose you are talking about simulating 2/3 using 4/4 -- which I have done. I.e., you can make a 3 bar loop in 4/4 that would be equal to a 4 bar loop in 2/3. But that only works because 4 * 3 = 3 * 4. Try simulating a 3 bar loop in 2/3 (something I have needed to do and found impossible). This has 9 beats. Try dividing 9 into 4. You can't do it.

Which I've repeatedly stated.

I'm not angry. Maybe annoyed at your repeated responses of "stop complaining, it's just fine" when I point out what are quite obvious shortcomings.

FWIW, I have admitted at least 3 times now that it is fun and good for what it currently is -- a toy.
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the above is an angry post. using the words "toy" and "moronic" in this and previous posts to describe GB and my ideas for it is angry and insulting. i have agreed with you and others that it could be improved. but it is not a toy and it is not useless. maybe it is to YOU but it is not to ME. see how that works? in your quest to be right you can't seem to understand what i'm saying. i never said "stop complaining it's fine," what i'm trying to say and have said over and over again is that it has some music making value. that is all i am trying to say.
 
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The app is okay, but like others have said there are so many seemingly arbitrary limitations that most people, amateur and musician alike, will quickly tire of it. The app almost feels like it was designed around the keynote to show off some cool interface ideas, but never really given a serious effort to make it a fully featured, comprehensive app. There are better music apps out there. Even Pianist Pro, in my opinion, while the samples don't sound is good, has a much more complete (and similar) feature set than Garageband. In fact, some of the features from Garageband were clearly inspired by Pianist Pro, such as the 'alternate' keyboard with only notes from a certain scale. Only, unlike Garageband, you have tons of options to edit which notes are included. I believe in Garageband there is only 1 scale available, basically making it pointless.

The only real downside to Pianist pro is the inability to record multiple tracks and instruments and edit them on a timeline.
 
GB is really amazing for what it is. It's good for serious musicians and the casual user that wants to get their feet wet with song structure, chords, tempos, loops, etc. It's just another tool .... and an inexpensive one. Take it for what it is. I've done a couple of songs on it away from home and it works like a charm. Sure, the velocity sucks and playing a keyboard on the ipad isn't the best way to go, but it's quick, cheap, easy to use and you don't have to spend 20 minutes auditioning drum sounds which can be a real vibe killer if you just want to get a quick idea down away from home.
 
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