One of the star performers of a slightly subdued iPad 2 Apple reveal, we at JOE decided to put the exhaustive Garage Band app through its paces.
By Leo Stiles
One of the biggest criticisms of the iPad is that it is a content consumption device and that its seemingly limited creative functions make it a poor match for low-end PCs and laptops. Last week Apple released Garage Band for the iPad, a portable version of its popular music creation application for the Mac and it redefines what is possible both from a portable app and the iPad itself.
The central concept of Garage Band is that it makes polished music creation easy and even the most tone deaf can make create tunes, while the musically gifted can create complex and professional compositions in a matter of minutes.
While we don’t want to give anyone the impression that this is some kind of kids’ application, we thought it would be best to start with the smart instruments which include guitar, keyboard, bass and drums.
Create your own awful 1980s syth music with this guy
Tapping on one of these allows you to create music by tapping on the particular beat and chords and then stringing them into longer bars and finally, melodies and full musical sequences. The level of automation can be increased to near idiot-proof levels or dialled back to allow the more proficient to play virtual instruments.
Take the drums for example; you can chose to play a full recording studio drum kit by tapping the screen or you can place the different components on a grid that is divided out into volume and complexity and Garage Band will automatically generate rhythm and beats for you. You can even select from a range of drum sets, ranging from standard recording sets to hip-hop and live rock.
Apple have also included some loops of instruments that are not part of the smart music set and there is a wide variety of looped music to choose from, ranging from orchestral strings and vocals to jazz brass and tribal drums; all of which can be layered into your compositions using Garage Band’s 8-track mixing. This is where Garage Band really shows its power with full mixing and equalizing controls available that give your compositions the flexibility and polish that semi-professionals will relish.
The app flips over into professional mode with Audio Recorder, Sampler and Guitar Amp, which turn the iPad into a mobile recording studio and while we were only able to test the features with the built-in iPad microphone, those of you with the necessary equipment will be in heaven.
The Sampler is the feature we had the most fun with, as it allowed us to record a sound and then literally play it on a keyboard. Naturally, there was a lot of juvenile messing about with rude sounds and words but a genuine musician would not only be able to layer unusual sounds or vocals into their work but also edit and distort those samples any way they see fit.
Hooking up a proper microphone to the Audio Recorder feature captures full quality vocals and saves them as a separate track and the Guitar amp feature does much the same.
Performance issues
There are a few performance issues on show with regular pauses when changing instrument and a rather lengthy one when you tap the icon to enter the mixing section of the app. Also, every so often the app seems to struggle with the demands being placed on it. These issues are not really anything to do with the app and I’m told that the app was designed around the iPad 2 and that the app runs perfectly on the newer, more powerful machine. Overall, it’s annoying but hardly a deal breaker.
It’s hard to truly evaluate Garage Band given that I haven’t a note in my head but the fact that even I could lay down a decent track or two using the software speaks volumes about the how well Apple have engineered the app to appeal to all users.
The sheer level of complexity on offer in the settings and the less automated areas of the app are quite daunting but if the app manages to do even half of what it promises in this regard then it is a real coup for Apple and the iPad and could herald a whole new wave of creativity apps that will change how the iPad is used.
If you have even a passing interest in music and you own an iPad then you have to own Garage Band and those of you that genuinely aspire to produce your own music then this app could change the way you do that and at an insanely cheap €4.99, there is no reason anyone can’t take a chance on an exemplary iPad app.
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