How Apple's New Music Memos App, GarageBand Updates Aid Song Creation | eWeek

How Apple’s New Music Memos App, GarageBand Updates Aid Song Creation

Music Memos
Written By
Todd R. Weiss
Todd R. Weiss
Jan 22, 2016
3 minute read
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How Apple’s New Music Memos App, GarageBand Updates Aid Song Creation

1 - How Apple's New Music Memos App, GarageBand Updates Aid Song Creation

Music Memos lets songwriters quickly capture their latest song ideas, while GarageBand provides a virtual drummer, instrument loops and more.


Apple’s Music Memos App for iOS

2 - Apple's Music Memos App for iOS

Music Memos gives musicians the ability to record their latest song and musical ideas using their iPhone, iPad or iPod, and then put them together using the sounds of various instruments and other features. Users can then listen to their recorded song ideas to make changes, additions and other customizations.


Easy Recording on Music Memos With Just a Screen Tap

3 - Easy Recording on Music Memos With Just a Screen Tap

When spur-of-the-moment musical ideas arise, Music Memos can be used to quickly and easily get a new song creation started with a simple screen tap. The app allows users to record high-quality, uncompressed audio through the built-in microphone of their iOS device or through an external microphone. Music Memos is optimized to work with an acoustic guitar or piano, but works with other musical instruments, too.


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Add a Backup Band to Your Song Creations

4 - Add a Backup Band to Your Song Creations

Music Memos lets users hear how their music will sound when joined by tracks from a virtual drummer and bass player. Users can modify and tweak the energy and performance of the drums or bass with a few simple on-screen controls in the app.


Organize Your Song Creations for Later Inspiration

5 - Organize Your Song Creations for Later Inspiration

Music Memos also lets users organize their song ideas with names, tags and descriptions so the pieces can be saved and integrated into other creations later. By tagging songs or components with descriptions such as Intro, Bridge, Verse, Upbeat or Mellow, users can easily find the pieces later when they are needed as inspirations for other songs.


Move Your Music Memos Creations Into GarageBand for More Options

6 - Move Your Music Memos Creations Into GarageBand for More Options

Songs created in Music Memos can be moved into the GarageBand app to add more advanced features and capabilities as needed. Users can export their tracks into GarageBand on iOS or GarageBand or Logic Pro X on a Mac. Users can also email song ideas to friends or collaborators, add the tracks to their iTunes library or post them to Apple Music Connect, SoundCloud or YouTube directly from the app.


GarageBand Gets Updates

7 - GarageBand Gets Updates

GarageBand now includes Live Loops and virtual drummer features that allow users to add a wider range of sounds and effects to their musical creations. With Live Loops, users can create music like a DJ by triggering sound loops in real time. On-screen controls let users add sounds from instruments including a piano, organ, guitar and drums.


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Virtual Drummer Now Included

8 - Virtual Drummer Now Included

GarageBand now has a built-in virtual drummer that gives users new options to add percussion and drums to their song creations. Drummer for iOS lets users choose from nine acoustic and electronic drummers to add drum performances as needed.


Arrange Songs by Adding Instruments in GarageBand

9 - Arrange Songs by Adding Instruments in GarageBand

GarageBand includes a wide range of sounds from musical instruments through its Touch Instruments capabilities. Touch Instruments sound and respond like the real thing and allow users to add keyboards, guitars, bass and much more.


Use GarageBand Across Apple Devices

10 - Use GarageBand Across Apple Devices

Musicians can use GarageBand across their Apple devices using iCloud, which keeps GarageBand sessions up to date across all of a user’s iOS devices. Songs can be started on one device and then worked on or completed on another device.

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