GarageBand turns your iPad and iPhone into a collection of Touch Instruments and a full-featured recording studio — so you can make music anywhere you go. And with Live Loops, it makes it easy for anyone to have fun creating music like a DJ. Use Multi-Touch gestures to play keyboards, guitars, and c. The Alchemy synth is available on iPhone 6 or later, iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation), iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4. Multitrack recording requires a compatible third‑party audio interface. Sharing to Facebook and YouTube requires iMovie. Requires an Apple Music Connect account. GarageBand is available on the App Store. IOS 11 required.
Learning a musical instrument means you need to buy it first, and then find a tutor for learning to play it. Today, you can learn all by yourself unless you want to do some serious learning. Many who don't want to invest in a private tutor, learning music from apps and online tools seems to be the ideal to get started. Database design software mac os x.
The good thing about learning piano notes on phones and tablets is that the flat surface easily doubles up as a digital keyboard. All you have to do is identify the notes and get the timing right. Plus, you can always plug in your earphones and practice to your heart's content without disturbing your family and neighbors.
In this post today, we will explore some of the best iOS apps to learn piano on iPhone and iPad.
Let's get going.
Also on Guiding TechTop 4 Guitar Fretboard Trainer Apps for AndroidRead More1. Simply Piano
Simply Piano is one of the well-known apps in the piano world and is an excellent one for beginners. It lets you choose your piano skill level, as in whether you are starting from scratch or if you have a basic idea about the instrument.
Once you select your options, it presents you with choices like learning courses and begins with the basics. As you make your progress, the next courses would be unlocked. Simply Piano also lets you learn some of the popular album songs from around the world. Plus, there are interactive sessions with videos for the basic.
Though the app is free on the App Store, some of the contents are locked behind a paywall. You'll have to shell out around $3.50 per month to unlock all the courses. There's also a 7-day free trial for you to test before you fully dive into it.
Locked features include learning & playing songs, learning sheet music and customized piano exercises. If you are really serious about learning piano on your own, this should be your app to go with.
Download Simply Piano
2. Perfect Piano
Another app which I found very interesting was the Perfect Piano app. This cool app gives you full access to a digital keyboard. You can choose the type of piano that you want to practice. What I loved about it is that you can focus the keys on a particular area, and then move through the rest.
Unlike Simply Piano, here you can also practice songs for free. Most of the popular songs are listed, and you can take your pick. Furthermore, depending on the level of your expertise, this app lets you choose between the Easy, Medium and Hard level.
Besides that, it also displays the level of completeness next to every song (my favorite feature). The only thing to keep in mind is that you'll have to be super fast, even when you are practicing on the easy level.
Download Perfect Piano
3. Notes Trainer
Honestly, learning a piano is more than just memorizing the keys of the latest songs. It's more about the basics like knowing the chords and reading seamlessly from the sheet music, among others.
If you're someone who is looking to learn from the scratch like mastering the notes before advancing to the next level, then Notes Trainer is the app for you.
It presents you with a tutorial on how to read notes from the staff. Once done, you can choose a course and start your learning journey. I like how the app rewards you with stars for each lesson based on your performance.
https://yellowmasters.weebly.com/free-download-vst-instruments-cubase.html. My mantra is until you achieve 3 stars, don't proceed to the next lesson!
Download Notes Trainer
Also on Guiding Tech5 Awesome Free Android Apps to Tune Your GuitarRead More4. Piano Chords and Scales
Next on our list is Piano Chords and Scales. As you may have guessed, this one is also for beginners and helps you understand musical structures from scratch.
You get to learn your way around notes and practice them at the same time. The only issue with this one is that the keyboard is a little too small for people like me with thick fingers.
Download Piano Chords and Scales
![]() 5. Yousician Guitar, Piano & Bass
The Yousician app lets you familiarize yourself with other instruments like Guitar and Youkelele apart from piano.
As far as the piano lessons are concerned, you can either start from the basic or opt for an intermediary course.
Beginners like me usually start by practicing with the thumb and index finger. Yousician addresses this issue by color-coding each key, and you are expected to play with all your fingers together.
Though the app is great, my only gripe is that it pushes you to upgrade to the paid version often, which can be annoying at times.
Download Yousician Guitar, Piano & Bass
6. Piano Academy
Piano Academy is all about interactive piano learning sessions. The app keeps you motivated with little voice notes as you practice. Also, it gives you instant feedback on your performance.
It has the usual trove of features like teaching you theory first (notes, staff, and chords) and once you familiarize yourself with them, you can go up the ladder by learning and memorizing songs.
Download Piano AcademyPlay your Way Around Musical Notes
Unfortunately, sitting through hours and hours of music lessons is not my thing. I want to learn music in my free time, and apps like this give me the perfect opportunity to do so. So far, I have managed to learn and play a couple of songs without any guidance.
My next stop is mastering the violin. Do you think apps will be able to guide me to learn this beautiful string instrument?
Up next: Do you use Apple Music? If yes, check out these tricks below to discover new music on Apple Music.
Read Next5 Tips to Discover New Music in Apple MusicAlso See#learning #music
Did You Know
Apple acquired Beats Music & Beats Electronics on 1 August 2014.
More in iOSTop 7 Fixes for Gmail Not Receiving Emails on iPhone
Here in North America the NHL playoffs are now in full swing and perhaps you're inspired to play some rocking organ! With GB on the iPad we get some great keyboard sounds with nifty screen controls! N
Here in North America the NHL playoffs are now in full swing and perhaps you’re inspired to play some rocking organ! With GarageBand for iPad we get some great keyboard sounds with nifty screen controls! Not only can we use these keys in our songs that we’re recording, but as I explained in a recent tutorial, live use is also a possibility!
Setup and Equipment Needed
There are a few things we need.
Garageband Ipad Tutorial
Axiom Pro 61
Apple's Camera Connection Kit
Controls
Each instrument has it’s own layout (organ with drawbars, synths with filter controls) but also there are some functions just above the keyboard and these will vary with the instrument selected. For example, “Sustain” will be on piano but not organ, organ will have the “Rotary” switch for the Leslie, all depending on the instrument.
Although we’re going to be using a keyboard controller, if you want to use the onscreen keyboard, you get different controls for how your screen keyboard responds. On the far left is an “Octave” plus and minus. A middle button for “Glissando”, “Scroll”, “Pitch” which vary again depending on the instrument selected and the right side has a “Scale”, “Arpeggiator” and “Keyboard Layout”.
“Glissando” lets you slide across the keys like a real keyboard would. Think of the piano player using the back of his hand and sliding up or down the keys.
“Scroll” allows you to play a note and while holding it, slide the keyboard up or down. Useful if you need to get into different octaves of the on screen keyboard quickly.
“Pitch” is a like a pitch bend wheel but lets you pitch up or down between notes simply by sliding your finger. Great for the vintage synths!
“Scale” is great for solos if you want to try different sounding scales in a piece of music. Once you pick the scale you want to use, the keyboard becomes more like a single row marimba minus the #/b keys. If you use a kb controller, you will still have all the notes available but you can learn what notes are used by playing them on the iPad and matching them on your keyboard. You’ll soon be playing “Klezmer” with ease!
“Arpeggiator” is your freedom to play multiple notes with one chord held down. You can choose note order, rate, and octave range. Great for dance tunes or your version of “Teenage Wasteland”! Unfortunately, the arpeggiator does not work with a KB Controller.
“Keyboard Layout/Velocity/Key Controls” - You can choose how you would like the onscreen keyboard to be set up with choices for one or two keyboards and octave range.
“Velocity” on and off is simple enough but you also can control the velocity range depending on the instrument (no velocity for organ since there is none!) left to the middle of the screen.
“Key Controls” simply turns on and off the view of the middle button for “Glissando”, etc.
There is also a hidden feature that is very cool and similar to an aftertouch on a KB controller. Load in the “Vintage Lead” preset under “Synth Lead” and strike a note. Now move your finger up and down that note.. instant filter sweep!
Keyboard Controller
Plug your keyboard into your Camera Connection Kit and make sure it’s secure as I find it can pop out easily. If it does, you may need to restart your iPad to get control again. Open up GB and navigate to the “Keyboard” instrument. Once this opens you can then select from pianos,organs, synths, etc. by tapping on the instrument in the middle of the screen. You can even store your own presets.
Garageband Ipad Learn Piano
Again, think of the iPad screen as the controls for the organs drawbars or synths filters. Unfortunately GB won’t record this data during recording. Pitch bend and Mod wheels will respond on your controller as will velocity and after touch. Also, there are no ways to assign a KB controller’s sliders or knobs to say, organ drawbars or synth knobs, although I did find my “master” slider with MIDI CC#7 controlled instrument volume.
Using “Smart Instruments”
One feature I wish GB would allow is the use of “autoplay” but controlled via the KB controller. But there are some interesting ideas you can do by combining the “autoplay” feature and your keyboard. For example, select “Smart Keyboard” and choose one of the 4 “autoplay” modes. You then will see 3 bars with a chord on the top bar. The bar with the chord plays both left and right hand accompaniments, the middle bar is right hand only and the bottom is left hand bass. If you hit the top bar, you could solo on the KB controller. The middle bar could allow you to try bass combinations such as G-G/F-G/E or perhaps a piano bass line with a distinctive melody. Be careful though as the sustain is used most likely and can mush up your sound in the bass line. Using the bottom bar would allow you again more right hand solos or your own accompaniment.
If you want any electric or acoustic bass instruments, you will need to use “Smart Bass”. Using the acoustic bass gives a feature that is hard to emulate on the KB controller unless you get good with the pitch bend wheel.. sliding your finger along a fretless neck. Simply select Acoustic Bass, switch the “Chords” to “Notes” and tap on the screen. It adds some realism to the bass line and with some practice, can give some convincing results. Further editing can be done on GB on your Mac.
“Smart Guitar” is very similar to the smart keyboard and bass features with one additional feature. If you use your KB Controller, you can strike chords on your keys!Now you can use the “autoplay” feature for arpeggiated chords and “strum” chords on your keyboard. Great too for having ostinato picking patterns with multiple chord changes.
Recording Tips
First and foremost.. PRACTICE! Yes.. I said that again as I did in the last tutorial. GB on the iPad does not allow editing like GB on a Mac . Not even MIDI editing for wrong notes. Maybe in version 2.. BUT.. you can slow down the tempo, unlike the Guitar/Audio recording section, and speed it up after. If needed later, you can open up the song on your Mac and edit it there. You also can save time by recording repetitive parts and then looping them. Simply record your part, double tap on the track region and select “Loop”.
If your timing is not that great or you need to tighten up a section, “Quantization” will help. Simply tap on the top right “Mixer” in the Track view and select your quantization value. Use the fastest value you played. For example, if a lead synth line played as fast as 16th notes, use the 1/16 Note value. Quantization will also affect all of the tracks regions in a section! But.. you can have different quantization on each section if a part gets moved from one section to another. Confused? Yeah.. me too at first. If you quantize a part in Section A to 1/8 notes but then move it to Section B that is quantized to 1/16 notes, the new part will show “Multiple”. This is something I seriously hope Apple fixes as it’s frustrating if you need multiple quantizations within a section.
Garageband Learn Piano Ipad FreeGarageband Piano Lessons Ipad
Also, don’t be afraid to record a part and try different instruments as your song may take on a whole new flavor choosing a clav instead of a piano for example. Try duplicating the track with a similar synth but with a different filter cutoff and panned hard left and right. Or use two totally different synths. Bass lines can get really fat with this idea! Slow your song down and play in your own idea of an arpeggiated pattern.. speed up and loop!
Stay tuned for more GarageBand for iPad tips and tutorials. Till next time..don’t drive your neighbors nuts with the Minimoog playing Axel F or Tom Sawyer synth leads.
Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2020
Categories |