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Garage Band, Slow the tempo but keep the pitch?

I am trying to use Garage Band to slow the tempo but keep the pitch of a song purchased in iTunes. So far, I have figured out how to slow it down. Is there anyway to also maintain the pitch of the song while slowing it down? Thanks

iMac 21.5" 4K, macOS 10.14

Posted on Mar 8, 2019 1:20 PM

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Posted on Mar 12, 2019 10:34 AM

Actually, they are related. If you change the Tempo by changing the sample rate, you will change the pitch and tempo at the same time, just like analog.


Audacity can do all three:

It can change the sample rate to alter both pitch and tempo

It can change tempo without changing pitch

It can change pitch without changing tempo.


I am not sure about Garageband.

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Mar 12, 2019 10:34 AM in response to HangTime

Actually, they are related. If you change the Tempo by changing the sample rate, you will change the pitch and tempo at the same time, just like analog.


Audacity can do all three:

It can change the sample rate to alter both pitch and tempo

It can change tempo without changing pitch

It can change pitch without changing tempo.


I am not sure about Garageband.

Mar 12, 2019 11:19 AM in response to Keith Barkley

It used to be easier in GarageBand '11, Keith. But in GarageBand 10.0 I find it difficult to change the tempo of audio files.

I am usually converting an audio file region in GarageBand 10 into a loop, then I can change the tempo and the and the pitch separately, like for any loop.

And if I record audio directly into GarageBand it is easy to change the tempo and pitch independently. It may just sound strange for vocals, if you do not use a vocal transformer, so you can change the formants as well.


Mar 12, 2019 2:21 PM in response to sandusky

Hello and thanks for your replies. I dragged an iTunes file into Garage Band, then in Edit (? scissors) mode, chose the entire song (region) and checked the box, under Transpose, to "Follow Tempo and Pitch." Then using the slider under Transpose, slowed the song down to the desired tempo. However the pitch was also transposed down, causing the female vocalist to become a male vocalist. There seems to be no way to modify tempo only. I could use Audacity if it will accept files from iTunes, but thought perhaps there was a way to achieve this in Garage Band.

Mar 13, 2019 7:34 AM in response to sandusky

and checked the box, under Transpose, to "Follow Tempo and Pitch." Then using the slider under Transpose, slowed the song down to the desired tempo. However the pitch was also transposed down, causing the female vocalist to become a male vocalist. There seems to be no way to modify tempo only

For vocals use the Vocal Transformer plug-in to change the male voice back to female.

The plug-in will allow you to raise or lower the pitch and to adjust the formants, so the voice will sound natural.


Mar 13, 2019 11:45 AM in response to sandusky

Most of the editing capacity I see for vocals in GB, rely on having a separate track for vocals. Unfortunately, importing a song file from iTunes does not allow for that as the entire song comes into GB as a single track or region. I'm starting to think that slowing the tempo down but keeping the vocal pitch as is may not be possible in GB. Unless there is a way for GB to separate the vocal track from the rest of the recording . . .

Garage Band, Slow the tempo but keep the pitch?

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