Hello,
I know this was asked a few years ago, but I would like to know if this has been updated.
Is it possible to vary the tempo within a song in Garageband for iPad, iOS 11? For instance, how would I slow down the tempo at the end of the song? I would like to do this consistently for all the tracks, so I prefer not to just ignore the metronome.
Thanks!
I don't suppose tempo changes are captured when you open up a project on an iPad that you created on a Mac, is that correct?
My iPad 3 is too old to test this. I have always used it the other way round - start a song on my iPad, then finish the mix on my Mac.
GarageBand on a Mac has the ability to change tempo and transpose in the same song?
Yes, you make the Tempo Track visible and the Transposition track, and you can can adjust the automation curve for tempo and transposition.
GarageBand on a computer is very different from GarageBand on an iPad or iPhone. It has no touch screen, so you cannot play the touch instruments like on an iPad. But you can connect a midi keyboard an play and enter midi tracks, that are easy to edit. I like to edit the midi files in the score editor. It is easier to make a song arrangement as well, because we can name and rearrange the sections.
Can you go from 4/4 to 3/4 and back to 4/4 by stitching separate projects together?
I am simply stitching the 4/4 and ¾ projects together by saving the project to the Media Browser. Then I create a new project by importing the parts from the media browser to audio tracks.
At least, GarageBand for Mac allows a wide range of time signatures, not just the measly three signatures available on the iPad.
You can only set one tempo for the song, of you are using software instruments or loops in your song.
If you are only using real instrument recordings, you can use the metronome, if you disable "Follow Tempo & Pitch" for all tracks. Then you can change the metronome to the tempo you are currently playing for each song section to play along.
http://help.apple.com/garageband/iphone/2.1/index.html#/chsa95376f2d
Follow Tempo & Pitch: Tap to have the region follow the song tempo and key (blue regions only).
Okay, I finally got my lightning adapter and was able to play around a little more with this. I do appreciate your guidance. I guess there really is no way to vary the tempo within a song if you're only using the software instruments, just like you said. You're committed to a single tempo (if you choose to follow the metronome)
If you're using external audio inputs then you're basically recording your own sound and tempos. Then you can vary it however you want, but then you lose the ability to quantize tracks.
I love how easy and smooth GB iOS is. I'll experiment with this some more. I do like how tempo can be easily varied within a song in Cakewalk, but this DAW isn't as smooth and user-friendly as GarageBand.
GarageBand on a Mac has more flexibility. It has now a tempo track and a transposition track, where we can change the overall tempo and key within the project. But it took many years, before Apple added these useful features. The first versions of GarageBand on the Mac had a fixed tempo and key for the whole song, just like GarageBand iOS now.
Perhaps Apple will add this ability in future releases for GarageBand on iOS as well, now that we can share GarageBand projects on iCloud Drive between Macs and iPhones or iPads.
What I am still waiting for is the ability to change the time signature from 4/4 to ¾ in the middle of the song, but is is still not possible in GarageBand on a Mac. I have to piece the song together from separate projects.
Wait, now you have my interest! GarageBand on a Mac has the ability to change tempo and transpose in the same song? I've been on the fence about switching to Mac from PC, but this may finally do it! I appreciate knowing that you're not currently able to change time signatures yet, but hopefully that will come. Does the workaround you came up with provide a seamless transition? ie. Can you go from 4/4 to 3/4 and back to 4/4 by stitching separate projects together?
I appreciate your experience with this, léonie! I'm going to consider getting a MacBook Air now that I know GarageBand on Mac can change tempos. I don't suppose tempo changes are captured when you open up a project on an iPad that you created on a Mac, is that correct?
I may have found a solution. It seemed to have fixed it for me. I had a song where the beginning started at 66 BPM for 5 measures, then changed to 70 BPM for most of the rest of the song. I created the first 5 measures, then I created a new song. Different from the first. From there I set the BPM to 70 and created the rest of the song at 70 BPM. It was a piano song so I had 2 piano tracks, one for the right hand and another for the left. When I finished, I tapped on one of the tracks, and tapped "Merge". I selected the two piano tracks, and merged it into an audio track. From there, I copied the audio track and returned to my original song that had only 5 measures. I added a new audio track, and pasted the audio track there. Voila! I think I solved it. It seemed to have worked for me. I hope it works for you too.
Thanks, léonie! I’ll give this a try!
Mark
Change tempo in song?
