The Apple Beat: New music creation tools empower creativity

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

When Apple first released the original iMac, it released a series of tools like iMovie, iPhoto and GarageBand which empowered users into making original creations without the complexity usually affiliated with professional software. Apple seems to have gone back to this path of empowerment with its new music apps for iOS.

Apple recently released GarageBand 2.1 update  which introduces Live Loops, a fun visual music-making feature makes it possible to create loops and add DJ-style effects through multi-touch gestures.

Live Loops are displayed in an easy-to-use grid, with each instrument or sample in a different cell. This visual and touch friendly representation of loops makes the program intuitive for users of all levels. Sound can be manipulated tapping and mixing the different instruments and the Apple-designed loop templates that are available in genres like EDM, Hip Hop, and Rock. The Drummer feature from Logic Pro X and GarageBand for Mac has also been added to the new iOS version. 

We also have Music Memos  which is designed to allow musicians and songwriters to record, analyze, and manipulate high-quality uncompressed audio directly on an iPhone or iPad. While this sounds like a simple extension of the Voice Memos app, it is actually a transformative app for anyone who is musically inclined.

Music Memos allows you to sing or play an instrument and record it via the built in iPhone or iPad microphone or a connected microphone and it will record your Music Memo in uncompressed format. Once this is recorded, there's the option to add drums and bass tracks automatically which match the tempo or style of your Music Memo. This can take a few verses, riffs and make them into a meatier version of a song.

Even better, you can export the Music Memo to GarageBand on the iOS device or on a Mac to flesh out the song and add more complex instrumentation. I've installed both apps on my iPhone and my iPad Pro and find that there's a lot of depth and range in the type of music you can make. The range of loops and instruments as well as the various controls available make it easy for me, a musical novice, to put together a substantial soundtrack to accompany some personal or work related videos.

In fact, with the right Mic attachment for the iPad Pro or a MacBook, GarageBand can work as a pretty robust 32 track mobile studio for most genres of music. More than just a way to work on musical ideas on the fly, Apple's new music creation tools level the playing field for musicians of all ages and remove the various layers of complexity that tend to get in the way of recording, editing and publishing music using portable but powerful iOS devices and iCloud.