GarageBand Review

While iPad 2 was undoubtedly the star of Apple’s March 2nd media event, we here at Padvance were especially excited to see that Cupertino would be bringing a version of its popular GarageBand software home to the iPad. Indeed, company execs gushed over its comprehensive multitouch usage, as well as its ability to make even a rank amateur sound like Mozart. In our experience, the hype was justified. GarageBand for iPad is a genre-defining piece of software that also happens to be a blast to play with.

First things first: GarageBand for iPad is sorely in need of a manual. In a number of ways, the app has even more diverse functionality than its desktop counterpart. The sheer number of ways that the user can mix, match, and tweak songs, loops, and tones is daunting. In our initial time with the app, we sometimes found ourselves at sea, as we used trial and error to patch songs together.

At the same time, the depth and breadth of what GarageBand allows you to do is breathtaking, and navigating the UI is generally intuitive. One of our favorite features of the app is Apple’s much-vaunted Smart Instruments, which allow you to jump into the roll of bass, keyboard, guitar, or drum player as if it were your stock and trade. When selecting the Smart Piano, for example, you are presented with all of the chords in a given key, which you can then play at will, ensuring that you never make a discordant key press. Each smart instrument also comes with a number of Autoplay options that allow you to tap a given chord or note to start a prerecorded loop.

If you would prefer to take the training wheels off, however, standard instrument inputs are available. Pull up the grand piano keyboard, and tickle the ivories, or select the bass, and work your way down the frets, effortlessly creating a driving riff. We found the iPad’s touch input to be ideal for this kind of music making, as note volume, sustain, and tone are predicated by your touch.

While we did miss the inclusion of the same wind instruments that are available on the desktop version, we were more than impressed with the sheer number of different keyboards, synthesizers, guitars, and drum kits you can toy around with. Additionally, the sample, recorder, and guitar amp function allow you to pipe your own sounds, either vocal or instrumental, directly in to your iPad to be stored and used at will.

The actual song creation process requires a degree of planning, patience, and trial and error, but it is ultimately more than rewarding. You can add and manipulate new tracks with a single key press, and the app includes a timekeeping function that will automatically straighten out glaring errors of tempo as you strum your melodies. At times, laying down a piano track was frustrating, because the iPad screen can only accommodate so many keys at a time. However, given the choice between using our fingers to play the on-screen piano realistically, or having to revert to awkward mouse clicks on the desktop version, we’ll take the tablet any day.

Ultimately, GarageBand for iPad has too many features, tweaks, and instruments to detail here, but suffice it to say that we have simply not seen anything else like it on the iPad. With an undeniably robust, professional feel, and a degree of user-friendliness that even children can appreciate, GarageBand is the music app to own. At $4.99, it is a steal, especially when compared to other music creation apps that cost more and do less. Whether you are a musical tinkerer or seasoned virtuoso, GarageBand is sure to entertain and delight and is a prime example of what the iPad can do.