welcome to tap that app I'm Jason Parker
and this is the show where we covered
the hottest apps in the mobile space
along with the release of the iPad 2 on
March 11th
Apple released an iPad version for
popular mac app GarageBand GarageBand
already has a long history on the Mac
letting people use intuitive controls
and a huge library of instruments and
pre-recorded loops to create songs but
with the iPad version Apple needed to
come up with creative ways to record
music using only a touchscreen interface
and we think they did an amazing job
just as a general overview GarageBand
offers several touch instruments guitar
amps and effects 8-track recording and
mixing more than 250 loops to play with
and you can export AAC files of your
projects through email or add them to
iTunes you start by creating a new song
then choose your first instrument
GarageBand offers instruments you can
play in real time like their real-world
counterparts but you also have the
option to play smart instruments that do
most of the heavy lifting for you one
neat feature is that every instrument
has its own specific theme giving all of
them their own feel as you play using
the smart keyboard for example lays out
all of your chords in the chosen key
this means that just about whatever you
press will probably go together in a
song you also can change the key by
touching the wrench in the upper right
corner using the combination of bass
notes on the bottom and chords at the
top is easy to create a nice sounding
song even if you have very little
musical experience similarly the smart
guitar offers a different layout that
lets you play chords with a swipe of
your finger you have the ability to play
individual notes and actually bend
guitar strings for your big rock solos
all the smart instruments also come with
a few pre-recorded segments so you can
just tap the key and let the app play
for you drums can be played manually and
you can choose from both standard drum
kits and drum machine type layouts or
like the other instruments you can
choose smart drums to make things easier
simply place drumset items on the grid
to experiment or hit the dice icon for a
random layout once you've been inspired
by some of the instruments you can
record a couple of tracks then look at
the track layout section to add or
remove tracks manage track volume and
play with effects like reverb track
panning and echo as you become more
advanced you can also use quantization
tools to match
complex tracks to cover up your less
than perfect human rhythm but maybe I'm
just speaking for myself the track
screen is also where you'll find garage
bands pre-recorded loops once you find
something you like by instrument genre
and other descriptors just drag and drop
the loop onto your track screen to add
it to your song
I created this song on the way to work
this morning in carpool frankly with
tons of uniquely designed instruments a
smart touch interface and tools that
make song creation easy it's a miracle
to me that this app is only $4.99 and
there's plenty more we haven't shown in
this video so far I can't get enough of
GarageBand so I definitely recommend you
tap this app and tap it and tap it again
but try to tap and rhythm guys how are
we ever going to make it as a band if
you sorry I got a little caught up in
the moment like I said Garage Band is
only $4.99 in the iTunes App Store and
definitely worth your money even if you
only have a passing interest in creating
music that's it for today's show but if
you have any suggestions send them to
tap that app at cnet.com I'm Jason
Parker thanks for watching
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