How to Make a Beat on iPhone with GarageBand: Step by Step

No laptop? You can make a beat on your iPhone too, with Apple's GarageBand. Drums, chords, a bass and a structure you can rap on. Here's how.

Step 1: set the tempo and key

Start a new song and open the song settings. Tap Tempo. According to Apple, you can then tap the tempo bar repeatedly to tap in the tempo, or use the arrows to go up or down step by step. Under Key Signature you pick the key and whether it's major or minor.

Do this first. According to Apple, recordings from Touch Instruments and Apple Loops follow along if you change the tempo or key later, but your own vocal recordings don't. Which tempo fits which genre? See BPM by genre.

Step 2: drums in the Beat Sequencer

Open the Sound Browser, swipe to Drums and tap Beat Sequencer. You'll see a grid. According to Apple, each row is a different piece of the drum kit, and each column is a step in your pattern. Tap a square to turn a step on or off.

If every step is a sixteenth note, one bar is 16 steps. Beats 1, 2, 3 and 4 then land on steps 1, 5, 9 and 13. For trap, put the snare on step 9, which is beat 3. Read what BPM is trap for why that feels half-time.

Handy features according to Apple:

• Velocity: make some steps quieter, so your hi-hats don't all hit equally hard.
• Note Repeat: repeat a step for rolls and double hits.
• Chance: give a step a chance to play or not. That adds variation.
• Swing: in the Inspector you choose how much swing your pattern gets.

There are also ready-made patterns and different drum kits. Happy with it? Tap record. Your pattern then shows up as a region in Tracks view.

Step 3: chords or a melody

Choose the Keyboard and tap Sounds to pick a sound. Don't play piano? Two things help:

• Scale mode: according to Apple, the keyboard then turns into bars with only the notes of the scale. So you can't play a wrong note.
• Chord strips: tap the top of a strip for a chord, the bottom for a bass note.

Not sure which chords go together? With the free chord generator you hear a progression you can play along with.

Step 4: a bass

Add another Keyboard and pick a bass sound. Play the root notes of your chords, or use the lower parts of the chord strips. Keep it simple. In trap the bass can ring out long, in boom bap it follows the kick more.

Step 5: from loop to beat

A loop of a few bars isn't a beat yet. Copy your regions in Tracks view and build a structure: an intro, a verse and a hook. A 16 bar verse and an 8 bar hook are common. Read what a bar is in rap. Take out a layer in the verse so your voice has room.

Step 6: rap on it

Beat done? Record your voice in the same project. How that works is in how to record rap on iPhone with GarageBand.

Common mistakes

• Changing the tempo later. Your vocal recording won't follow. Set the tempo before you record.
• All hi-hats equally loud. Use velocity, or it sounds like a robot.
• Every bar the same. Drop something out now and then, or turn on Chance for some variation.

Moving to a computer later? Read how to make a trap beat in FL Studio. Rather start with a beat to rap on right away? Browse all beats.

FAQ

Can I make a beat on my iPhone without playing an instrument?

Yes. You make drums in the Beat Sequencer by tapping squares, and with Scale mode and chord strips you always play the right notes.

How do I change the tempo in GarageBand on my iPhone?

Open the song settings and tap Tempo. Tap in the tempo on the tempo bar or use the arrows.

How do I make hi-hat rolls in GarageBand?

Use Note Repeat in the Beat Sequencer. It lets a step play several times.

Source: Apple's GarageBand User Guide for iPhone.