Changing the key signature and pitch in Garageband is pretty straightforward.
How to change the time signature in GarageBand iPad and GarageBand iPhone and set other time signature options. ⏰ Covered in this video: 1. Setting the time. How to use multiple and different time signatures in GarageBand iOSGarageBand iPhone and GarageBand iPad only allow you to use 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8 time signatur. GarageBand V10 Tutorials. You need to click and drag to change the bottom number (note that this method also works for the top number). However, the most accurate, and easiest method is to simply click on the time signature and type in the signature you wish to use. Once you’ve created the project you can change the time signature from the LCD.
Download Garageband for PC (August 2021) easily ans seamlessly with full guide available here. Get Garageband for Windows 10/8/8.1/7 exe file.
1) Open your GarageBand file.
2) At the top-center of the DAW, you should see four icons in order from left-to-right: the beat, the tempo, the time signature, and the key signature.
3) Typically, GarageBand has for its default setting the most common key signature in music, C Major, or as it’s written in the DAW (digital audio workstation), “Cmaj.”
4) Click on the Key Signature – “C Maj.”
5) Change it to the desired Key.
6) The moment you switch the key signature and play the track, you’ll notice it sounds higher or lower. It’s that simple.
by the way, I have a list of all the best products for music production on my recommended products page, including the best deals, coupon codes, and bundles, that way you don’t miss out (you’d be surprised what kind of deals are always going on).
But the main problem with this simple method is that you’ll change the key signature for other MIDI instruments in the song, and you may not want this.
For instance, if your drum tracks have been created using a MIDI-keyboard like the Arturia KeyLab 61-key from Amazon which has the most value for the price, changing the key signature will likely throw the drums completely off, changing kicks to snares, high-hats to cymbals, and snares to shakers.
Although, in some cases, it leaves your drum-kits alone, depending on what kit you’re using.
If you’re interested in changing the key signature for just one part of the song, check out the section below.
By the way, if you’re new to GarageBand, it doesn’t hurt to turn on the “Quick Help Button,” that way you can you hover your cursor over whatever is in GarageBand, and the software gives you a quick run-down of everything. It’s on the top-left-hand corner. For the vast majority of my “How To Guides,” I’ll be referencing the name of things as titled by GarageBand.
How To Change The Key Of One Track Without Altering The Others
1) Click on the music in your track.
2) Copy the file by double-clicking it, or using the two-finger method on your Mac.
3) Once you’ve copied your file, save it, and then open a new project.
Garageband 7/ 8 Time Signature Metronome
4) Click on “Software Instrument.”
5) Now, set your “Software Instrument” to what you were using before.
6) Copy and paste your music into the track region.
7) Click the Key Signature, and then transpose the track into a new key.
8) Copy your new music.
9) Now close this file and open up your other file from which you copied your track.
10) Open a new “Software Instrument,” and post your transposed music into it.
11) And voila, you’ve successfully changed the key of one track in your DAW.
If you want to change the pitch of ONE and not several “Audio,” tracks, whether it’s a guitar or microphone recording, and without altering the key signature of your other tracks, you have to do it another way, through a plug-in.
Important Things To Note
By modifying the key signature of your music in GarageBand, the pitch of the music will change either up or down, in accordance with a particular key signature. There’s a difference between changing just the pitch and the key signature.
Assuming you’re new to musical concepts, pitch refers to how low or high the note sounds. A high note means the sound wave is vibrating very fast, and a low sound means that it’s vibrating very slow. This is why when fast-forwarding a tape, the pitch of the sound is higher rather than lower.
Altering the key signature of a song transposes the music into a different key, so the music will sound the same, just at a higher or lower pitch, depending on to what key you’ve migrated. But if you switch music from a major key into a minor key, the tonality will shift from a happy-sounding to a sad-sounding piece of music.
Transposing music means to change the overall position of the music, thus, changing its sound.
Adjusting the pitch, on the other hand, is a slightly different beast. Changing the pitch of every note in a musical passage by one semi-tone, for example, will likely create dissonance.
Dissonance is a fancy word for, “it just won’t sound quite right.”
This is the case because the distance between notes changes depending on the key signature. For example, C to D is different by a full-tone, whereas E to F is just one semi-tone.
Looking at the keyboard above, going from C to C# is one semi-tone, (a half-step), whereas going from a C to a D is a whole-tone (full-step). This is just one thing that I learned from taking the piano course, PianoForAll, from their website a few years ago.
Thankfully, GarageBand comes with the ability to change the key of a specific passage when adjusting music from a MIDI keyboard or your laptop’s keyboard, rather than just adjusting the pitch.
How to Change The Key Signature (Pitch) Of An Audio Track
1) Double-click on your “Track Header,” and bring up where it shows your plug-ins down below in the “Smart Controls” settings.
2) Now go into your Plug-In options and choose the one that says, “Pitch.”
3) Choose “Pitch Shifter.”
4) Now you can select how by many semi-tones your “Audio” recording is either increasing or decreasing.
5)Make sure you turn the “Mix” option, up to 100%, that way it minimizes the original notes playing, and accentuates the pitch-corrected version.
Like I talked about in my guide on pitching vocals, the big problem with this, I find, is that it doesn’t sound nearly as good. It’s an imperfect transposition, because it changes every note by exactly a semi-tone or a full tone, rather than changing the notes so it fits in a particular key signature.
In other words, some of the notes will sound dissonant.
Another thing you can do is change the pitch using the “Pitch Correction function.”
How To Change The Pitch Using Pitch Correction
1) You do that by sliding the “Pitch Correction” bar to either the right or the left, depending on whether you want it to increase or decrease, although, there are a few other useful parameters of pitch correction that I’ve explored before.
While Garageband’s default pitch-correction is great, don’t get me wrong, a whole new world is opened up once you’ve tried Antares Auto-Tune Pro from Plugin Boutique, which is a way better tool in every way.
Another Way For Changing the Key (Pitch) Of Vocals.
1) Double click on your “Audio” vocals in GarageBand.
2) Open up a new “Track Header,” that says, “New Track With Duplicate Settings.”
3) Now go into where it says, “Voice,” on the left-hand side.
4) Click on, “Compressed Vocal.”
5) Now go into your “Smart Controls,” and select the option in the top of the bottom-right-hand corner that says, “Pedals Button,” when you hover over it with your “Quick Help Button” turned on.
It’s kind of hard to see, but I have the “Pedals Button,” circled with a black circle. It’s on the top-right-hand corner.
6) This will bring up a whole bunch of Analog-style pedals that people use when doing Analog rather than digital recordings.
7) Click on the Drop-Down Menu where it says, “Manual.”
8) Go down to “Pitch,” and change the pitch of the song to what you want. For the sake of an example, we’ll choose “Octave Up.”
9) That will make your vocals a lot higher, or you can choose one from the other 14 options listed.
That’s how you change the key signature or the pitch of your recordings in GarageBand. For the sake of clarification, I wrote a brief explanation of what key signatures exactly are, and how to go about using them.
It’s just an introduction, but it should help if you’re confused.
What Are Key Signatures And How Do I Use Them?
A key signature is a collection of all of the accidentals (sharps and flats) within a scale.
For example, a scale has seven notes. We’ll use the C Major Scale to illustrate the point.
The C Major Scale has 7 notes, beginning from C: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and then C again.
From left to right, the scale is pictured below:
Assuming you’re a total beginner, the notes on top are the official musical notation, whereas, the numbers below are guitar tablature. There are serious advantages to learning how to read music as well as tablature if you’re a guitar player.
(I can’t lie to you, however, I’m a lot better at reading tablature, as I’m sure a lot of other people are).
Beside the treble clef, you’ll notice there aren’t any sharps (#) or flats (b). In the Key of C Major, there are none, but, if we were to transpose the key up to E Major, it would change.
In Key Of E Major, there are four sharps: F, C, G, D.
From the order of left to right, you can see there are four sharps, F, G, C, D. The scale below is an E Major scale written in the corresponding tablature for the guitar.
Technically, this piece of music is written so that it’s still in the Key Of C because there aren’t any sharps and flats written beside the Treble Clef, which is the thing that looks like a sophisticated G on the left side of the 4/4 symbol (time signature).
Now, I’m going to write the music so it’s in the Key Of E Major. Beside the Treble Clef in the image below, I’ve put a circle around the four sharps, which indicate this piece is in the Key Of E.
Whenever you see 4 sharps before a piece of music, you know it’s in the Key Of E.
Also, you can see that you don’t have to write the sharps beside the music notes anymore. There’s no need for that because the music reader knows we’re in the Key Of E, therefore, anytime you play an F, C, G, or D, those notes have to be played one semi-tone higher.
There’s nothing overly sophisticated about a Key Signature. Essentially, it’s just a way of communicating the range in which the pitch of the song lies.
In other words, you know how high the song is on your guitar fretboard, or you know how high it is up on the piano keyboard.
What Is The Purpose Of A Key Signature
The purpose of a key signature isn’t to confuse up-and-coming musicians, although, I know it can feel that way.
The purpose of the key signature is, essentially, to minimize the number of sharps (#) and flats (b) written in a piece of music. If there were no key signatures, a composer would have to write a sharp and flat on many of the notes, which would be pretty time-consuming.
Conclusion
This is just a very brief introduction to key signatures in music theory. If you want to learn more basic theory, I recommend heading over to musictheory.net, as well as picking up a copy of Mark Sarnecki’s book, The Complete Elementary Rudiments, which you can read about in my post of all my most recommended products.
Making loops is a simple process in Garageband.
1) Select the region you want to loop.
2) Use the command, “Control + Shift + o (the letter, not the number).”
Another thing that you can do is go into the ‘File’ heading and then select, “Add Region to Loop Library.”
3) You have two options, either select, “One Shot,” or “Loop.”
The difference is that with “One Shot,” the loop is recorded exactly as is, and can’t be (as easily) modified afterward according to tempo and key signature adjustments.
The “Loop” option, makes it so that the loop will change with tempo and key signature changes.
It’s really as simple as that.
by the way, I have a list of all the best products for music production on my recommended products page, including the best deals, coupon codes, and bundles, that way you don’t miss out (you’d be surprised what kind of deals are always going on).
How To Adjust Key Signature And Tempo Of Pre-Recorded Loops
1) Double click on the “Track Region.”
2) Choose the option, “Region.”
3) Check the box, “Follow Tempo and Pitch.”
- Note that when this box hasn’t been checked, the loop won’t change at all according to tempo and key signature adjustments. This may be convenient for you later.
4) Underneath the setting, “Transpose,” move the slider to however many semi-tones you want to change it by, up or down.
5) If you want to adjust the time signature, just do it the way you normally do, using the main BPM counter in the top-center of the software.
Garageband 7/8 Time Signature
This is where a bit of music theory comes in handy. A change by a few semi-tones will effectively adjust the key signature depending on by how many tones.
For instance, if the key of the loop is A Major, and you want it to be changed to E Major, you have to drop it by 5 semi-tones.
Think in semi-tones, rather than whole tones, because that’s how the pitch shifter is laid out in GarageBand.
If you don’t know music theory, you can just adjust it by semi-tone until it sounds good. It can be done by ear.
An important thing to note, however, is that adjusting samples or loops by semi-tones will only work in relative keys.
In other words, if the sample/loop is in A Major, it can only be changed to another Major key signature. It can’t be changed to a minor key, because then the accidentals (# and b) would have to change.
If you want a starter’s guide to music theory, I suggest checking out Music Theory.net first and then pick up The Complete Elementary Music Rudiments by Mark Sarnecki from Amazon as well as the answer book.
Elementary rudiments are really not that sophisticated, and a basic understanding will go a long way.
For this instance, specifically, you want to learn about the difference between semi-tones and whole tones, in addition to key signatures which can also be learned by one of my favorite e-books, PianoForAll, which is a great tool for learning piano for music production.
Garageband 7/ 8 Time Signature
Other Information
Another thing Garageband users often talk about is whether or not it’s ok to use Apple Loops when creating music.
By the word, “Ok,” I mean whether users have to pay royalty fees in case your song blows up and earns money which I talked more about in my other article.
While I can’t speak for other Loops created by other companies, from what I understand about Apple, they don’t require any kind of royalty for using their loops. I guess it’s a gift to their users. Putting all of that aside….
Loops are a great feature in Garageband, whether they’re the stock loops that come as a part of the workstation, the ones that you’ve created yourself, or some of the excellent sounds and instruments that come as part of Komplete 13’s bundle from Native Instruments.
When GarageBand first launched in 2004, the pre-recorded loops were one of the most talked-about features, with hundreds of presets and samples loaded into the software.
Fast forward fourteen years later, and there are so many loops that come with the software. When I first began using GarageBand, I never considered even using them.
However, after a bit of experimentation, I really learned to appreciate them for what they are.
The loops that Garageband offers are convenient for a couple of different reasons, including the fact they can be adjusted to different key signatures and tempos.
Each loop has the capacity to be used in pretty much whatever song you need it in, rather than having individual loops that are only good for one tempo and one key signature.
How To Play 7/8 Time Signature
Additionally, if the music has been recorded using MIDI, one can change the software instrument afterward to create a totally different sound.
I do this all of the time when creating music. If I’ve made a melody using the piano, I’ll load up a synthesizer, arpeggiator, or a nylon string guitar using copy/paste with the same music just to thicken out the sound.
Moreover, as I wrote inmy article in changing tempo in Garageband, using the “One Shot” feature can actually come in handy if you don’t want to change the tempo/key signature of your loop when adjusting other parts of the song.
Tips For How To Make A Seamless Loop
Creating smooth loops is important for the production process (I show you how to do this better in my editing guide).
It can be incredibly frustrating in the beginning stages of learning how to create synchronized samples and correctly timed loops.
If the music isn’t the proper tempo, time signature, or melodically “correct,” it can potentially sound pretty bad – or not to what regular music listeners are accustomed.
Unless the “incorrect” music is intentional, I imagine you want a song that sounds “right.”
fter a bit of help and practice, users can figure out how to make great sounding versatile loops for all kinds of music.
If you want your loop to sound good and synchronized with the rest of your tracks, you have to ensure a couple of things.
- 1) The first important thing is to ensure that your track region is only 4 measures. If you try and create loops that are more than four measures, while other loops are 5, it’s not going to work out in the way that you want.
However, making your loop 8 measures will work, because of the compatibility between the time signatures.
*Once you’ve really become sophisticated in your music production skills, you can easily use more sophisticated time signatures.
- 2) The next important thing is to ensure that the musical notes fall exactly on the beat or the “lines” – as Garageband has everything laid out.
- 3) Another crucial detail is to ensure the time signature of the loops are the exact the same, otherwise, they won’t sound “correct.” for instance, you can’t loop a beat in 9/8 alongside one in 5/8. It’s not going to sound alright if you try and repeat it over and over again.
For instance, if you’ve created a loop at 80 beats-per-minute, and then another at 120 beats per minute, it’s not going to sound right.
- 4) Using a divisible of an even number will usually sound alright, for instance, if you’ve created a piece of music that is only two measures, and then loop it for as long as you want, it’ll work fine in even number time signatures.
- Ie, 4/4, 4/8, 8/12, etc.
How To Use Apple Loops
As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, if you want to use one of Garageband’s loops (and Logic Pro X),
Garageband 7/ 8 Time Signature Songs
1) Go to the right-hand side of the screen and click on the icon that looks like a hose.
2) Click on it, and it’ll bring up countless loops.
After beginning to scroll through them, it’s clear right away that there is a ton of them at our disposal. Divided by Instrument, Genre, and Descriptor, you can navigate through the list and choose the one most suited to you.
Unfortunately, in a recent update, GarageBand changed it so you can’t see the tempo and key signature of the loop anymore.
Edit: After a bit of research, this point is actually incorrect. By going into the Garageband Preferences, then the “Loops” sub-category, users can select the box, “Display Original Tempo and Key.”
However, I think the reasoning for this is that after dragging the loop into the Track Region, it’s really up to the user to choose its tempo and key signature.
Moving on:
3) Check out the Genre sub-category, and you can see there are 23 different options, including Rock/Blues, Country, Jazz, Funk, Indie, Chillwave, Electronic, Urban, House, Deep House, Electro House, and so on and so forth.
Personally, I love the Jazz section, especially the “Hustle Flutes.” It’s a great way to add a bit of style and groove to a song that would otherwise sound a bit dry.
4) In the instrument sub-category, there are 24 different to choose from, including Piano, Strings, Synth, and Percussion instruments.
5) And finally, in the
6) Just click on one of the loops to hear it play, and then drag and drop it over to the Track Region. Loops are always in Audio Track (Blue) format.
7) Now, with the “Enable Flex” function turned off, change the key signature and tempo as you see fit.
Other Important Things to Consider
The loops can actually come in a few different formats, including Green, Blue, and Yellow.
Green loops are MIDI-format, in other words, they can be edited and changed as most MIDI music can. Simply drag and drop the little Green notes around as you see fit.
Moreover, the handy feature of MIDI loops is the fact that we can just change the software instrument track and then have an entirely different sound.
Audio, on the other hand, can be edited but only in terms of key signature as well as Tempo. In other words, they are previously recorded audio snippets. With that said, Audio Loops typically sound quite a lot better than MIDI loops.
And Yellow Loops are pretty new. They are drummer tracks that can be edited for fitting into your music specifically.
And finally – this probably goes without saying – you can change the length of each Loop as usual by just hovering the cursor over the loop, and dragging it to the desired length.
If you wanted, you could build an entire song purely with loops. While some people would seriously question that sort of thing, I don’t there’s anything wrong with using pre-recorded loops as a way of creating music.
If you can create something unique using the building blocks another person created, have at it.
That’s all for now. I hope this tutorial was helpful to you. Make sure to share it on social media with your friends.