#Garageband for mac drum kits pro#
#Garageband for mac drum kits plus#

The kick and snare parts are manipulated using an X/Y grid, the X axis determining the core beats of the groove and the Y axis adding some extra syncopated sizzle.

#Garageband for mac drum kits plus#

Another plus is that you can also add or remove individual notes from the drum score, to perfect the part you’re aiming to create. While this may seem a little daunting to the uninitiated, it’s actually a great learning aid for those hoping to get a grasp of how rhythms are notated, and helpful if you want to communicate ideas to a session drummer. One particularly cool feature is that the programmed grooves are graphically represented in standard drum notation. There’s no provision for dynamic changes, but the arrangement window allows you to detail patterns for song sections ranging in length from 1 to 32 bars, so you can really go to town on fine‑tuning the arrangement. There’s also a very slick option to copy the beat that you’re working on over to any other section in the song (sections that are all helpfully laid out for you with meaningful titles). These beats are labelled alphabetically, A to Q, and increase in complexity and syncopation the further into the alphabet you travel. You can program your own parts, but the grid icon accesses 16 pre‑programmed beats, which is great if you’re in a rush and/or don’t want to roll your own. The Groove machine page’s headphone icon provides you with a choice of 13 individual kits, all created using original drum kit samples recorded by RT60. You can roll your own patterns or use presets to speed things up. Songzap features an easy‑to‑use drum machine, complete with rhythms, original samples and even standard drum notation. You also get the option to prescribe how frequently the crash cymbal appears (for example, once every 1, 2, 4 or 8 bars). Working in sections, the hat can also be switched out for either a floor tom or a ride cymbal.

The hi‑hat control operates only on a left‑to‑right basis, with patterns increasing in complexity towards the right. By tapping the icon on your snare or kick you can lock your axis to one or the other, should you prefer to deal with only one element at a time. The kick and snare parts are manipulated using an X/Y grid, the X axis determining the core beats of the groove and the Y axis adding some extra syncopated sizzle GarageBand and Logic users should be very familiar with this concept from Drummer tracks. This window is also where you set your project tempo (once you’ve made any audio recordings in the app, this tempo cannot be changed.) With 4/4, 3/4 and 12/8 time signatures available, the most common bases are covered, and if you need to get a shuffle groove with swing eighths the 12/8 pattern can make that happen. Starting with the Groove machine, this provides several drum kits and a variety of kick, snare and hi‑hat patterns, which can be tailored to taste and can be adjusted for individual song sections in the arrange window and labelled accordingly (intro/verse/chorus etc). On opening, you find yourself in a home page which is divided into five sections, each accessing deeper functions for the defined stages that lie at the heart of this app: Groove, Arrange, Mix, Track and Export. The Songzap interface is engaging and intuitive, and the functionality it accesses superb.

Songzap is the brainchild of Dr Rob Toulson and MTV award‑winner Dr Mike Exarchos, who have both enjoyed success as artist and producer, and are experts in music education and audio technology. It also serves more generally as a quick and effortless mobile tool to capture inspiration whenever it strikes. Songzap aims to remove the barriers to and mystery from the music pre‑production process - which, essentially, means everything involved in arranging a track and creating a demo in advance of a professional‑quality studio recording.

#Garageband for mac drum kits pro#

Marketed as the world’s first intelligent pre‑production app for songwriters and musicians, iOS app Songzap is the latest offering from RT60, whose iDrumTune Pro app we reviewed back in SOS Oct 2017. Could this natty iPhone app help you structure your songs and make better demos?