Best Midi Keyboards For GarageBand – Buyer’s Guide. These days, it’s easier than ever to create great sounding music right at your computer desk. Expensive studio equipment with all the bells and whistles will always have a place of course, but it’s becoming the norm to rely on all of that less and less. Oct 06, 2012 I just bought a new M-Audio Oxygen 25 USB MIDI keyboard controller for school (I'm a student at Berklee College of Music) and I'm trying to use it to record in Garageband. I put in the disc that came with the keyboard, clicked 'install,' and it said the installation was successful and I had to restart my computer, which I did. I’ve been using GarageBand since 2008. I made a collection of 10 songs I recorded in GarageBand over 10 years. In addition to growth over a decade, I hope it also shows progress - something I think this group can appreciate. To connect a controller keyboard with an iOS interface, first connect the interface to your iOS device’s dock port. Next, plug the keyboard’s MIDI out to the MIDI in on the interface using either a standard MIDI cable or a cable that comes with the unit, depending on the interface you have.
You can use a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) keyboard that connects to your Mac through a USB connector cable. In iLife ’11, GarageBand can apply the MIDI information to any Software Instrument, effectively turning your Mac into a fully functional music synthesizer. This functionality in iLife ’11’s GarageBand greatly expands range of sounds you can create.
TheMIDI specifies how musical instruments with microprocessors can communicate with other microprocessor-controlled instruments or devices. Two popular models are the M-Audio Keystation 61es, available from the Apple Store, or the Keystation Pro 88, available from M-Audio.
A USB MIDI keyboard is literally a plug-and-play keyboard. Just plug it in and start GarageBand. You can play your piano and organ riffs and have them translated into Software Instruments. Just follow the same instructions as though you were using the onscreen music keyboard.
If you don’t hear music from your USB MIDI keyboard, try these tricks to troubleshoot the problem:
Make sure that the keyboard is connected to the USB port and the keyboard is turned on. When you first start a new song in GarageBand, a Software Instrument track labeled Grand Piano opens automatically — make sure that this track is still selected by clicking the track header.
Check to see that your system has detected the MIDI device. If you still don’t hear music, choose GarageBand→Preferences and click the Audio/MIDI button to see the Audio/MIDI pane. The MIDI status should indicate that your system detected at least one MIDI input; if it didn’t, you may have to troubleshoot your connection by using the Audio MIDI Setup utility.
The Audio/MIDI pane detects the MIDI keyboard and lets you assign sound input and output.
See whether your USB MIDI keyboard is playing by watching the LCD display in GarageBand as you play. The tiny green MIDI status light in the lower left corner of the LCD display should flash every time you play a note. If you still aren’t hearing music, make sure that the Volume slider for the track isn’t positioned all the way to the left and turn up the output volume for your computer’s speakers or your external speakers.
GarageBand User Guide for iPad
Using the Audio Recorder, you can record your voice, an instrument, or any other sound using the microphone on your iPad, and play it back in GarageBand. You can also record sounds using an external microphone connected to your iPad.
The Audio Recorder has two sets of controls you can use to change the sound. Fun view lets you quickly change the sound of your recording, while Studio view gives you more options to enhance your recording.
Switch between Fun and Studio view
Tap the Fun or Studio button at the top of the Audio Recorder.
Record a sound
Tap the Record button in the control bar.
Play, sing, or make sound into the microphone.
When you are finish, tap the Play button in the control bar to stop recording. Tap the Play button again to hear your recording.
Adjust the microphone input level
While you record, the In level slider on the left shows the input level from the microphone. If the level turns red, drag the slider down (or record the part again more softly) to prevent distortion.
Drag the In level slider up or down to set the input level.
The In level slider is available if your iPad or input source supports input level control.
If the input device supports left and right channels, tap Channel button under the In level slider, tap Input 1 or Input 2 to select the input channel, or tap Stereo to record in stereo.
Set the input level automatically
When an external microphone or other audio device (such as a headset or an audio interface) is connected to your iPad, the input level can be set automatically.
Tap the Input Settings button , then tap the Automatic switch.
Reduce unwanted noise
You can use a noise gate to reduce low-level input noise when you record. A noise gate cuts off the sound when it falls below a certain minimum level.
Tap the Input Settings button , then turn Noise Gate on.
Drag the Noise Gate slider until the noise stops or decreases to an acceptable level.
Turn on monitoring for an external microphone
When an external microphone or other audio device (such as a headset or an audio interface) is connected to your iPad, the Monitor button under the Out level slider becomes active.
Tap the Monitor button to turn monitoring on. Tap the button again to turn monitoring off.
Change the sound using a preset
The Audio Recorder includes presets that appear after you record a sound. Each preset adds an interesting character to the recorded sound.
Do one of the following:
In Fun view, tap or turn the dial to select one of the presets.
In Studio view, tap the icon in the middle of the screen and choose a preset from the list.
Turn the knobs to change the sound of the preset.
You can try out different presets by tapping them and turning the knobs.
Set the key and scale for Extreme Tuning
The Extreme Tuning preset is a popular vocal effect that changes the pitch of your recording based on your song’s key and scale settings.
Tap the Settings button , tap Key Signature, then tap a new key or a different scale (major or minor).
Best Midi Keyboard For Garageband
If the actual key or scale of your song differs from the key or scale setting, the effect might be less pronounced, or might change the pitch of individual notes in undesirable ways.