First look at GarageBand or "How I recorded blues iPad»

When there GarageBand and iMovie, the press was full of rave reviews in the app store. Try iMovie now very few people can (official sales outside the United States have not begun, and the price of "Gray" iPads are still very high), but to play with GarageBand can be the owners of the first tablet generation. So I asked on Twitter: are there people among the readers who really passionate about music, and what they think about GarageBand for iPad?

I am very grateful and thankful for all the answers. But special thanks to Leonid Kirakosyan, who spoke in detail about the disadvantages of the application. Further - it is optional. Do not forget to zafollovit Leonid Twitter: @kirakosyan_l

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iPad 2 release was accompanied by a dithyramb to address new applications for the iPad, which became Garage Band and iMovie. I must say, first I immediately aroused skepticism: the developers have promised that the program would feel pressing force, it will be presented instruments, amplifiers, sampler and other pleasures for musicians and beginners. So for musicians or beginners? Let us explain in a short review.

To be honest, I started myself, I can not say, but my basic tools - electric guitar, classical guitar, and bass guitar. Of course, like any musician I feel an interest in everything that is able to make a sound, and therefore distinguish the hi-hat on the barrel and can play "Dog Waltz" on the piano. I have very little teaching experience, I know how beginners respond to notes, the basic harmony and the "simple way of remembering." In the first section, I try to look at the Garage Band eyes begin in the second - through the eyes of a musician, and in the third - summarize the above, describe the experience of creation (not) finished composition.

Beginning

So, I opened purchased for $ 5 GarageBand and immediately decided to try walking Smart Guitar. The default mode is activated, "already clamped chords" - on each vertically arranged stages of a single chord. The first thing that struck me was the major chord reduced VII degree of the major scale and the nearby diminished chord VII stage. Minor scales so generally offered something specific: major and minor "version" of the chord of the fifth stage, some more reduced miracle. If in Russian, Apple used a not quite normal chords. Moreover, the chords are not more than a rubber stamp with fingerings open position. In Russian, is not always the "lower" note on the main vertical (tonic) - lack of logic confusing. Fans of thieves strumming and repertoire of the group "Kino" in shock, looking for home up to get salt, trembling in nervous tension. And - go to the Autoplay function, something like (no more) is able to play the guitar itself. I have to say, a similar picture will appear before fans of bass and keyboards, but what I've described above - just examples of the lack of logic.

Thus, all kinds of simplified regimes suffer minor flaws and features done to make life difficult for beginners. The main stage is not always selected, custom chord understanding of the fundamentals of harmony from the average consumer no. The first hour you'll be dashing click on Autoplay in all modes, record your hit, but then realize that to implement at least some ideas you do not get: Garage Band is something like one big button "Create a random song," which in this case also gives the illusion of personal contribution with the mini-games in the spirit of arcades 90th (the screenshot shows one of the mini-games - Smart Drums)

So my prediction: after two hours of entertainment, really master the program, aspiring to face the fact that something does not sound, and how to make the sound unclear. I would like to change something that sounded like that, but does not work. It has long been known truth - to play a musical instrument can not teach - appeared in all its glory.

Musician

Guitar and bass. Being still a musician, I switched the guitar in Notes mode. 8 positions, 4 types of guitars with almost no sound settings (no tone knobs, pickup selector). Of course, first of all, I tested the sensitivity: Apple promised that the virtual instruments are sensitive to the pressing force. Perhaps Accelerometer first iPad did not reveal this function, and the gyro will correct the situation, but then, so I had to turn off the "dynamics" by default. We have two levels of sound (medium loud), which seem to decide when someone enter. Awful.

Neck of the guitar stuck in the open position, to play "top" you no one ever will. Bends and vibrato tolerable, but for some reason only a semitone, the response rate is lower than average, the default sound screwed preprotivneyshy, effects, it is better not to include. Bass sound terrible - my favorite Paul McCartney has never been a model of a nice sound, but there his style «Liverpool» is present.

keyboard. In general, the feeling that the developers truly pored over the keyboards and guitar being finished in Popyhi. A variety of different organs and synthesizers and sound, working with the interface and everything that comes to keyboard leaves a good impression. The same with the dynamics of the problem, the rest - great.

Drums. The program has a simple drum kit, automatic Smart Drums and already recorded grooves. Friends, drums done in one day. I could stop here, but still describe: in the mode of the drum set snare drum (? Drive drum, yes) plays softly and sometimes mood produces something tolerable. on a plate punch causes the pedal to twitch nervously, and my attempt to write shuffle ended (warning!) that GarageBand itself (!) dismissed all of my weaknesses into strengths share. The program has a decent amount of already recorded tracks and drum my blues is not lost. I am extremely upset that it was necessary to apply to the samples, but it can not be helped. Smart Drums are already described the "Create a random song" with the illusion of creativity. No, thanks.

Guitar amp. Apple courageously stuck to its program a function that can not be used without accessories from third-party companies. That's bad luck, all third-party companies to write "their Garage Band» for their own accessories. It is unlikely that someone will take advantage of this feature. But developers do not even bother to license virtual amps - on what should be the Orange, written Garage Band.

The program also has a microphone and a sampler, but I do not think that these features are at least some interest at least for someone. In general, and not play - except the vocals for the songs to record.

In general, it's difficult to imagine a musician who really enjoys GarageBand. Play it will not be with the applications running on it will not work.

In the picture you can see that I was not able to record everything from solo once, I did not manage to play everything clean and error free. I kept forgetting that bends there is only half-tone fingers frustrated neighboring notes and phrases ended on anything.

Summary - Garage Band Blues

Waking up on the morning after the release of the program, I decided to write using Garage Band Blues. Frankly, I expected at least 3 of the square, but the recording solo me so exhausted and require an amount of time and effort that I confined one. At the turnaround I also did not have, I just looped the transition.

Blues after you listen, as long as you can read the blues, good picture really sad.

The overall program is sometimes podglyuchivaet and freezes. For some reason it is impossible to cut the track to the left - just right. Rewriting occurs for no apparent logic. But it's small and not too scary bugs that disappear, I'm sure very soon.

For beginners, the program is a game. The game, which, as I suspect, quickly get tired, and, in spite of its unusual, unlikely to rival some Angry Birds. I compare these two applications are quite deliberately, and do not think that anyone would seriously share with friends, aspiring musician, new songs, and share noticed chips to wait for updates. Play and forget.

Come up with a use case for GarageBand musicians me too hard. Applications with Guitar Amp features existed before, all who needed them, bought them. Record musical idea on the road will not be easy because of weak implementation tools. Write music, even email, on the iPad is unlikely anyone would.

Consider it the blues on Garage Band: