If you want to connect a MIDI controller to Garageband iOS, take comfort in knowing that it’s really not that difficult.
- Nektar Impact LX25+ 25-key Keyboard Controller 25-key USB-MIDI Keyboard Controller with Pre-mapped DAW Configurations for Bitwig Studio, Cubase, Digital Performer, Garageband, Logic Pro, Nuendo, Reason, SONAR, Studio One, FL Studio, and Reaper If you want the power of the Impact LX+ series without the extra keys and faders, the LX25+ is for you.
- Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear.
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.
I’ve already written a full tutorial on how to connect a MIDI keyboard to Garageband which you can read here.
However, it’s slightly different on Garageband iOS, mostly due to the adaptors.
To put it simply, you need a Thunderbolt to USB adaptor in order to connect your MIDI controller into Garageband.
1) Connect your Thunderbolt to USB adaptor to your iPhone or iPad.
2) Hook up your MIDI controller using the Firewire to USB cable that it comes with.
3) Garageband iOS should be able to recognize it immediately, and you can start using it.
And it’s really as simple as that.
We’ll explore a more in-depth tutorial including images now.
Connecting A MIDI Controller to Garageband iOS
As I just said, you need to get your hands on a Thunderbolt to USB adaptor in order to make your MIDI keyboard work with your iPhone or iPad. This is essential.
Midi Keyboard Garageband Ios
What Gear You Need To Connect MIDI Controller to Garageband iOS
- MIDI Controller
Grab the Nektar 49-key here from Amazon. - Thunderbolt to USB Adaptor (Female)
Grab one off of Amazon here.I’d recommend getting one from the Apple Store instead, however. - Firewire to USB Cable
Check the price on Amazon here.
1) Connect your Thunderbolt to USB adaptor to your iPhone or iPad
Once you have your adaptor, all you have to do is connect it to your device.
2) Hook up your MIDI controller using the Firewire to USB cable that it comes with.
If you own a MIDI keyboard, you should already have every cable that you need, including the Firewire to USB cable. Most MIDI keyboards will come with one by default, but just in case you don’t have one, you can grab it off of Amazon from the link above.
3) Garageband iOS Should Be Able To Recognize It Immediately
There are some exceptions to this, but for the most part, if you own a relatively new keyboard, there won’t be any recognition issues.
In case you haven’t purchased a MIDI Keyboard already, I have some key things to keep in mind.
What MIDI Keyboard Should I Get For Garageband iOS
Right off the bat, I’ll say that the Acorn Masterkey 49 is probably the best budget keyboard because it doesn’t cost a lot of money and it also comes with 49 keys.
However, these days, it doesn’t appear on the Amazon store anymore, so I’d recommend getting this one instead.
While it’s not the best keyboard on the market, it has a lot of range, pitch bends, modulation, volume knobs, etc. And there isn’t a need to download any MIDI drivers or anything like that.
Put simply, it’s good to go the moment you pull it out of the box and connect it to your interface.
In case you decide not to take my advice, understand there are a few useful things you should consider before buying a keyboard for Garageband iOS.
Important Things To Note
1) Make Sure It’s Class Compliant
By this, I mean that you don’t have to download any drivers or software in order for it to work.
You may run into issues if you have to download additional software on your device in order for the MIDI controller to work. Ultimately, we want to avoid this completely, because it’s just going to be a pain, at the end of the day.
When buying a MIDI controller, I find that it’s best to always keep it simple, that way you don’t run into any issues down the line. I find this is the most important thing to consider.
Especially in the case of Garageband Mac OS and Garageband iOS.
Admittedly, not every manufacturer bothers to make their device compliant with Garageband, just because some people believe Garageband isn’t a real DAW, despite the fact it works amazingly.
2) Get At Least 49 Keys
This is really up to personal taste, but I would say that getting a keyboard with at least 49 keys is your best bet. Anything less than that, for instance, 25 keys, I find isn’t enough.
Ideally, you’d like to have more than 2 octaves when purchasing a MIDI keyboard, because it’s going to give you more range for compositions.
I would argue that this, in conjunction with it being class compliant, are the two most important specifications of a MIDI keyboard, so pay attention to them the most.
3) Not Every MIDI Keyboard is Compatible with GarageBand iOS
Pay careful attention to the manufacturer’s comments on what software their device works with.
This is an issue for higher-end keyboards, which don’t always work with Garageband, so make sure you’ve researched this sufficiently.
Garageband doesn’t actually support assignable pads and keys the way that other DAWs do. In other words, if you buy a popular Drum Pad, like something from Akai, you won’t actually have the ability to customize each pad.
With that said, these keyboards do work with Garageband, but the way the DAW maps them out by default is how they’ll remain. You can’t change them.
4) Connecting A Keyboard Invalidates Certain Functions
When you plug in your MIDI keyboard into Garageband iOS, it has the benefit of increasing the amount of range you have among other advantages, however, it does stop certain functions from working as they normally would.
For instance, if you set up the Smart Strings, the Smart Piano, or the Smart Guitar, you’ll notice that the keyboard won’t respond to the actual controls in the Smart interface.
With that said, however, you can still press on the screen and play them as you normally would, but it just won’t respond to the Keyboard.
While this seems like a disadvantage, it’s actually an advantage because then you have both capabilities.
Put simply, you can use the Smart interface’s automatic functions, but you also have the ability to play individual notes as you normally would with a MIDI keyboard.
Moreover, you won’t be able to use the arpeggiator in the same way.
With all that said, having a MIDI keyboard is essential in my honest opinion, especially if you want to play more harmonically complex chords and progressions.
Additionally, only having at your disposal a few keys is no good if you want more range and dynamics in your compositions.
Using a MIDI keyboard will allow you to determine how much velocity you want in your compositions through the way you’ve actually played the notes on the keyboard.
Contrast this to the fact that if you’re playing it on the touch screen, you won’t have the same ability, or at least not in the same way.
5) It’s Best To Use An Official Apple Adaptor
People who use Apple products know that their adaptors aren’t cheap, but frankly, they always seem to work a lot better than the knock-off ones that you buy from other places.
I imagine that Apple has done this on purpose in order to guarantee more sales for themselves, but that’s neither here nor there.
Just pay the extra money for the appropriate adaptor, and then you don’t have to worry about it breaking after a few months.
More importantly, I find their adaptors are more versatile, and everything is going to work once you’re using an official Apple adaptor.
If you want to get a multi-purpose adaptor, I’d recommend grabbing one from Amazon here.
6) MIDI Keyboard Allows For More Drum Pattern Customization
There’s no question that using a MIDI Keyboard makes composition a lot easier, and this fact manifests itself additionally through the use of playing the drums.
A MIDI Keyboard is going to allow you to make more complex drum patterns, and more importantly, it’s just a lot more fun when you have an actual keyboard to play with, rather than a touch screen.
7) Turn “Low Power Mode” Off
If you’re anything like me, then you prefer to almost always have “Low Power” mode turned off when using Garageband.
Having it switched on isn’t the best way to run Garageband iOS, because you’ll find it will go to sleep if you move away from your phone for a minute, say, for example, to do some research.
I find it’s best to switch this off, that way the device doesn’t go to sleep, and it doesn’t interrupt your workflow.
YouTube Video Tutorial
Conclusion
That’s it for this tutorial. Do me a favor and share this on your social media. If you’re interested in looking at more gear, check out my recommended products page.
If you’re sick of using the Musical Typing keyboard in Garageband, then look no further than this article. Connecting a keyboard MIDI controller to Garageband is incredibly simple.
Without further ado,
This is how you connect a keyboard into GarageBand.
The process for connecting a keyboard into your computer and DAW is identical for nearly all of them nowadays. However, with Apple and other laptop makers opting for USB-C, you may have to purchase a USB-C to USB cable. Click the link here to get one.
You don’t have to purchase an Apple one, necessarily. There are other good ones as well that are half the price, but I have the Apple one, and it’s the one I use, so I recommend it because I know it works from experience.
When purchasing a new MIDI Keyboard, it’ll likely come with all of the cables necessary for use, including the USB Firewire Cable, which you can also pick up at Amazon for fairly cheap if your keyboard, for whatever reason, didn’t come with it.
1) Assuming that you have the brand new MacBook Pro, you can connect your MIDI Keyboard by a USB Firewire cable directly into the back of the Keyboard.
2) Plug your *USB-C to USB adapter into your laptop.
3) Plug your USB Firewire into your *USB-C to USB adapter.
4) Now open Garageband.
5) After you’ve opened up the program, you don’t have to use musical typing anymore. The keyboard will automatically work right away, without any problems.
*If you have an older computer, it’s possible that you may not even need this adaptor. The keyboard, through the USB port, should be able to connect to your laptop.
In the past, MIDI Keyboards were connected through the use of Pin Drivers, but new MIDI Keyboards usually use USB. If you want to connect an older keyboard into Garageband, you’ll need a MIDI to USB adaptor.
What MIDI keyboard should I use for Garageband?
Considering you’re likely in the beginning stages of music production, I would recommend getting an Acorn Masterkey 49. (Although, they aren’t on Amazon anymore, so it would be best to grab the M-Audio Keystation 49 instead).
Garageband Midi File
Click the link here to read more about the one I own. It has 49 keys, which is essential if you’re trying to get the full range of the piano (it‘s the one in the display picture for this blog post).
In my opinion, a 25-key is good for traveling and when you need something on the road, but for regular music production, a 49-key or larger is best.
It’s a nice little starter keyboard and it works perfectly for a beginner. There are even more options available, like a 61-key, and an 88-key.
Perhaps the most popular keyboard out right now is the Akai MPK Mini Mk2. A lot of people prefer this little machine, and there are more expensive, larger, and superior versions available.
In addition to the price, the Akai MPK Mini Mk2 only has 25 keys, so I didn’t want to get it for that reason.
Once you’ve gotten some experience under your belt, you can pick up a more professional keyboard like the Akai MPK, but it’s certainly not necessary for a beginner to drop this kind of money.
How To Assign Sounds to MIDI Keyboard in Garageband?
From what I understand, it’s not actually possible to assign individual samples to different keys in GarageBand anymore. I don’t know how to do it, and after scouring the internet for answers, I, unfortunately, can’t find a way.
In prior versions of the software, it was possible, but I don’t think you can anymore, for whatever reason. What Apple giveth, it also taketh away.
I could be wrong. Let me know in the comment section below if you know how to do this because I don’t.
If you have the older version of Garageband. The tutorial video at this linkwill show you how.
How To Use A MIDI Keyboard in Garageband?
Background and General Information
The moment you connect your keyboard into your computer, it should work right away. Garageband will recognize exactly what tool you’re using the moment you connect it.
It works the same way that the Musical Typing option does, but with a much bigger range, which makes writing music a lot easier, especially if you like to use the piano.
MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. The ability to change phrases of music after you’ve recorded it is the main benefit of using MIDI.
For instance, if you’ve written a piano riff using a MIDI Controller, you can go back and adjust the timing, velocity, rhythm, as well as the pitch of the note.
It’s a lot easier to change and modify music created through a MIDI Controller, in comparison to an analog recording.
Tip: After making a melody with a MIDI Controller, open a new track with whatever instrument you want, and then copy and paste it into the new Software Instrument Track.
For instance, if you’ve created a melody using the Steinway Grand Piano, you could copy and paste your music into a new Software Instrument Track like String Movements, thus, filling out your mix within seconds.
Using the MIDI Keyboard
To use the MIDI Controller, you’ll have to open a “Software Instrument” track. On the left-hand corner of the string, Garageband has all of the different instruments and settings that you can use.
When using the MIDI controller for creating drums, the drum sounds will usually be within the first octave of the keyboard. Most drum-kits have a limited number of sounds, usually around 9-12.
When creating melodies, whether, through the use of the Steinway Grand Piano, or a Synth, the MIDI controller offers the range of however many keys you have with your controller.
Creating A New Software Instrument Track
If you want to create another Software Instrument track, click on the Track Header using the “secondary click (right click)” function, and choose New Software Instrument Track, or New Track With Duplicate Settings.
Deleting the Software Instrument or Audio Track
If you want to delete the existing Software Instrument Track, use the (Command + Delete) function.
Changing the Timing, Pitch, and Velocity (loudness) Of Your MIDI Notes
Through the use of the “Piano Roll Grid,” at the bottom of Garageband, you can adjust the timing and pitch of each note played.
Some people don’t even use the keyboard to create melodies and drum tracks, you can manually type in each MIDI note by double-tapping your trackpad and selecting the “create note” option.
Like I said before, the best part about using a MIDI controller is that you can fix mistakes that you’ve made simply by changing the position of the MIDI note.
How To Change The Timing Of Your MIDI Notes
The notes, which are little green squares, can easily be moved around by clicking and dragging it to the desired pitch and time.
If you use the Zoom-In function on your Mac, you’ll see that the Piano Roll Grid is divided up with equally distributed lines.
If you want your music to be perfectly in time, just drag and drop the MIDI notes to the closest line, that way your melody is in time, and when you create drums later, everything will be synchronized.
This is legitimately important. Otherwise, your melody is going to sound off-balance and weird. Although, maybe that’s what you want.
How To Change The Pitch Of The Notes
Drag and drop the MIDI notes either up or down to the desired pitch. On the left-hand side of the “Piano Roll Grid,” you’ll notice there is a vertical keyboard, showing at which point each note is played respectively to the piano.
Also, if you hover your cursor of the note, it’ll tell you the pitch, as well as the velocity (strength) of the sound.
How To Change The Velocity (loudness) of the Notes
To my knowledge, there are two ways of doing this in the newest version of Garageband. On the left-hand side of the “Piano Roll Grid,” you’ll see a slider along with the title, “Velocity.”
After selecting your note, you can change the loudness or strength of that note by dragging the slider to the left or right. Increasing the value, (0-100), will make it louder, and decreasing it will make it softer.
Underneath that option, there is also the “Controller” option. You get to this setting by clicking on the button, “Show/Hide Automation.”
Click the power button that looks like a typical “Power” Function.
Then you can drag the vertical slider up and down to change the loudness of that note.
Truthfully, using a MIDI Keyboard in a DAW is a straightforward process, and through a bit of trial and error, you should be able to figure it out.
How To Open Keyboard in GarageBand
Use the (Command + K) option to bring up musical typing in Garageband. You can also select the “Show Musical Typing” option in the settings in the toolbar up top in the DAW.
Additionally, if you want access to a much bigger, but more limited way of playing the keyboard, then click on the option, “Show Keyboard.”
This isn’t nearly as good as using a regular MIDI Keyboard, but it’ll do if you don’t want to go out and buy a keyboard, which you definitely should do.
Why Isn’t My MIDI Keyboard Working?
1) Make sure that you’ve selected the correct input and output options within your Garageband preferences to start. Usually, this part isn’t even necessary, but if your MIDI controller isn’t working for whatever reason, you can adjust these settings.
2) If your MIDI Keyboard isn’t working, go into your Garageband Preferences, Select “Audio/MIDI,” and then click the “re-set the MIDI Drivers” button.
3) Is it possible that your Instrument Track has been muted? In the “Track Header” region, you can see there are two buttons, one that looks like a loudspeaker with a line through it, and another one that looks like a pair of headphones.
The one that looks like a speaker is the “Mute” button, and the Headphones button is the “Solo” button that isolates that particular sound within your mix, in case you want to just hear that one track, and not the others.
You’ll know your mute button is selected because it’ll turn a turquoise green and the MIDI region is no longer green, but a darker shade of grey.
Garageband Midi Clock
When the “Solo” button is turned on, it’s yellow.
Also, if you’ve accidentally isolated a track using the “Solo” button, you won’t be able to hear the MIDI controller, unless you’re currently playing the MIDI Controller through that particular “Software Instrument” track.
4) Another potential reason is that you’ve slid the “Volume Slider” all the way to the left, effectively muting the track.
5) Check your MIDI Keyboard connection. It may have something to do with your USB Firewire Cable.
6) If your computer isn’t recognizing your MIDI Controller, unplug and plug it back in after restarting Garageband.
A way to tell if your computer has recognized the controller is by hitting a note on your MIDI Controller, and seeing if it registers that note at the top of the DAW.
If you hit one note, a little circle will appear in the top right-hand corner of the “Beats Position Display” at the top-center of Garageband.
If you play a chord on the MIDI Controller, Garageband will tell you the exact chord.
Another way of checking to see if your computer recognizes the keyboard is to go into the “About This Mac” settings. Then click on “System Report.”
Go all the way down to where it says “USB,” and click on that.
On the right-hand side of the menu, it will say what’s connected to your computer currently. On mine, it says the name of the device, “masterkey 49.”
7) Try another USB (USB-C) Port on your computer. If you’re using the new MacBook, try a different device, it may be the adaptor.
Remember, the simplest solution is usually the correct one.
YouTube Video Tutorial
Watch this video on YouTube
Conclusion
That’s all for this tutorial. I hope it was helpful for you.
Garageband Midi Cable Music
Check out my recommended product page for more on MIDI keyboards.