Use Ipad As A Midi Keyboard For Garageband

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  1. Use Ipad As A Midi Keyboard For Garageband 1
  2. Use Ipad As A Midi Keyboard For Garageband Mac

Finally, simple clear advice on how to connect a MIDI keyboard to an iPad using cables. This article makes it easy to understand the simplest options that will have you playing piano with your iPad in no time. Which adapter you'll use will depend on whether your MIDI keyboard has its own power supply.

Use Ipad As A Midi Keyboard For Garageband 1

  • 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.
  • Midi Keyboard Buyer’s Guide. There is no MIDI keyboard that works for everyone. Some folks may be looking for a keyboard that lets them try out the basics of music production, while professionals, on the other hand, may be looking to invest in a full-featured keyboard to use in their live performances.
MIDI over Bluetooth is a technology that is still in its infancy. The concept of connecting MIDI devices wirelessly is appealing of course (look Ma, no wires). But how do you set it up for Mac & iOS?

Bluetooth MIDI is here, and it’s getting more refined and present by the day. The dream of the truly wireless setup without latency and without signal loss is becoming a reality, and it couldn’t be a better time to be a keyboard player and a fan of cutting-edge technology. With more and more devices such as the excellent Xkey Air or Yamaha Bluetooth MIDI adapters available to us, it’s time to harness the power of iOS devices and computers as sound modules, and to do so without the oppressive shackles of MIDI and USB cables.

Getting Bluetooth MIDI up and running, however, isn’t quite as straightforward as USB plug-and-play just yet, and there are a few steps you’ll need to take, with a few workarounds for apps that don’t support Bluetooth MIDI just yet. You’ll need to have a device that supports Bluetooth Low Energy profiles, as well as iOS 8/OS X 10.10 or later. Once you’ve got that, a Bluetooth MIDI device, and a compatible app, you’re good to go!

Korg MicroKey is a recently released Bluetooth MIDI keyboard controller.

1 - Powering On

Obviously, you’ll want to power on your device. Once you’ve verified it’s turned on, many devices will need to be put into a ‘pairing mode’. You’ll often need to do this only the first time you connect to a computer/iOS device. After that, most Bluetooth MIDI devices will ‘remember’ what computers they’ve paired with in the past and give you a seamless connection later on. Check your controller’s product manual to verify how to get it into ‘pairing mode’ when necessary.

2 - Enable Bluetooth

This seems like a silly thing to have to point out, but many folks turn Bluetooth off for power consumption reasons. You may have to swipe up to control center on an iOS device, or check the Bluetooth system preferences icon to verify that your Bluetooth connection is on, active, and ready to roll. Trust me, do this before you start pulling your hair out about why it’s not connecting!

3 - (OSX Only) Open Audio/MIDI Settings

Inside of your Applications Folder, you’ll find a subfolder called ‘Utilities’. Open that up, and you’ll be treated to an app called ‘Audio MIDI Setup’. Open up Audio MIDI Setup and navigate to the ‘MIDI Studio’. Once you’re there, you will see an icon for Bluetooth MIDI devices. You’ll double-click that icon, and you should be treated to a list of nearby Bluetooth devices just waiting to pair up. Click on the ‘connect’ button for your MIDI device and it should pair up with no problem! If you don’t see your device here, it may not be near enough to your computer, it may not be in ‘pairing mode’, or it may simply not be Bluetooth LE compatible.

4 - Open Up the App

From here, you’re going to want to open up whatever app you plan on using your Bluetooth MIDI device with. If you’re on iOS, GarageBand is a great app to test with as it supports a wide range of Bluetooth MIDI devices. On OSX, any DAW or virtual instrument that supports MIDI will do. Open up the app, and you should be able to select your MIDI device from whatever preferences menu or MIDI input menu the app typically uses. As long as you’ve configured the device (on OS X) with Audio/MIDI settings properly, it should show up here.

5 - (iOS Only) Configure Bluetooth MIDI

On iOS, Bluetooth MIDI is currently handled on an ‘app-by-app’ basis. In other words, there is currently no Audio/MIDI settings page for you to configure your Bluetooth MIDI device. This means that the app itself has to allow you to configure and pair your Bluetooth MIDI device. For GarageBand, this is located under the little ‘wrench’ settings menu in the upper right corner. Tap on that icon, scroll down to ‘Advanced’ and you’ll be treated to a ‘Bluetooth MIDI Devices’ sub menu where you can select your preferred device.

This is actually important, even if you don’t plan on using GarageBand because GarageBand can be a ‘stopgap’ measure to enable Bluetooth MIDI for apps that don’t technically support it yet. Not all apps have a Bluetooth MIDI device menu that will allow you to pair/configure your controller, but there is a little hack around this! Once you’ve paired up a Bluetooth MIDI device, you can actually quit one app, open another, and it should continue to work! I’ve used GarageBand countless times to select my Xkey Air, get it configured and paired, then quit GarageBand and open up my favorite synth app on the iPad and start rocking!

6 - Stay Awake!

Your connection could time out depending on the device you’re using, the app you’re using, and the background audio settings of the app itself. Don’t rely on this setup for mission critical applications until you’ve thoroughly tested all the devices and apps you plan to use as well as what happens when you close them. Some apps will run in the background and keep providing sound unless you actually quit them from the iPad’s task manager! Certain devices may time out to save energy after a certain amount of inactivity, and this can be a new behavior for those of us used to USB MIDI devices. Test, test, test… and then test again!

A Brave New World

MIDI over Bluetooth is a developing and emerging technology. With the elimination of the headphone jack and millions of new Bluetooth headphones in the world, it remains to be seen how it will hold up with the spectrum getting more and more devices added to it. I’m sure the tech companies are staying ahead of it, though! Like most other technologies, I’d expect this one to continue to grow at an astonishing rate! Completely wireless lossless MIDI as well as audio could be right around the corner!

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Here in North America the NHL playoffs are now in full swing and perhaps you're inspired to play some rocking organ! With GB on the iPad we get some great keyboard sounds with nifty screen controls! N

Here in North America the NHL playoffs are now in full swing and perhaps you’re inspired to play some rocking organ! With GarageBand for iPad we get some great keyboard sounds with nifty screen controls! Not only can we use these keys in our songs that we’re recording, but as I explained in a recent tutorial, live use is also a possibility!


Setup and Equipment Needed

There are a few things we need.

  • Controller Keyboard with power supply - There are many to choose from and I use an Axiom Pro 61. You will definitely need the power supply as the iPad does not provide power through it’s dock port. If you want to use the Korg Nano series, you will need a USB hub with power supply.
  • Camera Connection Kit - Our keyboard controller communicates with GB through this device.
Use


Use Ipad As A Midi Keyboard For Garageband

Axiom Pro 61

Apple's Camera Connection Kit

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Controls

Use Ipad As A Midi Keyboard For Garageband Mac

Each instrument has it’s own layout (organ with drawbars, synths with filter controls) but also there are some functions just above the keyboard and these will vary with the instrument selected. For example, “Sustain” will be on piano but not organ, organ will have the “Rotary” switch for the Leslie, all depending on the instrument.


Although we’re going to be using a keyboard controller, if you want to use the onscreen keyboard, you get different controls for how your screen keyboard responds. On the far left is an “Octave” plus and minus. A middle button for “Glissando”, “Scroll”, “Pitch” which vary again depending on the instrument selected and the right side has a “Scale”, “Arpeggiator” and “Keyboard Layout”.

“Glissando” lets you slide across the keys like a real keyboard would. Think of the piano player using the back of his hand and sliding up or down the keys.

“Scroll” allows you to play a note and while holding it, slide the keyboard up or down. Useful if you need to get into different octaves of the on screen keyboard quickly.

“Pitch” is a like a pitch bend wheel but lets you pitch up or down between notes simply by sliding your finger. Great for the vintage synths!

“Scale” is great for solos if you want to try different sounding scales in a piece of music. Once you pick the scale you want to use, the keyboard becomes more like a single row marimba minus the #/b keys. If you use a kb controller, you will still have all the notes available but you can learn what notes are used by playing them on the iPad and matching them on your keyboard. You’ll soon be playing “Klezmer” with ease!


“Arpeggiator” is your freedom to play multiple notes with one chord held down. You can choose note order, rate, and octave range. Great for dance tunes or your version of “Teenage Wasteland”! Unfortunately, the arpeggiator does not work with a KB Controller.


“Keyboard Layout/Velocity/Key Controls” - You can choose how you would like the onscreen keyboard to be set up with choices for one or two keyboards and octave range.
“Velocity” on and off is simple enough but you also can control the velocity range depending on the instrument (no velocity for organ since there is none!) left to the middle of the screen.
“Key Controls” simply turns on and off the view of the middle button for “Glissando”, etc.
There is also a hidden feature that is very cool and similar to an aftertouch on a KB controller. Load in the “Vintage Lead” preset under “Synth Lead” and strike a note. Now move your finger up and down that note.. instant filter sweep!

Keyboard Controller

Plug your keyboard into your Camera Connection Kit and make sure it’s secure as I find it can pop out easily. If it does, you may need to restart your iPad to get control again. Open up GB and navigate to the “Keyboard” instrument. Once this opens you can then select from pianos,organs, synths, etc. by tapping on the instrument in the middle of the screen. You can even store your own presets.
Again, think of the iPad screen as the controls for the organs drawbars or synths filters. Unfortunately GB won’t record this data during recording. Pitch bend and Mod wheels will respond on your controller as will velocity and after touch. Also, there are no ways to assign a KB controller’s sliders or knobs to say, organ drawbars or synth knobs, although I did find my “master” slider with MIDI CC#7 controlled instrument volume.

Using “Smart Instruments”

One feature I wish GB would allow is the use of “autoplay” but controlled via the KB controller. But there are some interesting ideas you can do by combining the “autoplay” feature and your keyboard. For example, select “Smart Keyboard” and choose one of the 4 “autoplay” modes. You then will see 3 bars with a chord on the top bar. The bar with the chord plays both left and right hand accompaniments, the middle bar is right hand only and the bottom is left hand bass. If you hit the top bar, you could solo on the KB controller. The middle bar could allow you to try bass combinations such as G-G/F-G/E or perhaps a piano bass line with a distinctive melody. Be careful though as the sustain is used most likely and can mush up your sound in the bass line. Using the bottom bar would allow you again more right hand solos or your own accompaniment.

If you want any electric or acoustic bass instruments, you will need to use “Smart Bass”. Using the acoustic bass gives a feature that is hard to emulate on the KB controller unless you get good with the pitch bend wheel.. sliding your finger along a fretless neck. Simply select Acoustic Bass, switch the “Chords” to “Notes” and tap on the screen. It adds some realism to the bass line and with some practice, can give some convincing results. Further editing can be done on GB on your Mac.


“Smart Guitar” is very similar to the smart keyboard and bass features with one additional feature. If you use your KB Controller, you can strike chords on your keys!Now you can use the “autoplay” feature for arpeggiated chords and “strum” chords on your keyboard. Great too for having ostinato picking patterns with multiple chord changes.


Recording Tips

First and foremost.. PRACTICE! Yes.. I said that again as I did in the last tutorial. GB on the iPad does not allow editing like GB on a Mac . Not even MIDI editing for wrong notes. Maybe in version 2.. BUT.. you can slow down the tempo, unlike the Guitar/Audio recording section, and speed it up after. If needed later, you can open up the song on your Mac and edit it there. You also can save time by recording repetitive parts and then looping them. Simply record your part, double tap on the track region and select “Loop”.

If your timing is not that great or you need to tighten up a section, “Quantization” will help. Simply tap on the top right “Mixer” in the Track view and select your quantization value. Use the fastest value you played. For example, if a lead synth line played as fast as 16th notes, use the 1/16 Note value. Quantization will also affect all of the tracks regions in a section! But.. you can have different quantization on each section if a part gets moved from one section to another. Confused? Yeah.. me too at first. If you quantize a part in Section A to 1/8 notes but then move it to Section B that is quantized to 1/16 notes, the new part will show “Multiple”. This is something I seriously hope Apple fixes as it’s frustrating if you need multiple quantizations within a section.

Also, don’t be afraid to record a part and try different instruments as your song may take on a whole new flavor choosing a clav instead of a piano for example. Try duplicating the track with a similar synth but with a different filter cutoff and panned hard left and right. Or use two totally different synths. Bass lines can get really fat with this idea! Slow your song down and play in your own idea of an arpeggiated pattern.. speed up and loop!
Stay tuned for more GarageBand for iPad tips and tutorials. Till next time..don’t drive your neighbors nuts with the Minimoog playing Axel F or Tom Sawyer synth leads.