How to Make a Beat in GarageBand on Mac and iPhone

Can you make a real beat in GarageBand?

Yes. GarageBand is Apple's free music app, and it has everything a first beat needs: drums, loops, software instruments, a mixer and audio export. The Mac version is free on the Mac App Store, supports up to 255 tracks and includes Drummer with 33 virtual players across genres such as hip hop and EDM^[1].

The workflow differs by device. On Mac you build drums with a Drummer track, Apple Loops or MIDI notes. On iPhone and iPad you also get the Beat Sequencer, a step grid inspired by classic drum machines^[4]. Both versions follow the same order: tempo, drums, bass and melody, arrangement, export.

If you have never opened a DAW before, the broader first beat in 30 minutes guide explains the musical side. This page is about doing it inside GarageBand.

Step 1: Set the tempo before you add anything

Set the tempo first, because loops, Drummer and the Beat Sequencer all follow the project tempo. Changing it later works, but recorded audio and your own samples will not always follow as cleanly as Apple Loops do.

Treat these as starting points rather than rules. Pick one, then create your first track: on Mac, choose Track > New Track or press Option-Command-N^[2]; on iPhone, a new song opens the sound browser straight away^[4].

Step 2 on Mac: How do you make drums in GarageBand?

The fastest route is a Drummer track. In the New Track dialog choose Drummer and click Create; GarageBand adds a virtual drummer with its own kit and an 8-bar region^[2]. Pick an electronic or hip hop drummer for beats, then shape the groove in the Drummer Editor.

• Drummer loops In the Loop Browser, Drummer loops have a yellow icon. Drag one into an empty part of the Tracks area and GarageBand creates a Drummer track set up to reproduce that loop. A project can hold up to six Drummer tracks.^[3]
• Arrangement-aware regions If your project already has arrangement markers, a new Drummer track creates one region per marker, matched in length and name.^[2]
• Convert to MIDI Drag a yellow Drummer loop onto a software instrument track to turn it into a MIDI loop you can edit note by note.^[6]
• Program by hand Create a software instrument track with a drum kit and draw notes in the Piano Roll. This gives you exact hi-hat patterns that Drummer cannot write.

For trap and drill, many producers skip Drummer and program the kit by hand because hat rolls and 808 slides need exact placement. Drop your own one-shots from free drum kits onto audio tracks or into an Audio Units sampler plugin, and use the patterns in how to make trap beats as a template.

Step 2 on iPhone: How do you use the GarageBand Beat Sequencer?

Open the sound browser, swipe to Drums and tap Beat Sequencer. Each row is a kit piece and each lit step plays that sound, so you build the beat by tapping squares on the grid^[5].

1. Start from a pattern or a blank grid
   Tap the Patterns button and choose a preset style, or choose New Pattern to start from scratch.^[4]
2. Pick a kit
   Tap the kit button at the bottom of the screen and choose a style and kit. More kits are available from the Sound Library.^[4]
3. Tap in steps
   With Step On/Off active, tap steps to switch them on or off, or drag across the grid to set several at once.^[5]
4. Shape each step
   Use Velocity for volume, Note Repeat for rolls and double hits, and Chance so a step does not play every time the pattern repeats.^[5]
5. Set length, step size and swing
   In the Inspector, choose 16, 32, 48 or 64 steps in 4/4, a step length such as 1/16 or 1/32, a playback mode and a swing amount.^[4]
6. Record it into the song
   Tap Record in the control bar. The pattern loops until you stop, then appears as a normal track you can edit and arrange.^[4]

Stuck for an idea? The Dice button generates a random drum pattern, and you can tap it repeatedly until something sparks^[5]. Save patterns you like; saved patterns appear in a Custom category for reuse in other songs^[5]. If you prefer a virtual drummer on iPhone too, note that a GarageBand for iPhone song can have up to two Drummer tracks^[12].

Step 3: Add bass, chords and melody

Add melodic parts with Apple Loops or by playing a software instrument. Apple Loops always match the project tempo, so you can audition them freely without worrying about timing^[6].

Using Apple Loops

Blue loops are audio, green loops are MIDI and yellow loops are Drummer. Drop a loop below your existing tracks and GarageBand creates the right track type. Loops in the same family share a name with a different number, and you can swap between family members from the arrows on the region^[6]. Press L to loop a selected region continuously^[6].

Playing your own parts without a keyboard

Press Command-K for Musical Typing and play notes on your computer keyboard. Z and X shift octaves, C and V change velocity, and Tab works as a sustain pedal^[7]. A cheap MIDI keyboard helps, but it is not required for a first beat.

GarageBand on Mac also hosts Audio Units instruments and effects, both AUv2 and AUv3, once Enable Audio Units is checked in Settings > Audio/MIDI^[8]. That lets you use third-party free synths alongside the built-in sounds.

Keep the first beat simple: one bass sound, one chord or pad sound and one lead or sample. Two good sounds usually beat six average ones.

Step 4: Arrange the loop into a full beat

Turn an 8-bar loop into a song-length beat by copying it into sections and removing parts in some of them. Contrast between sections matters more than adding new sounds.

1. Build the full loop
   Get 8 bars where drums, bass and melody all play together and sound finished.
2. Copy it out
   Repeat the loop to about 2 to 3 minutes, which gives an artist room for two verses and hooks.
3. Carve the intro
   Mute the drums and bass for the first 4 or 8 bars so only the melody plays.
4. Split hooks and verses
   Keep everything in the hook sections. In verses, drop a melody layer or simplify the hats so a vocal has room.
5. Mark the changes
   Add a crash, riser or drum stop on the bar before each new section so the listener hears the switch.

For section lengths by genre and more arrangement tricks, see beat structure and song arrangement.

Step 5: How do you export a beat from GarageBand?

On Mac, choose Share > Export Song to Disk, pick AAC, MP3, AIFF or WAVE, set the quality and click Export. GarageBand writes a stereo audio file and trims silence at the start and end of the project^[9].

• Export part of a song Select the checkbox to export only the cycle area, or only the length of the selected regions when Cycle is off.^[9]
• Which format Use WAVE or AIFF when you send a beat to an artist or engineer, and MP3 or AAC for quick previews.
• On iPhone In My Songs, touch and hold the song, tap Share, then tap Song, choose the audio quality, add artist and title details and share or save it to Files.^[10]
• Send the project Share as Project to move an editable GarageBand song to a Mac. Projects cannot be opened on Windows.^[10]

GarageBand limits and when to move to Logic Pro

GarageBand covers a complete beat, but serious producers usually outgrow it for mixing and deeper editing. The good news is that the move is painless: Logic Pro opens GarageBand projects from Mac, iPad and iPhone directly, keeping tracks, tempo, key, patches and mix settings^[11].

The move is one-way, though. Logic Pro saves the result as a Logic project, and GarageBand cannot open Logic projects^[11]. Keep a copy of the original GarageBand file if a collaborator still uses it. The full checklist is in the GarageBand to Logic Pro migration path.