
If you don't have a midi keyboard, no problem, you can open up musical typing in GarageBand by pressing " command K”. If you have a midi controller connected to your keyboard, you can start pressing the keys and you'll hear the different sounds of the drum kit that you've selected. Once we've chosen our drum kit, you're ready to record. However, when we program drums with MIDI, we don't need to choose a style of drummer because you are the drummer! You'll notice that the drum kits are exactly the same ones when we we're looking at yellow drummer tracks.

Select your drum kit sound from the library panel (Y).
#GARAGEBAND BEAT MAKER SOFTWARE#
Start by adding a software instrument track. Let's go through the steps on how you program a beat with MIDI. In this case, I would make a beat by programming the drums with MIDI. For example, some times I have a beat idea in my head that I know what I want it to sound like. Making a beat by programming your drums with MIDI is popular if you have a beat idea in your head or you're hearing something that you want to start with from scratch. Don't worry, you can always reset your drummer tracks by adding a new style of drummer. If you've gone too far and made too many changes. Here's an example of a beat I made in GarageBand For my chorus', I would make the beat a bit louder and more complex and I might add a different hi-hat pattern too. I personally like starting out with simple and soft beats if I'm working on a verse section to a song. You have a huge variety of patterns to choose from so spend some time dialling in on a sound you would like. You can also adjust the swing and percussion sounds on the right side. In the editor, (shortcut: "E"), you can now edit the drum presets by dragging the yellow dots in the "square". Don't worry, you can always choose a different genre and style at a later time too.

Start with the genre that best fits your style of music and then choose a drum kit. Each drummer has a slightly different style. In the library panel (quick key: “Y”), select which drummer and drum kit that you would like to use. Drummer tracks are always yellow in colour. In a blank session, create a drummer track, as shown below. Let's go through how you would set up a drummer track in GarageBand and how you can customize the feeling of the beat so it fits best with your song. I find myself using drummer tracks regularly if I need to set up a groove quickly. GarageBand has built-in features designed to get you up and running very quickly with a beat.
#GARAGEBAND BEAT MAKER FREE#
By the way, if you're curious about learning more about GarageBand and levelling up your skills then I recommend my free 5 steps on learning GarageBand faster.
#GARAGEBAND BEAT MAKER HOW TO#
The three popular methods on how to make beats in GarageBand are:

If you're also more interested in Logic Pro, then here is a post on how to make a beat in Logic Pro. If you're more curious about how to make "type beats" which might include more instrumentation, you might be interested in my how to make a song series. I'm referring to programming a drum beat that you might use in a song or production. Just so we get on the same page, when I say "make a beat". I'll be teaching you a few of the popular beat making methods in GarageBand. GarageBand makes it easy and fun to quickly get up and running with a creative beat idea. Making a beat in GarageBand is one of my favourite parts about the music production process.
