Anyone try GarageBand (or other audio-editing apps) on iPhone?

ullanta

ullanta

Veteran
I'm not thinking of using this as a high-quality recorder, so lets not start on that discussion... I'm just finding it hard to find information on what the audio-editing capabilities of iphone Garageband really are, and how easy they are to use. Again, not necessarily for real work... just for quick'n'dirty editing of, say, quechua pronunciation to email someone, or of children's first words for grandma (which require a lot of editing, especially when dad spends 20 minutes snuffling and coaxing right next to the microphone for each word that pops out...)
 
Haven't tried Garageband for iPhone. I have Monle (4-track production software); haven't really used it much, but I hear a lot of radio folks are using it for field reports and such. I also have Bluefire, an app that comes along with the Blue Mikey 2.0. This works real well for simple location recording, but of course you have to invest in the microphone for iPod/iPhone as well.

GJ
 
ullanta said:
I'm not thinking of using this as a high-quality recorder, so lets not start on that discussion... I'm just finding it hard to find information on what the audio-editing capabilities of iphone Garageband really are, and how easy they are to use. Again, not necessarily for real work... just for quick'n'dirty editing of, say, quechua pronunciation to email someone, or of children's first words for grandma (which require a lot of editing, especially when dad spends 20 minutes snuffling and coaxing right next to the microphone for each word that pops out...)
Click to expand...

I've 'used' Garage Band on the iPad to sort of plunk out simple melodies. But not for anything 'major'...

Now if there was a Midi keyboard that had a bluetooth interface... that Garage Band understood...

As for audio editing... I do have a widget DAW... but I've not really used it for much at all...
 
>>>>Now if there was a Midi keyboard that had a bluetooth interface... that Garage Band understood...<<<<

If you have an _iPod_, there are smaller keybords available now with a dock so you can plug your Pod right into to keyboard and use any soft-synth app that you run. Maybe Alesis is one of the companies? Sorry, don't have time for a search, but I'll see what I can dig up.

As to the OP's question, I forgot there is also an "MPC clone" app. This is mostly for loop-based music production, but it might have some recording/sampling features that would interest you. Search iTunes.

GJ
 
I'm just interested in audio editing, not MIDI… that's part of the problem; everything I read about most of these apps talks a lot about MIDI and just kinda mentions "audio editing too". Monie looks good, but the reviews are horrible…. Seems extremely buggy and unreliable (but I intend to check it out). I also just found something called, iirc, WaveLab which looks promising… I'll report back if anyone's interested!
 
ullanta said:
I'm just interested in audio editing, not MIDI… that's part of the problem; everything I read about most of these apps talks a lot about MIDI and just kinda mentions "audio editing too". Monie looks good, but the reviews are horrible…. Seems extremely buggy and unreliable (but I intend to check it out). I also just found something called, iirc, WaveLab which looks promising… I'll report back if anyone's interested!
Click to expand...

Garage Band is not a 'general audio' editing system. It is much more directed to musical composition, using synthesized sounds or MIDI created musical scores.

It is a 'sequencer', that is one controls time a sound occurs, and duration, along with 'qualities' such as synthesized instrument parameters, etc. A 'composition' type software would be able to deal with standard notation and scoring conventions, instrument staves, etc. Which is what I prefer, and use to generate a MIDI file out, to import in to Garage Band.

How your work flow would go with Garage Band is use Garage band to create either instrument solo clips, or some form of ensemble, output as a stereo track, then import that into your DAW which has your locked Film. Then use standard DAW practice to align the GB output to the specific 'film' areas.

Back in the olden days, and even now for big budget films, one would assemble an orchestra, a conductor, if not the composer, etc. and the recorded orchestral music would be played along with the film, with time code, and beat counts matching up to the frame rate of the film.

I have an old book on composing for film, and there are a number of tables for timing issues... Since I don't know any film composers, in particular for 'indie' film I don't know what is done relative to setting beats per minute/second, and matching up musical events with on screen events.

Further, I've not attempted to do film music per se... I have taken existing music and made 'videos' based on the timing of musical events etc... but that's not exactly like making the music match the film...
 
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>>>>Garage Band is not a 'general audio' editing system. It is much more directed to musical composition, using synthesized sounds or MIDI created musical scores.<<<<

Absolutely true that GarageBand is primarily a musical app, specially designed for simple loop-based production, with a host of add-on features that have accumulated in recent versions. But, if the iPad app isn't a lot different than the basic computer software, however, I can say that I have seen it used on several occassions to function as a clean and simple rudimentary DAW. We used to record rehearsals to GB, and I was a guest on a radio show once, in which the entire production was put together in GB. Not as flexible or specific as Sonor, PT, Cubase, etc., etc., but if someone wanted to do simple audio production with GB, the ability is there.

As to the comments on Monle; yes, I too have read great reviews, but couldn't get it to do much of anything myself! Doesn't really come with a turorial or manual either, so you kind of have to fish around. Which is why I haven't used it much; I have lots of other programs to learn, and I have other tools and software that _do_ work. But, if it _did_ work, that would be a perfect solution for you ullanta...

GJ
 
The beat tables are used to work out time signatures that will work with the "hits" you have marked out in the film.

The Counters aren't to keep you in sync with the frame rate but to count you in to your cue. It's not really all that different than the way an orchestra works in general. Conductors want to hit moments at certain times and depending on the music there may even be timings in the music. A film score is a bit more exact because they really don't want to do much editing on it after it's recorded.

Anyway you would work out your hit list with timings and then compare it to the charts and see what tempo/ time signature best fit the cue and then write your music i that.

I doubt many folks are doing it by hand anymore.
 
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