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First we need to create a new song.

Start up GarageBand if you haven’t already.

Look for the icon I have circled and tap it once.

This will create your new track.

First we’ll create our drum track.

To do this we will keep things simple and use smart drums.

On the main screen swipe the screen until you find ‘Smart Drums’

Now tap the drum to enter.

By tapping the screen where I have circled we can change the kit sounds.

For this example we are going to use ‘live rock kit’ – I’ve circled it in red.

Tap that part of the screen.

If you want to change kit you can tap the the icon circled in yellow/red.

You can if you want randomise a drum kit by tapping the Dice circled in green/red

For now though ignore these.

The parts we’re interested in are the arrows and the kit elements to the right of the screen.

The arrows point to 4 different style elements.

Loud, Quiet, Complex and Simple.

By grabbing a kit element eg the ‘Kick’ we can drag it onto the grid in the middle.

Placement on the screen will determine it’s volume and it’s complexity.

Take a listen and if your happy do the same with the snare and hi hat.

So now you should have a simple drum pattern, have a few listens.

If you want any element louder drag the icon up the grid, quieter drag it down.

If you’re happy with it’s complexity make sure you maintain it’s position.

If you want it more complex drag it to the right, simpler drag it to the left.

And there you have it, a drum beat created in GarageBand.

If you intend to keep it or add another instrument then you will need to record it.

To carry on you have a couple of other options,

Enter multitrack or add another instrument.

For the moment let’s check out multitrack.

Tap the multitrack button circled in red.

The screen above shows the multitrack view.

At the moment it shows a drum pattern in green.

If this is not then case something went wrong.

Pressing play will loop the pattern allowing continuous play, perfect for jamming chords out.

I’ve highlighted the instruments button again so that if you want to you can add another instrument or recording.

If you want to add another instrument look for the ones that have ‘smart’ in front, these will be easier to use.

I will be going deeper into this at some other point but for now that’s all folks.

Enjoy.