What kid doesn’t want to be the next Justin Bieber or Hannah Montana? An easy, fun tool for a solo act or a whole band, GarageBand for iOS will help your kids create actual songs, even if they skipped a piano lesson or two.
GarageBand comes loaded with a rig of “smart” instruments in case your kids aren’t musically inclined. Select Smart Guitar, for instance, and notes are always in tune and chords are automatically generated—good for your child’s confidence and your ears.
Once the first instrument is recorded (the red record button is at the top), your kid can add up to eight tracks to a song; just switch to the track editor and tap the + to add a new track. Three iPad/iPhone-using friends can join in via the Jam Session button next to the volume slider.
If your little Lady Gaga needs some inspiration, Apple has supplied a library of loops. In the track editor, tap the loop-de-loop icon to browse hundreds of drum beats, background vocals, and guitar riffs to bring it all together with a simple drag and drop.
Once everything’s recorded, your kid can head back to the track editor to perfect her masterpiece by merging, moving, splitting, looping, and trimming tracks to her heart’s content (tap on a track to bring up the menu). Don’t worry: multiple undos will prevent any disasters.
What’s the point of all that work if no one hears it? In the My Songs library, tap Edit, highlight the song, and tap the Share button to send your child’s masterpiece to YouTube, Facebook, or SoundCloud. Then share the link with all her adoring fans.
If your kid has a real guitar, piano, or electric keyboard, fire up GarageBand for Mac ($14.99 in the Mac App Store) and select Learn to Play. Basic lessons are free, and for $4.99 each, you can learn cool songs from musicians like Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, Ben Folds, and more. Need a keyboard? SamsonTech’s Carbon 49 is an $89 USB keyboard that you can connect to a Mac, or to an iPad via the $29 Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit.
Patrick from Fall Out Boy wants to jam with you.
