- Part 1: Use GarageBand to Make A New Song from Existing Song
- Part 2: Apple Music Converter: The Solution to Import Apple Music to GarageBand
- Part 3: Easy Steps to Import Apple Music Songs to GarageBand on Mac
- Part 4: Import the Converted Apple Music Songs into GarageBand for iPhone
Use GarageBand to Make A New Song from Existing Song
When talking audio mixing application on macOS, GarageBand may be the first one that comes to your mind. It's developed by Apple and completely free for both macOS and iOS users. GarageBand comes with a complete sound library which includes instruments, presets for guitar and voice, and an incredible selection of session drummers and percussionists. It's a professional music creation tool yet still easy-to-use. Even novice can easily master the skills of basic music creation.
If you are a DJ, a tuner or a sound mixer and you are using macOS, you may be familiar with GarageBand. However, if you are a music lover and have an interest in basic music creation and you are using macOS or iPhone/iPad, GarageBand is also an good choice. According to Apple official website, GarageBand allows you to mix a new song from existing local music files in MP3, M4A, WAV, AIFF, CAF or Apple Lossless format. MIDI files are also supported natively.
If you want to mix a new song from local music file, you can simply follow the steps below.
Launch GarageBand and you will see "choose a project" dialog. If it's your first run, GarageBand will ask you to create an empty project by default. Click "Empty Project" and click "Choose" button at the bottom right.
GarageBand provides 4 ways for you to choose a track type as below. You can plug in a USB MIDI keyboard to play and record, record using microphone or line input, drag-and-drop existing audio files, connect a guitar or bass to Mac to play and record or add a drummer. As we want to create a new song from existing song, so we choose the second option as below.
GarageBand now opens its workplace. Now we can directly drag-and-drop MP3, AAC, WAV, AIFF or MIDI files from Finder, or drag-and-drop any songs from Music App to to the workplace for editing. If necessary, you can also drag-and-drop multiple music files to mix and edit. After adding a local song or multiple songs to GarageBand workspace, you can start audio mixing.
However, if you drag and drop an Apple Music song from Finder or Music app to GarageBand, nothing will happen. The result also tells the truth that Apple Music songs cannot be added to GarageBand directly. That is also why many GarageBand users ask how to import Apple Music songs to GarageBand. As GarageBand supports MP3, M4A, WAV, etc., if you can convert Apple Music songs to one of these formats, the problem can be resolved easily. Luckily, TuneMobie Apple Music Converter is right here to help.
Apple Music Converter: The Solution to Import Apple Music to GarageBand
TuneMobie Apple Music Converter is designed to convert Apple Music songs added or downloaded in iTunes library or Music app. TuneMobie Apple Music Converter can convert Apple Music songs to all-purpose audio formats like MP3, M4A, WAV, etc. with ID3 retained. So you can import the converted Apple Music songs to GarageBand. Let's check the wonderful features of Apple Music Converter and learn why it's the best helper for GarageBand.
- Convert Apple Music songs to MP3, M4A, WAV or AIFF which is compatible with GarageBand
- Convert with a built-in Apple Music web player without using iTunes or Music app
- Preserve ID3 tags like title, album, artist, track number and artwork after conversion
- Rename output files in bulk by title, album, artist, track number, hyphen, space, etc.
- Sort output files into folders by album, artist, album/artist or artist/album
- Losslessly convert 256kbps Apple Music AAC file to 320kbps MP3 or 256kbps M4A
- Enjoy incredible 20X faster conversion speed on both Windows and macOS
- Fully compatible with latest Windows and macOS (Intel & Apple silicon)
The free trial version of Apple Music Converter can convert first 3 minutes of each Apple Music track and will only convert 3 files at a time. If you need to import Apple Music songs to GarageBand on Mac, please do not hesitate to try Apple Music Converter. Of course, you can also transfer the converted Apple Music songs to iPhone and import into GarageBand for iPhone.
Easy Steps to Import Apple Music Songs to GarageBand
TuneMobie Apple Music Converter comes with an easy-to-use interface, it comes with a built-in Apple Music web player, helps you convert Apple Music albums and playlists to MP3, M4A or WAV in only a few clicks. After conversion, you can import the output files to GarageBand easily, and create a new song and export to Music app. Check the user guide below.
Step 1: Launch TuneMobie Apple Music Converter and Sign in Apple ID
Launch TuneMobie Apple Music Converter and click "Sign In" button at the upper right, enter your Apple ID and password to sign in built-in Apple Music web player. You don't need to sign in again if you don't sign out the web player.
Step 2: Adjust Output Settings
TuneMobie Apple Music Converter provides MP3, M4A, WAV, AIFF, FLAC and AUTO option as output format. By default, AUTO option is used and it's actually 256kbps M4A. If you prefer other audio format, you can click Settings icon at the upper right to open Settings dialog and change output format. GarageBand supports MP3, M4A (unprotected AAC), WAV, AIFF, Apple lossless and CAF, so just select one suitable format from software.
In Settings dialog, you can change output folder, select how to rename and sort the output files. For MP3 and M4A output formats, you can also adjust audio bitrate.
Step 3: Open Apple Music Album/Playlist
Go back to the built-in Apple Music web player and browse your favorite album or playlist, then open the detailed page of an album or a playlist and song list will be displayed.
Step 4: Add Album/Playlist to Conversion List
You can easily find a button in the center right, move your mouse to the button and it will be changed to "Add to list" button. Click "Add to list" button to add all the songs in the album/playlist to conversion list.
Step 5: Choose the Songs
All the songs will be checked by default. If there are any songs you don't want to convert, simply uncheck the songs.
Step 6: Start Apple Music Conversion
Now simply click the Convert button to start converting Apple Music songs to specific audio format which can be used in GarageBand.
Step 7: Add Output Files to GarageBand & Save the Project
Now, you can launch GarageBand on Mac, then drag-and-drop output files from the output folder of Apple Music Converter to GarageBand workspace. After mixing, you can save the project, and if necessary, you can use menu "Share" > "Project to GarageBand for iOS", this will help to share your GarageBand project to iCloud and open it with GarageBand on iPhone/iPad.
If you want to save the project as a new song and add to Music app, you can click menu "Share" > "Song to Music..." and you will see a dialog as below. Fill in title, album, composer, playlist, etc. and choose output quality, click "Share" button, you will get an M4A file and it will be saved in Music app. Then you can sync the M4A files to your iPhone/iPad via iCloud.
If you are using macOS Mojave 10.14 or below, the menu will be "Share" > "Song to iTunes..." and output will be saved to iTunes library.
Import the Converted Apple Music Songs into GarageBand for iPhone
If you want to edit the mixing using GarageBand for iPhone, you have two choices. You can connect your iPhone to your Mac and import the converted Apple Music from your Mac, or you can transfer the converted Apple Music songs to your iPhone first, then use GarageBand for iPhone to import the songs with Files app. When you import an audio file, it’s converted to a 44.1 kHz sample rate, 16-bit depth format if the original format is different. GarageBand can also import other supported songs and MIDI files as well.
Import audio and MIDI files from your Mac
Step 1: Connect your iPhone to your Mac using a USB or USB-C cable.
Step 2: On your Mac, select the icon for your iPhone, then click Files.
Step 3: Open output folder of TuneMobie Apple Music Converter, drag converted Apple Music songs to GarageBand in the list.
Step 4: In GarageBand on your iPhone, set the length of the song section to Automatic to import the entire audio or MIDI file; otherwise, only the portion of the file that fits the current song section is imported.
Step 5: Tap the Tracks button to open Tracks view, then tap the Loop Browser button in the control bar.
Step 6: Tap Move Files.
Step 7: To preview an audio file, tap it in the list.
Step 8: Drag an audio or MIDI file left or right to show Tracks view. Align the left edge of the file with the bar or beat (on the ruler) where you want it to start playing.
Import audio and MIDI files from Files app
Step 1: Launch iTunes or Music app.
Step 2: When using Music app, click "Files" > "Import" to add the converted Apple Music songs. When using iTunes, click "Files" > "Add Files to Library" instead.
Step 3: Connect your iPhone to Mac using a USB or USB-C cable.
Step 4: Open Finder, go to sidebar and click your device name, click Music in the button bar, select the “Sync music onto [device name]” checkbox to turn on syncing of your music. Then choose your songs and/or playlists. When you are ready to sync, click Apply button and converted Apple Music songs will be transferred to iPhone.
Step 5: Disconnect iPhone from your Mac and tap GarageBand on iPhone.
Step 6: Set the length of the song section to Automatic to import the entire audio or MIDI file; otherwise, only the portion of the file that fits the current song section is imported.
Step 7: Tap the Tracks button to open Tracks view, tap the Loop Browser button in the control bar, then tap Files.
Step 8: Tap “Browse items from the Files app,” then locate and tap the converted Apple Music songs to import it.
Step 9: To preview an audio file, tap it in the list. You can control the preview volume with the slider at the bottom of the list.
Step 10: Drag an audio or MIDI file left or right to show Tracks view. Align the left edge of the file with the bar or beat (on the ruler) where you want it to start playing.
In this way, you can easily import Apple Music songs to GarageBand without any hassle on both Mac and iPhone.
Bottom line
In fact, Apple Music Converter is not only the best helper for GarageBand on macOS, it can also work with other audio editing or audio mixing applications when Apple Music songs can't be added or imported. If you are using Apple Music and GarageBand and want to use Apple Music songs as audio source for GarageBand, please download TuneMobie Apple Music Converter and have a try.