Are you simply getting began in Garageband? It may be troublesome to be taught a brand new DAW, however this free one for MAC is actually actually highly effective!
On this article, I’ll talk about learn how to repair pitches and transpose your tracks, stroll you thru 4 several types of instruments you need to use, and provide you with some recommendations on making every part sound extra pure. Let’s dive in!
How To Change Pitch In Garageband
There are a number of choices for altering pitches in GarageBand. The very best methodology for you’ll range relying on the quantity/type of correction you need and the time you’re keen to spend.
The brief reply is you can change the pitch in Garageband with transpose, pitch correction, or with two native plugins (Pitch Shifter and Transformer).
In Garageband, you’ll be able to change the pitch within the edit window or inside Good Instruments. This may be accomplished with out affecting the pace of your tracks. Beforehand, altering the pitch would additionally have an effect on the pace, and every part would sound wonky.
The primary few steps to altering pitch in Garageband are straightforward:

- Open your observe
- Select the observe that wants pitch correction by clicking it.
- Enter the edit window or the good instruments window (relying on what sort of pitch enhancing you will have.
Video Guides
These clips will present you every part it’s worthwhile to learn about altering the pitch in Garageband. The primary clip will present you learn how to change the pitch within the edit window.
Within the above display screen recording, I reveal how one can open the edit window to entry the transpose instrument and pitch correction. You too can see me enabling Flex to push and pull notes in my observe round.
I believed I’d present this whereas contained in the edit window, because it’s a instrument I typically use to nudge issues into place, rhythmically talking.
This second clip will present you learn how to change and edit pitch inside Good Instruments.
Any time you get misplaced with the screenshots, pop again as much as this part of the article.
Right here’s an in-depth description of learn how to use the instruments I simply confirmed within the clips- with the primary half of the article explaining learn how to use the instruments within the first clip and the second half of the article speaking about pitch-changing plugins.
How one can Open the Edit Window
- Click on the observe, and press the shortcut E to open the edit window (you can even entry this on the prime by going to view, then present editor).
- From there, select the observe or area you need to work with.
- Lastly, allow Flex or restrict the observe to a particular key.
Limiting A Observe/Music to a Key

To decide on a key to position your pitch correction in:
- Navigate to the highest middle and select the tonic from the drop-down menu.
- After selecting a key, the pitch correction slider contained in the edit window will work extra successfully.
Utilizing Pitch Correction

You too can choose a area or observe and alter the extent of pitch correction:
- First, guarantee that you’ve the important thing you need chosen up on the prime.
- Utilizing an excessive amount of pitch correction will make you sound like a robot- so except that’s what you need, steer clear of something near 100% on the slider.
Utilizing Transpose
Say you recorded on a fipple flute within the improper key, otherwise you performed every part a fifth off. This may be mounted by transposing your area or observe up or down in semitones within the edit window.
You possibly can change the pitch utilizing the transpose instrument in Garageband and edit from -12 to +12. These numbers signify semitones, so since 12 semitones divide the octave, you’ll be able to edit pitch utilizing the transpose button by up or down one octave.
Nonetheless, I’ve discovered that stretching the transpose instrument to its limits drastically diminishes sound high quality. In case you’re enhancing something with vibrato on it, I wouldn’t suggest this methodology. Additionally, do not forget that this edits your complete part; you’ll be able to’t simply transpose one word.
Utilizing Garageband Plugins
On this subsequent part, I’ll present you learn how to entry and use pitch-changing instruments from good instruments up on the prime bar. These instruments may also help you hone your pitch. I’m fairly keen on this vocal transformation instrument.
Pitch Shifter
Inside Good Controls, there are two choices: pitch shifter and vocal transformation. These may be accessed by clicking on the Good Controls icon on the prime left of the display screen. It’s the one highlighted in my snip above.

To make use of Pitch Shifter, first entry Good Controls, then choose Observe > Plugin > Pitch.

From there, add a pitch shifter to the observe of your selection. Click on on the observe so as to add it in.
Pitch Shifter helps you to edit in semitone- 0-12. This implies you’ll be able to edit down or up by six complete steps. That is many Garageband customers’ most well-liked methodology to vary pitch as a result of you can even change the share of the combo.
Vocal Transformer
To make use of Vocal Transformer, first entry Good Controls, then choose Observe > Plugin > Pitch.

Inside Vocal Transformer, you’ll be able to change each the formant and the pitch, which is extraordinarily helpful for enhancing vocals, however I wouldn’t put it previous myself to strive it out on totally different devices just like the flute, both.
A typical software of this instrument is for enhancing pop vox. This instrument may also be automated to create numerous results, however that’s a complete different article in and of itself!
Each the pitch and formant may be modified from -24 to +24. Relating to pitch, you’ll be able to transfer notes up or down two octaves– means additional than the opposite instruments we checked out earlier.

Altering the formant could make or break a pitch shift. Formants are distinctive resonances created by our personal anatomy, which impacts our timbre/tone ultimately.
If the format doesn’t match the pitch shift, it’ll sound very bizarre. However watch out; that is one other slider you don’t need to max out except you need to use it as an impact.
Limitations of Garageband’s Pitch Enhancing
Once I restricted my piece, “Un Joueur De flute Berce Le Ruins” and restricted it to the important thing, all of the chromatics had been smudged up or all the way down to a special word. And sadly, pitch enhancing one word at a time is a Logic-only characteristic.
My favourite strategy to edit pitch is the above methodology in Logic, which supplies you probably the most management. Plus, in case you have ‘spicy’ notes that don’t fall into a serious or minor mode, this system gained’t change them to an undesirable word (this occurs all too typically in pitch correction, no less than for me).
Sadly, there’s no strategy to edit one word at a time/individually in Garageband. You’ll should improve to a different DAW, like Logic. That is my present most well-liked DAW; you’ll be able to see an image of how the person notes may be moved beneath.

In case you open up the edit window and use flex in Logic, pitches may be moved up and down in addition to tuned, and you’ll edit the extent of vibrato, too.
I hate to shut an article being crucial of this DAW, as Garageband is a superb free workstation for Mac customers. Nonetheless, if you happen to’re going to get into pro-level music-making, I’ll all the time suggest upgrading to Logic. In any case, it’s like Garageband on steroids!

FAQ
When ought to I alter the pitch in Garageband?
When a observe has nice vitality, however you are feeling it wants a little bit of touching up.
What if I need to change pitch and tempo?
Genres like Nightcore require the entire observe to be sped up, and the pitch warped with it. To get this impact, click on “Present Tempo Observe” and transfer the automation of the tempo as much as the next pace so that you simply get the sound you’re searching for.
How do I cease my observe from sounding unnatural?
In case you sound like a robotic, you’ve gone too far (that’s except you’re planning on utilizing autotune as an impact, which is a totally totally different story). When enhancing my vocals, I choose to edit pitches one after the other within the enhancing window when searching for a pure sound.
However when utilizing Garageband, I maintain the pitch correction below 80% on the slider. Including reverb may also help add that additional shimmer, but it surely’ll by no means be like an unedited vocal.
In case your vocals are too far out of tune, it’s going to all the time be in your greatest curiosity to rerecord quite than pressure it into place on a DAW. Use pitch enhancing as a completion on an already great-sounding observe.