How to Connect a MIDI USB Keyboard to an iPad Connecting USB-based MIDI devices to your iPad is a snap! Many apps like Garage Band, iPolysix, and Tabletop support small devices. Plug the camera adapter to the iPad Air and then attach the midi keyboard. If you find that your midi keyboard requires more power than the iPad Air is able to provide then (if possible) plug in an external power supply. Failing that you can follow this guide and use a powered USB hub to give the necessary juice to your attached kit. If you haven’t done so already then install GarageBand. Dec 01, 2018 In this video, I give you my beginner's guide to all things USB MIDI keyboard in GarageBand iPhone and GarageBand iPad. Covered in this video: - How to connect a USB MIDI keyboard to an iPhone or iPad. Not only are these midi keyboard controllers plug and play, they are also USB bus powered, meaning that you do not have to bother finding an electrical outlet to power up the midi keyboard, again, just plug and play. Click the link below to find out more about the winning Garageband keyboard for 2020. Nov 01, 2015 I set up what was needed in the 'Audio Midi Setup', and in the preferences of GarageBand, it says '3 MIDI Input(s) detected' in the MIDI Status. I also have 'Build-in Input/Output' selected. I first connect the Midi to the laptop, open garageband, then open the keyboard, and it then says '3 Midi.
Best Midi Keyboard For Garageband
Connect the Keyboard to the iPad using the iRig MIDI.
Open GarageBand, tap the + symbol in the top left and tap New Song.
Select Keyboard.
Tap and choose a keyboard. Hint: there are lots of amazing ones - give them all a try!
Tap + in the right corner to choose the number of bars for your recording.
If you' not sure, go with automatic and GarageBand will add bars as you record.
Tap the red record button and wait until the 4 beat count in plays, then go for it!
Connect Midi Keyboard To Garageband Ipad
In record mode, the bar at the top glows red.
When you complete your the final bar, you automatically enter play mode. Stop playing and press stop.
Tap the track view icon (left of stop) to see your recording. You can add new instruments to the piece by clicking the + sign (bottom left) and repeating steps 3 to 9. You can record up to 8 tracks.
And that's external MIDI keyboard recording with garageBand for iOS.
Supplies
| MIDI Keyboard |
| MIDI Interface eg iRig MIDI |
| iPad |
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Download on the App StoreAudiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
I just switched from Andriod to iPhone, and one of the big reasons for the switch was because of the music apps available on the iPhone. So after I got my iPhone, one of the first things I did was start looking into how I can connect my keyboard controller and use my phone as basically a portable synth module. I read that back on the old 30-pin iPhones, you could use the camera connection kit to connect to a usb midi interface. But I have a modern lightning iPhone, so I can't do that. But then it occurred to me that the cable that came with my iPhone is already a lightning to usb adapter, except that the gender on the usb side is male instead of female. So I bought a usb coupler to go to female, and connected it to my usb midi interface, and I tried playing my keyboard controller into Garage Band. It didn't work.
So what midi solutions are there for lightning? I mean, besides those crazy expensive interfaces like the iRig MIDI.
Comments
The camera connection kit exist in lightning, that's what I use
You mentioned you have a ' lightning to USB adapter' which is actually just the lightning syncing and charging cable. It simply won't work with a USB MIDI keyboard.
What you need is the 'Lightning to USB Camera adapter' which has a female USB on the other end. It is designed to turn your iPhone into a USB host, which can receive photos, host MIDI, and even support class compliant audio devices for audio recording.
Just buy the apple branded item. Other manufacturers are known to have problems that make MIDI unusable.
Yeah, definitely get the Apple adapter. I use the short cable version. It stays attached much better. It is so cool being able to play into an iPhone and you get these awesome sounds coming out. Use some good headphones too.
Do you need suggestions on good synth or piano apps?
Right off the bat I can recommend Garageband. It's cheap and is one of the easiest mutlitrack recorders to learn and use.
+1 on Garageband. Exceptional value for money and works nicely on phone sized screens
Thanks for your replies. Okay cool, I'll get the lightning camera adapter. And I already have Garageband on my iPhone, but if anyone has any recommendations for other synths or samplers, please let me know.
Anyway, one question about the lightning adapter: I have an M-Audio Keystation keyboard controller, which has a midi out port, but it also has usb so you can go directly into a computer. So does anyone know if I can use the Keystation's usb port to just go right into the iPhone (through the lightning adapter)? It would be nice to not have to use a midi interface at all.
Yes it will work, I love the 32 keys version , I assume the other ones work too ?
Don't forget to check nanostudio, Magellan , Sunvox, pixitracker,Cassini, mitosynth, thumbjam drumjam, seek-beat, triqtraq, figure,pepp, audioshare, audiobus, loopy, mtdaw, all the AUFXapps, and apesoft/amazing noise( idensity,stria,dedalus,reverb,pulsaret....)
I personally prefer the iPad but... The iPhone is so good for making music allreadyPs: if you don T know where to start , just get nanostudio and audioshare
Keystation must be core midi compliant for it to work.
In addition to the recommends above? Animoog is also amazing.
Don't know how that question mark got in there! All the recommendations are ones I'd agree with.
The camera connection kit that I ordered came today, and I'm happy to report that it works great in garage band. I was playing around with the sampler function in garage band, and I was wondering if there's a way to map different samples to different keys spans within a single sample patch, instead of only having one single sample on each sample track. Like how a real hardware sampler would work. I couldn't find any way to do it. If there isn't a way to do it in GarageBand, is there another app that would be up to the task?
I guess my question would be more appropriate in a garage band forum. Fair enough.
- edited October 2015
@pierre said:
The camera connection kit exist in lightning, that's what I useDo you use it with the iPhone? According to Apple, it is not compatible with iPhone - only iPad. Have you actually tried it to connect MIDI to an actual iPhone? Thanks.
- edited October 2015
@Hmtx said:
You mentioned you have a ' lightning to USB adapter' which is actually just the lightning syncing and charging cable. It simply won't work with a USB MIDI keyboard.What you need is the 'Lightning to USB Camera adapter' which has a female USB on the other end. It is designed to turn your iPhone into a USB host, which can receive photos, host MIDI, and even support class compliant audio devices for audio recording.
Just buy the apple branded item. Other manufacturers are known to have problems that make MIDI unusable.
As mentioned above to @pierre, Apple says the camera adapter is not compatible with iPhone - only with iPad. And I have found it not to work. Have you used it with iPhone and did you find it to work?
@Martygras said:
Yeah, definitely get the Apple adapter. I use the short cable version. It stays attached much better. It is so cool being able to play into an iPhone and you get these awesome sounds coming out. Use some good headphones too.Hi @Matygras, it sounds like you have used the Apple camera adapter to connect MIDI to the iPhone. Was this Lightning or 30-pin? And what MIDI controller and MIDI adapter dd you use? I can't get it to work with my Yamaha P105 into iPhone 6. Thanks!
@Explodey said:
Thanks for your replies. Okay cool, I'll get the lightning camera adapter. And I already have Garageband on my iPhone, but if anyone has any recommendations for other synths or samplers, please let me know.Anyway, one question about the lightning adapter: I have an M-Audio Keystation keyboard controller, which has a midi out port, but it also has usb so you can go directly into a computer. So does anyone know if I can use the Keystation's usb port to just go right into the iPhone (through the lightning adapter)? It would be nice to not have to use a midi interface at all.
Hi @Explodey - I'd very much like to know if you managed to get the Lightning-USB to make a MIDI connection to the iPhone. I am unable to make it work. How did you make out? And if you got it to work, what was the trick? Thanks.
I'd never thought to try the Camera Connection Kit with my iPhone, as I normally use my external MIDI controllers with my iPad. I just connected my XKey controller to my iPhone 6+ (iOS 9) with GarageBand, and it works as expected.
@crzycrs, I'm not sure what the question is, but to clarify, I was responding to @polarbreeze who was wondering if an iPhone would work with an external MIDI controller when connected with the Camera Connection Kit. And I confirmed that yes, it does.
Yes, of course, what's the problem, did 9 break it?
- edited October 2015
Yes, the CCK has worked on iPhones for USB midi and audio interfaces since iOS7 ( or 6?) I believe. There may be a minimum device requirement, perhaps when lightning was introduced, not sure.
Ooh and if you get the power warning you can just put a simple unpowered USB hub between the cck and your midi device. For midibkeyboards you can connect almost every keyboard this way.
@Jocphone said:
+1 on Garageband. Exceptional value for money and works nicely on phone sized screens+2
Comments are closed.