Playing drums through the GarageBand software

Drums are the backbeat of your song, so they'll play an important role when you're creating a project in GarageBand. There are two ways to

add drums in GarageBand

for iPad, one of which is by playing them

using the software drum kit

and the other is by using a smart instrument set that generates a random beat.

To get to the drums, you'll need to select Drums from the Instruments menu. One really cool thing about the instruments you'll find on GarageBand for iPad is that they are touch-sensitive. Using the iPad's accelerometer, the app can tell how much force you are putting into your taps. Tap on one of the items in your drum kit to play it and the sound will vary depending on where you hit the instrument. You can also change your drum kit by tapping the name of your kit which is located in the middle of the screen near the top. Tap one of the other kits to select it.

There are also drum machine layouts that you might find more comfortable. These also come with dials that will tweak the sound of your drums. Play with these to alter the sound of your drums. You can even save your settings for later if you happen to like the setup.

The Smart Drums, accessible from the Instruments menu, is what you want to use if you don't want to do all the drumming yourself. From here, you can drag instruments onto a grid where they will automatically play in different styles depending on where they're placed. Higher will make the instrument louder, lower makes it quieter, right makes the pattern more complex while left simplifies it. Tap the dice icon to randomize a drum beat. Again, you can also change your drum kit by tapping the icon on the left.