Garageband and is a very useful tool for a lot of musicians that want to edit and create their tracks. Being available in both iOS and macOS, Garageband lets you use the software either inside of your studio or on the go.
Even though Garageband is an audio track creating and editing software designed for convenience, exporting MIDI files is not an available option with Garageband. As creating audio projects is the software’s primary function, having a MIDI file is probably not on the developers top priority.
A lot of users find this limitation as an inconvenience as some of them use the software as a means to create a MIDI track. Since Garageband’s users span between beginners and experts, having a way to export MIDI files can be a great tool for musicians who use the software.
Fortunately, in this detailed tutorial, we will teach you how to work around these limitations easily and concisely. Note that these tips and tricks can be outdated if you are checking this out after a year or so since posting. We will try to update the information as we see fit.
In the first part of the tutorial, we will show the process on how to turn your Garageband tracks into sendable MIDI files. For this, you’ll need a macOS that has an installed GarageBand software.
How to Export a MIDI from Garageband
Step 1. Go to your Garageband Software
When you enter the timeline or track workplace, you can now make your desired audio.
Step 2. Click on the Clip or Track
After you finished creating your audio track, you can now select the clip you wish to export by clicking on it.
Note that to see if the clip is selected, the top border should be highlighted.
You can see the “Loop” button on the upper right part of the screen. Once you clicked the button, you should now see the Apple Loops Window.
Step 4. Press Control+Shift+O
By doing this an export window will appear, it will let you save your file. Once you entered the file name and click on your desired settings, you can then click the “Create” button found at the bottom of the window. The file will have a .aif extension as it’s saved as a loop file.
Step 5. Find your desired Loop file
To find the loop file you can choose to take between these two options:
Using Finder
- Since the file is hidden, you can go to Finder to help you see the pathway.
- Click on the “Go to Folder” option.
- After that, you should type the address “~/Library/Audio/Apple Loops/”.
Using the “Go” option
- Click on the “Go” option found on the upper left part of the screen, it’s beside the “View” button.
- Press down on the “Option” key located on your keyboard. This will open the “Library” window.
- From then, you can now take the pathway to your Loop file that is the same as the one above. Go to Library, Audio then lastly, Apple Loops.
Step 6. Drag the Loop file
Once you find your loop file, you can drag it by right-clicking on the file and dragging it out to your desktop home screen.
Step 7. Convert the Loop file
With your loop file present, you can now start the converting process. In this step, we will provide you with two converters you can use.
Using the GB2MIDI site by Llars Kobe
- To enter the site you must click on this link: https://larkob.github.io/GB2MIDI/index.html
- Once on the site, you can now click on the “Choose File” option.
- A selection window will appear and you can now choose your preferred file, either by manually typing it in or dragging the one present on your home screen.
- After the loop file has been chosen, you can now click on the “Convert” button.
- The file is now downloaded as a .zip file you can use and send to your recipient.
Using the aif2midi.com
- Go to the aif2midi.com’s site.
- After that, you can now drag the loop file on the “Drag the File here” section of the website.
- The file will appear along with the “Download MIDI” button.
- Click on the button and now you can freely use the MIDI file.
Knowing the process stated above, you can now use and save your MIDI file from Garageband in no time. With the help of third-party websites and a bit of clicking Garageband’s limitations can come with an easy fix.
In the next part of this tutorial, we will tackle the process of exporting a Garageband MIDI track as a Project File. Note that since this file is a Garageband file, it can only be accessed through another Garageband software.
How to Export a Garageband MIDI track as a Project File
Step 1: Select the MIDI track
This step is solely based on your preference or the preference of the file’s recipient. You can delete the unnecessary tracks so that the MIDI ones is the only track present on your file though it’s up to the recipient on whether they’ll prefer including the other tracks.
Take note that when deleting the other tracks always secure a backup file of it already saved on your computer. Not doing so can result in the loss of your project’s progress.
Step 2: Save the File
After safely isolating your desired parts of the track, you can now save the file. To save it, you should click on the “File” option then “Save”.
Step 3: Drag the File on your Desktop/Home Screen
After putting your chosen name for the file, you can now drag it to your desktop home screen.
Now, you can share your track with everyone who wants to receive it. Though now you are done with the exporting process for your MIDI files, sending them is yet another process. Even though MIDI files usually come in small file sizes, sending multiple of them can be a hassle.
tips on how to easily send your MIDI files
Below are some tips on how to easily send your MIDI files:
Tip 1 – Compress your project file into a ZIP
By compressing your midi file into a zip, it serves as a way to minimize the amount of memory space the file will consume. Assuming that you will send it through Gmail, one of the most widely used email sites which only has the maximum capacity of sending 20 megabytes files, it’s best to make the project file as small as possible.
You can do this by right-clicking on the MIDI file present on your desktop and selecting the “Compress” option.
Tip 2 – Upload your file into Google Drive
If your file is still large even though you already compressed it, Google Drive can be another alternative solution. Since Google Drive has a 15-gigabyte limit, you can send a kit of MIDI files through it. Opting to upload to Google Drive does not only gives you a large amount of free space but gives you the option to share it with anyone you like.
- To do this you need to sign up for a Google Account.
- After that, go to the Google Drive website
- Click on the “New” button and then select “File Upload”.
- Once the file selection window is open, you can either search for the MIDI file manually or drag the MIDI file from your desktop to the selection menu.
- After you selected your desired file you should click the “Open” button on the lower part of the window.
With that, your file has been uploaded. Note that large files are much slower to upload as they need more time to process the data. After the uploading process, the link-sharing option can now be enabled, letting your MIDI track be shared with anyone who has the link.
Since the Garageband is both available on iPhone and macOS, some of you might be asking: Can you export MIDI from GarageBand iOS?
Unfortunately, exporting a MIDI file directly from your Garageband app is not yet a feature at the moment. Although, converting your project files (.aif) to a MIDI (.midi) can be also be done on mobile.
The process posted above where you can save the project as an Apple Loop file is also applicable on iOS. At the moment, unfortunately, we can’t have a detailed process on how to export MIDI files on Garageband.
We suggest transferring your project file to your macOS where you can easily convert your track to a MIDI file.
Conclusion
Garage and is a highly valuable tool on the music track creating sphere. Even with its limitations, the users who want to help each other innovate to make things easier and much more convenient.
We hope this step-by-step process helped you on how to export MIDI files. The inclusion of in-depth information, lists of alternatives, and tips are aimed to make your musical journey to be as seamless as possible. Reading the tutorial will surely serve you in regards to the Garageband software.
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