Play and navigate songs in GarageBand for iPhone
Tracks view shows a representation of musical time moving from left to right. Each Touch Instrument has a track where its recordings appear as colored regions. The playhead moves across the ruler as the song plays, showing the part currently playing. You can move the playhead to hear a different part of the song. You can also zoom and scroll in Tracks view.
Open Tracks view
Tap the Tracks View button
in the upper-left part of the control bar.The Tracks View button is available after you make the first Touch Instrument recording in a song.
Play the current song
Tap the Play button
in the control bar.
Go to the beginning of the song
Tap the Go to Beginning button
in the control bar. If the song is playing, it starts over from the beginning.
Move the playhead
Drag the playhead to the point on the ruler where you want to start playback. If the song is playing, it continues from the new location.
Start playback from any position
Double-tap the position on the ruler where you want to start playback. The playhead moves to that position and playback starts.
Scroll Tracks view
Swipe left or right across an empty part of the screen to move forward or back to a different part of the song.
Zoom Tracks view horizontally
Pinch open to zoom in, or closed to zoom out.
Continue playing after you close GarageBand
Tap the Settings button
in the control bar.On iPhone SE, iPhone 8, iPhone 7, or iPhone 6s, tap the Settings button
in the control bar, then tap Song Settings.Tap Advanced.
Tap Run in Background.
To improve performance when running GarageBand in the background with other music apps, turn on Use with Music Apps.
When Run in Background is turned on, GarageBand continues playing after you close it, or when you open another app from the app switcher. If recording is active when you close GarageBand, you can continue recording. A red bar at the top of the display indicates that GarageBand is still playing and recording in the background.
If a Touch Instrument is open when you close GarageBand, you can continue playing it. If an Audio Recorder, Amp, or Sampler Touch Instrument is open when you close GarageBand, you can continue recording or playing it.
When “Use with Music Apps” is turned on, you may notice a delay when playing some Touch Instruments.