Arrangement View

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We hope you enjoy BandLab Studio — if you need more help, please email us at support@bandlab.com .

For those of you looking for more advanced features like automation, multi-track recording, and more – visit bandlab.com from your desktop browser (Google Chrome recommended) and access our web Studio.

All your projects are synced through the cloud and available from any of your devices with full compatibility.

Navigating BandLab Studio

Adding a new track

Tap the + button beneath the track headers and select any track type to add it to your project.

Importing a track

From the New Track Modal, the Import Track option allows you to import audio or video from anywhere on your mobile device.

Entering and exiting Track View

Tap on the a selected track’s header to open Track View. You can swipe down or tap the X in the top right corner to return to Arrangement View.

Writing Lyrics/Notes

In Lyrics/Notes tab, tap to bring up the keyboard and begin writing lyrics or jot down notes.

Listening to what you’ve recorded

Tap play in the bottom transport bar to listen back to your project. Tap pause to stop playback.

Undoing and Redoing changes

Tap the back arrow in the bottom transport bar to undo a change; tap the forward arrow to redo it.

Accessing and using Mix View

Tap the Mix View icon in the lower left corner to adjust track volume, pan, mute, and solo. You can also rename, delete, duplicate, and export tracks from Mix View.

Setting a tempo for your project

In Studio Settings, tap three times to set the tempo, use – / + to fine tune, or drag up and down to change to a different tempo quickly.

Setting a key for your project

In Studio Settings, swipe to select any Major or Minor scale from the Project Key menu.

Using the tuner to check your pitch

Access the tuner using the icon in the lower right corner of Track View on Voice/Mic, Guitar, and Bass track types.

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Recording Audio

Recording a vocal track

Tap the red Record button to start recording audio. Tap again to stop recording.

Accessing AutoPitch to tune your vocals or instrument

From Voice/Mic Track View, select AutoPitch from the bottom toolbar.

Changing the AutoPitch correction rate

Swipe up or down on the AutoPitch knob to adjust the rate at which your input note is corrected to the target note.

Changing the AutoPitch key

Tap on the menu in the top right corner to select a scale and tonic. The AutoPitch key will automatically set to the Project Key.

Selecting an AutoPitch Vocal Effect

Tap on any Effect to apply it. AutoPitch Vocal Effects are either on or off, so you will hear the Effect as soon as the knob is turned up from 0%.

Hearing what you’re going to sound like using Monitoring

Tap the headphones icon in Track View to turn on monitoring. To prevent feedback, monitoring is only allowed with headphones. Use wired headphones to avoid latency!

Removing noise from your recordings using Denoise

If you want to remove background noise from a recording, tap on the region in Arrangement View and select Denoise from the three dots menu.

Enabling the click track for recording

Tap the icon in the lower right corner to hear a click while recording and playing back your track. Wear headphones if you don’t want the click sound recorded!

Enable cycle to loop recording and playback

Double tap in the timeline to enable cycle. Drag the start and end points to change the length of your loop, or drag from the center to change the loop location. Once cycle has been set, tap on the cycled area to disable and re-enable.

Recording multiple takes with cycle

Record multiple takes and pick the best one using cycle. Simply record and use Undo/Redo to find the best take.

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Adding Effects

Accessing Fx presets

Tapping on the Fx bubble in the track header will take you to the Fx Browser.

Selecting an Fx preset

Tap to select a preset; tap again to deselect.

Modifying the effects in an Fx preset

Tap the edit icon to see the effects in the preset. All effects parameters can be adjusted. Tap the three dots to reset.

Creating a custom Fx preset

Tap the plus button to start from scratch or modify an existing preset. Save as from the three dots menu to use it in all your projects.

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Using Loops and One Shots

Adding a Loop or One Shot to your project

Tap the floating button in the bottom right to open BandLab Sounds. Browse One Shots or Loops, audition the sound, then tap + to add it as a new track.

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Editing your Project

Trimming or expanding regions

Adjust the start and end of a selected region using the circular handles on either side.

Deleting regions

Tap the trash icon from the region action menu to delete a region.

Copying and pasting regions

Tap the copy icon from the region action menu to place a region in your clipboard. Regions will be pasted at the playhead location.

Looping regions

Once loop mode is engaged from the region action menu, drag the loop handler or select a the number of times to loop from the bottom toolbar.

Slicing regions

Cut a region in two using the Slice region action.

Adjusting region Gain

If a region is too loud or quiet, you can adjust the overall region volume using Gain, accessed from the three dots menu.

Transposing regions

Change a region’s pitch in semitones using the Transpose slider in the bottom toolbar, accessed from the three dots menu.

Region Timestretch

Speed up or slow down a region without changing its pitch by dragging its endpoint when Timestretch is accessed from the three dots menu.

Fading regions in and out

Fade region volume in and out by dragging the fade handles when Fade is accessed from the three dots menu.

Shifting a region forward or back in small increments

Sometimes a recording is slightly out of time. Use region shift to fine-tune region placement.

Selecting and editing multiple regions

Region actions can be performed on multiple regions, too. Tap and drag to select regions. Long tap to remove or add regions to the selection.

Accessing MIDI editor

Virtual Instruments create MIDI tracks. Individual MIDI notes can be edited using the MIDI editor, accessible from a MIDI region’s action menu or from Track View.

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Mixing your Project

Adjusting track volume

Inside Mix View, drag the volume slider. Double tap on the slider to reset volume to 0.0 dB.

Adjusting master volume

The stereo slider under the tracks in Mix View adjusts the volume for all tracks. Tap the volume icon to mute or unmute.

Adjusting track panning

Inside Mix View, swipe up to pan a track right; swipe down to pan a track left. Double tap the knob to reset to center.

Muting and soloing a track

Inside Mix View, tap the M button to mute a track, or tap the S button to solo it.

Moving a track up or down

From the three dots menu in Mix View, select “Move up” or “Move down” to relocate a track.

Renaming a track

From the three dots menu in Mix View, tap Rename to change your track’s name.

Downloading a track

From the three dots menu in Mix View, tap Export as Audio to download a track as m4a. MIDI tracks can also be exported as MIDI.

Removing a track from your project

From the three dots menu in Mix View, tap Remove to delete a track from your project.

Duplicating a track

From the three dots menu in Mix View, tap Duplicate to create a copy of your track. The track will be added to the bottom of your project.

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Saving and Publishing your Project

Saving a project

Tap the cloud icon in the top right to save your work. If you haven’t saved the project before, you’ll be able to name your project, add a description, set a genre, and add a thumbnail image.

Quick-saving a project to avoid menu interactions

Double tap the cloud icon to quick-save your project and get right back to work.

Publishing a project

Tap the cloud icon in the top right to publish your project.

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BandLab Instruments

Using Looper

Selecting a Looper Pack

Filter by mood and key, tap to audition, then tap plus to select the Looper Pack. Packs you’ve used previously can be found using the cloud icon in the filter menu.

Recording with Looper

Swipe down to activate a row of loops and one shots. Tap to stop a loop, or change to a different loop per row. Once you find an arrangement you like, tap record. Note that Looper records a single audio track.

Editing Looper pads

Tap the pencil icon to change the trigger mode (Loop, One Shot, Gate, or Retrigger) and set the interval at which the pad restarts in subdivisions of a bar.

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Using Sampler

Recording a Sampler pad

Tap and hold to record a Sampler Pad.

Using a premade Sampler Kit

Tap the track header name to browse and select a BandLab Sampler Kit or view your own previously saved Kits. Tap three dots from the Track View header to clear all recordings in Sampler.

Recording with Sampler

Tap record and then tap sampler pads to record them to your track. Note that Sampler records as MIDI, so you can edit individual pad placement from the MIDI Editor.

Editing a Sampler pad

Tap the pencil tool to edit a Sampler Pad. You can modify volume, pan, and pitch from the mini editor or tap Edit to fine-tune your sample.

Saving a new Sampler Kit

Tap the three dots in the Track View header to save your Sampler pads as a new Kit. You can find your Sampler Kits in My Kits. You can also clear your Sampler from the three dots.

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Using Virtual Instruments

Selecting a Virtual (MIDI) Instrument

Filter by instrument, tap the play icon to audition or tap on the instrument to select it. Instruments you’ve used previously can be found using the cloud icon in the filter menu.

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Learn More: Watch our Mobile Studio Video Tutorial
 
Read More: Seven Features on BandLab Web You May Not Know About