![](https://help.apple.com/assets/5E583C530946220F7EEEA1B4/5E583C640946220F7EEEA1DA/en_GB/5233704aa6ddefbc2201d9f4cbe4e0c4.png)
Build a song in GarageBand for iPad
You build a song in GarageBand by recording Touch Instruments and arranging your recordings in Tracks view. You can also add Apple Loops (pre-recorded drum beats, bass lines and other background parts) from the Loop Browser. A GarageBand song can have up to 32 tracks and be up to 2000 bars long.
![Tracks view, showing tracks, headers and regions](https://help.apple.com/assets/5E583C530946220F7EEEA1B4/5E583C640946220F7EEEA1DA/en_GB/041d5bc4a81a8cff7e6ad221495cb7e0.png)
Tracks view is organised into horizontal rows called tracks. Each track contains the recordings of one Touch Instrument, which appear as rectangular regions. To the left of each track is a header with an icon for that track’s Touch Instrument. You can add, reorder, duplicate and delete tracks, and control the sound of a track in several ways. You can also edit regions in a variety of ways to build your song arrangement.
At the top of the screen is a ruler that shows bars and beats. The left edge of each region aligns with the bar or beat on the ruler to show where it starts playing. The playhead is a vertical line that 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.
Each song has a tempo, key and time signature that last for the entire song. You can change these song settings, turn the count-in on or off, and change the metronome sound.
The following sections give more information about specific tasks for building a song in GarageBand: