Glitches in music aren’t always unwanted, and this guide identifies how to add some trending audio quirks to your projects
Across every platform, GarageBand has introduced loops and patches for trending sounds, with ‘Glitch’ being one of them. Glitch as a genre rose to prominence in the 1990s but has since found a place in modern EDM and Pop music, giving rise to Glitch Hop. Jittery beats and heavily manipulated, processed synths are a hallmark of this technologically influenced sound. So it’s all about throwing in odd, jarring clips that suggest that audio playback is malfunctioning – in a cool way! GarageBand recognises Glitch with some great loops to add, along with numerous plugins and presets to try.
Step-by-step Add instant glitch with loops
1 Glitch Beat Show the Loop Browser (Y) and find the Tech House pack. Our first beat loop found here is Tech Glitch Beat for a fairly distorted kick drum perfect for adding punchiness.
2 Error Beats Unexpected Error Beat and Funky Error Beat are alternative 8-beat loops for adding similar thumps, found in the Deep House and Tech House loop packs respectively.
3 Glitch Bass The Electric House and Modern R&B loop packs have three bass selections. Pitch, Rolling and System (Glitch Bass) are 16-beat loops for fast low-end phrasing.
4 Bitcrush Bass For slower 8-beat baselines, try the Vision and Verse pack. The Needle Drop Bitcrush Bass loops (x3) are more sparse and abstract for less overpowering low-end lines.
5 Glitch Synths Metallic Glitch Synth (Dubstep) and Stomping Ground Glitch Synth (Hip Hop) add some choppy 8-beat synth lines. Also try A-Game Glitch Synth for some 16-beat jitter.
6 Glitch Effects One of our favourites is Dark Secrets Glitch FX from the Backlight Bounce pack. This 32-beat loop sounds like a broken computerised vocal line.
