Logic Pro now lets you record a fully AI-built band across iPad and Mac

Last week at its iPad event, Apple demoed the future of Logic Pro when it previewed Logic Pro 2 for iPad. The new update leans heavily into AI-driven features, including powerful automatic stem-splitting and the ability to record a fully AI-built band.

These Logic Pro updates are now available on both iPad and Mac. Here are the details.

Recording a full AI-generated band

Logic Pro has long featured the ability to add a drummer to your tracks, which Apple says was “one of the world’s first generative musicians.” That drummer, which Apple refers to as a “Session Player,” debuted more than a decade ago. But now, with the rise of AI and the company looking to demonstrate its AI prowess, it’s introducing two new AI-generated Session Players: keyboard and bass.

Per Apple:

Session Players offer groundbreaking experiences for creators by providing a personal, AI-driven backing band that responds directly to feedback…[they] augment the live-playing experience while ensuring artists maintain full agency during any phase of their music-making process.

With keyboard and bass added to the existing drummer, you can now record a full band of instruments that’s entirely AI-generated. This feature is available on both Mac and iPad, with all Logic Pro-supported iPads offering it, but Apple does recommend that you use an M1 or later device for the best performance.

AI now splits tracks automatically

Another new AI-powered feature of Logic Pro is stem splitting. Demoed last week, this feature can take an existing audio track and automatically detect and split it into four distinct parts: Vocals, Bass, Drums, and Other instruments.

Stem splitting is an impressive display of Apple silicon’s power and what it enables for AI. After your tracks are all split out, you can easily apply different edits and effects to each one, unlocking new capabilities. Due to the power required to enable stem splitting, on iPad it is exclusive to M-series devices.

Wrap-up

Logic Pro stands as one of the first great examples of Apple’s expected 2024 ambitions to infuse AI throughout its software platforms. With a heavy AI focus sure to come at WWDC, the AI-powered Session Players and stem splitting make me all the more curious at what iOS 18 has in store for us.