Starting with an existing song or a work-in-progress, add a new instrument on the Track view menu by tapping the plus symbol in the lower left hand corner of the screen, and select Smart Strings from the instrument menu. From here, you can jam along to your existing tracks and record string accompaniments.

Smart Strings has a nice assortment of different stringed instruments, including violins, violas, cellos, and basses, that can be toggled on and off individually to adjust the overall sound. When playing chords, tap the bars gently to create a pizzicato plucking sound, touch them more forcefully to produce a stronger orchestral hit, or slide your finger across them slowly to play sustained holds.

To play instruments manually, select Notes in the upper right corner. This brings up a set of virtual strings that you can tap, hold, and slide to produce different notes. Selecting from an assortment of major and minor scales using the tab on the right makes it easy to jam along to a variety of musical styles like a pro with minimal effort.

If you need a little extra help coming up with good string parts, engage the Autoplay dial and simply tap the chord buttons to let GarageBand handle the legwork and come up with accompaniment to match your tunes.

To adjust your string sound further to suit different song styles, tap the styles tab to the left of the instruments to select from four different variations: cinematic, modern, pop, and romantic. Each has its own vibe and set of unique chord patterns to play with.