How to Convert and Import MP3 to GarageBand?

Easy Way to Solve "GarageBand Won't Import MP3" Problem

November 16th, 2012 by Emily Moore

Tags: mp3 to garageband, import mp3 to garageband, garageband won't import mp3, import mp3 into garageband, convert mp3 to garageband, importing mp3 to garageband, importing mp3 into garageband

Overview

Though GarageBand 11 announced to import MP3 audio file, sometimes we still encounter difficulty in importing MP3 to GarageBand in various situation:

Situation 1
- When I tried to drag and drop my MP3 files to GarageBand, the window came up that said importing... etc., but then the little box disappeared and nothing happened.
Situation 2
- I tried to import a MP3 into GarageBand, but GB hasn't recognized it. In My Songs menu, copy from iTunes says that there's no song available for the copy.
Situation 3
- When drag spoken word MP3 into the track or space of GarageBand, I see an 'importing' message for an instant, but nothing appears in the audio track and no new track is created.
Situation 4
- I can't drag MP3 audio files into GarageBand whatever from iTunes, from Finder, from the Desktop...
Situation 5
- I recorded a very small piece of sound in MP3 format and try to import it to GarageBand for editing. However, GarageBand refuse to add MP3 audio and says 'xxxx.mp3' could not be handled because GarageBand cannot open files in the 'MP3 audio' format.

Reason 1 and Solution for can't Import MP3 into GarageBand

GarageBand only imports MP3 files which have the extension in lower case: ".mp3". If you try to import MP3 files (like MP3 recorded from the Olympus LS-10) with the extension in upper case: ".MP3", GarageBand will refuse to import those kinds of MP3 audio.

Solution for Reason 1

In this case, change the MP3 file extension to lower case in order to import MP3 to GarageBand.

Reason 2 and Solution for GarageBand won't Import MP3 Audio

Though GarageBand allows importing MP3, it only supports those MP3 audio files which have a sample rate of 44.1 kilohertz (kHz) and a bit depth of 16 bits. MP3 files with a different sample rate might play back faster or slower, or even fail to add to GarageBand.

Solution for Reason 2

To successfully import all kinds of MP3 to GarageBand for OS X or GarageBand for iOS, a recommended solution is to convert MP3 to GarageBand more compatible AIFF.

The following article will introduce two methods on how to convert and import MP3 to GarageBand:

Method 1: Use Bigasoft Audio Converter to convert MP3 to AIFF for importing to GarageBand

Besides converting and importing MP3 into GarageBand, this method also helps to convert and import other audio formats including WMA, FLAC, OGG, QCP, SHN, AMR, AWB, M4R, PCM, APE, MPC, AC3, MP2, WAV, CAF, M4A, RA, and etc to GarageBand. It even helps to convert music video like AVI, MKV, MP4, MOV, M4V, WMV, MPG, FLV and etc to AIFF for importing to GarageBand.

Make Preparation: Launch Bigasoft Audio Converter

Free download the professional MP3 to GarageBand Converter - Bigasoft Audio Converter (Mac Version, Windows Version), install and launch the program.

Step 1 Add MP3 files

Click the "Add File" button to browse and add your MP3 files to Bigasoft Audio Converter.