Working with Apple Loops

Transcription

1 7 Working with Apple Loops So you want to create a complete song, but you don t know how to play every instrument? An Apple Loop is a short piece of music that you can add to your song. It can be either notes for a Software Instrument track or a piece of audio that you can use on a Real Instrument track. In many cases, an Apple Loop includes both MIDI (for a Software Instrument track) and audio (for a Real Instrument track). Not only that, but Apple Loops will automatically play back in the proper key and tempo of your song. Finally, Apple Loops also instantly bring up the proper Software Instruments and effects so you don t have to do it manually. In this chapter, you will learn how to: Browse through your Apple Loops Add an Apple Loop to your song Transpose an Apple Loop Add new Apple Loops to GarageBand 119

2 120 CHAPTER 7: WORKING WITH APPLE LOOPS Browsing Apple Loops GarageBand makes it easy to locate and audition (preview) Apple Loops so you can choose the right one. There are a number of different ways to browse your Apple Loop library, depending on your personal preferences. Opening the Loop Browser Before you can browse and audition your Apple Loops, you need to open the Loop Browser. 1. Click on Control. The Control menu will appear. 2. Click on Show Loop Browser. The Loop Browser will appear. TIP Alternatively, you can click on the Loop Browser button to display the Loop Browser. You can also press COMMAND + L to show or hide the Loop Browser. Exploring the Loop Browser The Loop Browser has two modes Button view and Column view. The following sections explain how to browse your Apple Loops in each mode. However, first you should be familiar with four common elements in the Loop Browser. 120

3 BROWSING APPLE LOOPS 121 View buttons. Click on these buttons to select Button view or Column view when you are browsing loops. Scale menu. This pop-up menu allows you to search for Apple Loops by scale. Text Search window. You can search for Apple Loops by typing a keyword here. Volume slider. You can use this slider to adjust the volume at which you audition Apple Loops. You should also be familiar with the information presented in the results list for each Apple Loop. Type. This column will display a musical note if the Apple Loop is a Software Instrument loop or an audio waveform graphic if the Apple Loop is a Real Instrument (audio) loop. Name. This column contains the name of the Apple Loop. Tempo. This column contains the original tempo of the Apple Loop. Favorites. A check mark in this box will select an Apple Loop for inclusion in your list of Apple Loop favorites. Beats. This column lets you know how many beats the Apple Loop is. Key. This column displays the key at which the Apple Loop was originally performed. 121

4 122 CHAPTER 7: WORKING WITH APPLE LOOPS Browsing Loops in Button View The first browsing view I ll explain is Button view. 1. Click on the Button View button. If the Loop Browser is not already in Button view, it will switch to Button view. 2. Click on the button for the musical instrument for which you are searching. Apple Loops will appear in the results list. Only those buttons relevant to your selection will remain available. 3. Click on the button for the musical style that you want for your instrument. The Apple Loops in the results list will conform to your selection. Only those buttons relevant to your selection will remain available. 122

5 BROWSING APPLE LOOPS Click on any remaining buttons that are available to further narrow down your selection. The options will be selected. 5. Click on an Apple Loop in the results list. The Loop will play repeatedly at the current song tempo and key. This is called auditioning an Apple Loop. 123

6 124 CHAPTER 7: WORKING WITH APPLE LOOPS CAUTION If the Apple Loop you audition has a different tempo and/or key in its Tempo and Key columns than the tempo and key of your song, the Apple Loop might not sound as it was intended. This is neither good nor bad you might prefer the Apple Loop at the tempo of your song, for example. But be aware that if you want to audition an Apple Loop as it was originally meant to be used, you need to match the tempo and key of your song to the tempo and key of the Loop. Tempo and key matching is more of an issue for Real Instrument Apple Loops than Software Instrument Apple Loops. It s easier for GarageBand to perfectly match MIDI notes to your song s tempo and key than pre-recorded audio. TIP If your song is currently playing when you click on an Apple Loop to audition, both the song and the Apple Loop will play. GarageBand starts auditioning Apple Loops in sync with the current song position. This is an excellent way to hear how a loop will sound at a given song position. If you are auditioning entire Apple Loops, you will want to have the song playing as you audition your Loop. However, this might end up sounding pretty jumbled if you re auditioning a number of loops one after the other. You might want to make sure the song itself isn t playing when you audition many Apple Loops quickly, one after the other. If you want to stop playback of the selected loop, simply click on the loop again. 6. Click in the Favorites check box if you want to save this Loop among your Favorites. Later, if you want to use one of the Apple Loops you saved to your Favorites, you can recall it by using the Favorites button. 124

7 BROWSING APPLE LOOPS Repeat Steps 5 and 6 for as many Apple Loops as you want to audition. Browsing Loops in Column View If you prefer to browse your Apple Loop collection in a more explorer or list-view style of interface, you can choose Column view. 1. Click on the Column View button. If the Loop Browser is not already in Column view, it will switch to Column view. 2. Click on the entry in the Loops column for the type of Loop you want to find. The Category column will fill with the loop categories that match your selection. (This will include instrument categories if you chose By Instrument, genre categories if you chose By Genres, and so on.) 125

8 126 CHAPTER 7: WORKING WITH APPLE LOOPS 3. Click on the entry in the category column that you want for your Loop. The Keyword column will fill with Apple Loop libraries that conform to your selection. 4. Click on the entry in the instrument column to select those instruments. The selected instruments will appear in the results list. 126

9 BROWSING APPLE LOOPS Click on an Apple Loop in the results list. The Loop will play repeatedly at the current song tempo and key. This is called auditioning an Apple Loop. 6. Click in the Favorites check box if you want to save this Loop among your Favorites. You can later recall the Apple Loop from the Favorites category. 7. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 for as many Apple Loops as you want to audition. 127

10 128 CHAPTER 7: WORKING WITH APPLE LOOPS Refining Results by Keyword You can enter a keyword in either Button view or Column view to further refine your results. 1. Type a keyword for your Apple Loop search. 2. Press the RETURN key. The remaining Apple Loops in the results list will all contain the keyword you entered. 128

11 BROWSING APPLE LOOPS Click on an Apple Loop in the results list. The Loop will play repeatedly at the current song tempo and key. 4. Click in the Favorites check box if you want to save this Loop among your Favorites. You can later recall the Apple Loop from the Favorites category. 5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for as many Apple Loops as you want to audition. 6. (Optional) Click on the Cancel button in the search box if you want to return to the complete results list. 129

12 130 CHAPTER 7: WORKING WITH APPLE LOOPS Refining Results by Scale Apple Loops will automatically conform to the key of your song. However, if the Apple Loop has to change its key to fit your song, it might sound and feel different than it did in its original key. One way to reduce this effect is to stick to Apple Loops that have the same scale type (major, minor, and so on) as your song. 1. Click on the Scale pop-up menu. The menu will appear. 2. Click on the scale type of your song. The results list will now only contain Apple Loops that match the scale type you selected. 130

13 BROWSING APPLE LOOPS Click on an Apple Loop in the results list. The Loop will play repeatedly at the current song tempo and key. 4. Click in the Favorites check box if you want to save this Loop among your Favorites. You can later recall the Apple Loop from the Favorites category. 5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for as many Apple Loops as you want to audition. 131

14 132 CHAPTER 7: WORKING WITH APPLE LOOPS Adding an Apple Loop to Your Song After you audition the Apple Loops you want in your song, you ll no doubt want to add them. GarageBand makes this very easy. Adding an Apple Loop without a Previously Created Track If you want to add an Apple Loop to your song, you don t need to create a track or do any preparation. 1. Click and hold the mouse button on the Apple Loop you want to add to your song. 132

15 ADDING AN APPLE LOOP TO YOUR SONG Drag the Apple Loop to an empty area of the Timeline at which you want your Apple Loop to start (below all the existing tracks in your song). 3. Release the mouse button. GarageBand will place your Apple Loop on the Timeline and automatically create the proper type of track (Software Instrument or Real Instrument) for the Apple Loop. 4. Click on the play button. You will hear your Apple Loop as part of your song. NOTE If the playhead is past the bar at which you added your Apple Loop, you might need to rewind the playhead first. TIP If you want to stop playback, you can click on the play button again. You can also press the spacebar to start and stop playback. 133

16 134 CHAPTER 7: WORKING WITH APPLE LOOPS Adding an Apple Loop to a Previously Created Track Sometimes you might want to create a track in advance for your Apple Loop. You can easily add an Apple Loop to an existing track. Adding an Apple Loop to an Empty Real Instrument Track You can add either a Real Instrument (blue) or a Software Instrument (green) Apple Loop to an empty Real Instrument track. 1. Create a Real Instrument track as described in Chapter Click and hold the mouse button on the Apple Loop you want to add to your song. 134

17 ADDING AN APPLE LOOP TO YOUR SONG Drag the Apple Loop to an area of the Timeline inside the track lane of the empty Real Instrument track. 4. Release the mouse button. GarageBand will place your Apple Loop on the Real Instrument track. You will see its audio region in the track lane for that track. 5. Click on the play button. You will hear your Apple Loop as part of your song. NOTE Keep in mind that if you drag a Software Instrument Apple Loop onto a Real Instrument track, the Apple Loop will turn into an audio waveform just like a Real Instrument Apple Loop. This means that the Apple Loop will lose a Software Instrument s special features, such as the ability to MIDI edit its notes and change its Software Instrument. However, the Apple Loop will still play at the proper tempo and transpose to the proper key of your song. 135

18 136 CHAPTER 7: WORKING WITH APPLE LOOPS Adding an Apple Loop to an Empty Software Instrument Track You can also add a Software Instrument Apple Loop to a previously created Software Instrument track. 1. Create a Software Instrument track as described in Chapter Click and hold the mouse button on the Apple Loop you want to add to your song. 136

19 ADDING AN APPLE LOOP TO YOUR SONG Drag the Apple Loop to an area of the Timeline inside the track lane of the empty Software Instrument track. 4. Release the mouse button. GarageBand will place your Apple Loop on the Software Instrument track. You will see its MIDI region in the track lane for that track. 5. Click on the play button. You will hear your Apple Loop as part of your song. NOTE Software Instrument tracks can only accept Software Instrument Apple Loops. However, Software Instrument Apple Loops contain both MIDI and audio information and can be used on both Software and Real Instrument tracks. Real Instrument (blue) Apple Loops only contain audio /2/04, 11:55 AM

20 138 CHAPTER 7: WORKING WITH APPLE LOOPS Adding an Apple Loop to an Existing Track Finally, you might want to add an Apple Loop to a track that already has material on it. You can add an Apple Loop to a track with other Apple Loops, Software Instrument performances, or Real Instrument performances. 1. Click and hold the mouse button on the Apple Loop you want to add to your song. 2. Drag the Apple Loop to an area of the track lane before or after the existing regions on that track. CAUTION Do not overlap your Apple Loop onto existing regions! GarageBand doesn t allow regions to overlap; any portion of a region that ends up underneath your Apple Loop will be deleted /2/04, 11:55 AM

21 ADDING AN APPLE LOOP TO YOUR SONG Release the mouse button. GarageBand will place your Apple Loop on the track at the location you have specified. The Apple Loop s region will display either its audio waveform or MIDI notes, depending on whether it was added to a Real Instrument track or a Software Instrument track. NOTE When you are adding an Apple Loop to a Real Instrument track, you can add either a Real Instrument Apple Loop or a Software Instrument Apple Loop. Both loops contain audio data. When you are adding an Apple Loop to a Software Instrument track, you can only add a Software Instrument Apple Loop. Real Instrument Loops do not contain MIDI data. 4. Click on the play button. You will hear your Apple Loop as part of your song /2/04, 11:55 AM

22 140 CHAPTER 7: WORKING WITH APPLE LOOPS Transposing an Apple Loop Because Apple Loops are pre-recorded and pre-performed professional music clips, they do not require any additional editing or manipulation. However, you might want to edit or manipulate the Apple Loop. You can edit Apple Loops just as you would any other MIDI or audio region. And with Real Instrument Apple Loops, you have an additional option: You can transpose (change the tuning) of your Apple Loop. Your Apple Loop will be in tune with your song, of course, but you might want to alter the tuning by a certain number of semitones, or half-note steps, in order to change its sound. This is very easy to do. CAUTION Transposing MIDI note Apple Loops only changes MIDI note positions. This does not alter the sound of the Apple Loop at all. Transposing audio Apple Loops, however, requires processing the pre-recorded audio. This can result in an unnatural-sounding Apple Loop. If you transpose an audio Apple Loop and it doesn t sound good to you, try using a Software Instrument Apple Loop. 1. Click on the Real Instrument Apple Loop you want to transpose. The Apple Loop will be selected. 2. Click on Control. The Control menu will appear. 3. Click on Show Editor. The Track Editor will appear /2/04, 11:55 AM

23 TRANSPOSING AN APPLE LOOP 141 NOTE Alternatively, you can click on the Editor button to open the Track Editor. You can also press COMMAND + E to accomplish this task. 4. Click and drag the Transpose slider left or right to transpose your Apple Loop. The number in the text box will display how many semi-tones up or down you have transposed your Loop. Your Apple Loop will be transposed to that value. NOTE You can transpose your Apple Loop up to one octave higher (a value of +12) or one octave lower (a value of -12) in one semi-tone step. TIP If you know exactly how many semi-tones you want to transpose your Apple Loop, you can type the number directly into the text field /2/04, 11:55 AM

24 142 CHAPTER 7: WORKING WITH APPLE LOOPS Adding Apple Loops to GarageBand You are not limited to using only the Apple Loops that were included with GarageBand. There are companies that sell CDs of Apple Loops, and you can find free Apple Loops on the Internet as well. Adding new Apple Loops to GarageBand is as easy as adding songs to itunes! 1. Confirm that the folder or disk containing the Apple Loops you want to add to GarageBand is visible on the desktop. 2. Click on Control. The Control menu will appear. 3. Click on Loop Browser. The Loop Browser will appear. NOTE Alternatively, you can click on the Loop Browser button to open the Loop Browser. You can also press COMMAND + L to accomplish the task /2/04, 11:55 AM

25 ADDING APPLE LOOPS TO GARAGEBAND Click on the Apple Loop folder on your desktop (or on the disk that is mounted on the desktop). The folder or disk will be selected. 5. Drag the Apple Loop folder onto the right side of the Loop Browser. The contents of the folder will be copied to your Apple Loops folder, and GarageBand will index the new Apple Loops /2/04, 11:55 AM

26 144 CHAPTER 7: WORKING WITH APPLE LOOPS 6. Confirm that your Apple Loops have been added to the Loop Browser by browsing for them using the methods described in this chapter /2/04, 11:55 AM