Garageband Basics What is GarageBand? GarageBand puts a complete music studio on your computer, so you can make your own music to share with the world. You can create songs, ringtones, podcasts, and other types of projects in GarageBand. Today we will be covering the following areas of GarageBand: Create your own music projects GarageBand can unleash your musical creativity, no matter whether you re a pro or a beginner. You can create a new project, and then add loops, record your voice or instrument, arrange and mix the project, and share the finished project with the world. Record voices and musical instruments Record your voice or acoustic instrument, or any sound you can capture with a microphone. Record an electric guitar using pro-quality guitar amps and effects. You can also play and record a Software Instrument in GarageBand. Add Apple Loops GarageBand includes a large collection of Apple Loops that you can add to your projects. You can search for loops, preview them, and add them to a project by simply dragging and dropping, then extend them to fill any amount of time. When you add loops recorded at different speeds or in different musical keys, they all play together at the same speed and in the same key. Arrange and mix your music Arrange regions containing your recordings, loops, and imported files in the GarageBand timeline. You can move, trim, and perform other edits to regions in the editor. Then mix your project to balance levels and add a sense of space, add effects to shape the sound, and add automation to create changes over time. Share your music with the world When you finish your project, you can send it to itunes or another ilife application, export it to disk, or burn it to a CD. You can also use GarageBand to: Learn to play guitar or piano You can learn to play your guitar or keyboard using the lessons included with GarageBand. Play a lesson and watch the teacher s instruction along with music notation, chord symbols, and animated fingerings. You can repeat sections you want to practice, slow down the lesson to learn a difficult part, and change the mix of instruments. Jam with Magic GarageBand Choose a musical genre and open a Magic GarageBand project. GarageBand creates the backing band so you can play along. You can choose instruments, repeat a section, and record your own part, then open the project in the GarageBand window to add material, build the arrangement, and mix the project. Create iphone ringtones You can create an iphone ringtone from a template or from an existing GarageBand project, and send the ringtone to itunes to sync with your iphone. Create audio and video podcasts You can create an audio podcast by recording narration and dialogue using a microphone, and then adding music and sound effects. Add artwork, markers, and links to websites to create an enhanced podcast, or start by importing a movie to create a video podcast.
Create a new project To start working in GarageBand, you create a new project. You can choose from a variety of project templates in the Project Chooser, including voice, various instruments, Magic GarageBand projects, ringtones, and podcasts. When you open the Project Chooser, the categories appear on the left. When you click a category, templates for that category appear on the right. Create a new project. Click the GarageBand icon in the Dock to open GarageBand. The Project Chooser appears, with categories on the left, and templates for the selected category on the right.. In the Project Chooser, click New Project. Project templates appear on the right.. Double-click the template for the type of project you want to create.. In the New Project from Template dialog, type a name for the project. If you want to, you can set the tempo, key, and time signature for the project in the dialog, or change these later while you are working on the project. Click Create. The project opens, showing the timeline. You can add tracks to record your voice or instrument, or add loops from the loop browser. Open an existing project You can open an existing GarageBand project to continue working on it. To open an existing project: Do one of the following:. Choose File > Open, then browse to the location of the project you want to open.. Choose File > Open Recent, then choose a recently opened project from the submenu.. In the Project Chooser, click Recent Projects, then double-click the project you want to open.. In the Project Chooser, click Open an Existing File, select a project in the Open dialog, then click Open.
Set the tempo Each project plays at a specific speed, called the tempo, which is expressed as the number of beats per minute (bpm). The default tempo is 120 bpm, which is a very common tempo in popular music. You can choose any tempo between 40 and 240 bpm. To set the tempo: Do one of the following:. Click the icon on the left side of the LCD, choose Project, then drag the Tempo slider up or down.. Click the Track Info button on the right side of the control bar to open the Track Info pane, click Master Track, then drag the Tempo slider to the new tempo.. If you are creating a new project, drag the Tempo slider in the Save As dialog..
Each project has one basic tempo. You can change the tempo for different parts of a project using the master tempo automation curve. Add tempo changes You can add tempo changes to a project, so that different parts of the project play faster or slower. You can make the project instantly change to the new tempo, or gradually speed up or slow down to the new tempo. To add a tempo change:. Choose Track > Show Master Track.. Choose Master Tempo from the menu in the master track header.. Add control points at the point where you want the tempo change to start and end.. To have the tempo change instantly, add two control points close together, then drag the second control point up or down to the new tempo.. To have the tempo change gradually, add control points where you want the tempo change to start and end, then drag the second control point to the new tempo.. To change the tempo in more precise increments, select the control point, and then hold down the Shift key as you drag the control point. After you add control points to the master tempo curve, you can t change the tempo of the song by using the Tempo slider in the LCD. Set the key and scale Each project has a key, which defines the central note to which the other notes relate. When you add loops to your project, the loops match the key of the project. By default, new projects are in the key of C major. You can choose a new key, and choose whether the scale is major or minor. Set the time signature Each project has a time signature, which defines how musical time is divided into measures and beats. The time signature contains two numbers separated by a slash (/), which look similar to a fraction. The first number controls the number of beats in each measure, and the second number controls the beat value (the length of the note that gets one beat). By default, new projects use 4/4, the most commonly used time signature. You can change the time signature to any of the following: 2/2, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/8, 7/8, 9/8, or 12/8. To set the time signature: Do one of the following:. Click the icon on the left side of the LCD, choose Project, then click the time signature and choose a new one from the Signature pop-up menu.. Click the Track Info button in the control bar to open the Track Info pane, click Master Track, then choose a time signature from the Signature pop-up menu. (as with Tempo). If you are creating a new project, choose a time signature from the Signature pop-up menu in the Save As dialog. A project can have only one time signature, which lasts for the entire length of the project.
Record your voice You can record your voice using your computer s built-in microphone, or by connecting a microphone to your computer. You record your voice in a Real Instrument track in the GarageBand timeline. Record your voice. If you are using an external microphone, connect the microphone to the audio input port or USB port on your computer, or to an audio interface connected to your computer.. Click the Add Track button (with a + ) in the lower-left part of the GarageBand window. The Add Track Dialog appears, with an icon for each track type.. In the Add Track dialog, select Real Instrument.. Click the disclosure triangle next to Instrument Setup.. Choose the input source from the upper-left pop-up menu.. If you are using the microphone built into your computer, choose Built-in Microphone.. If you are using a microphone connected to your computer s audio input port, choose Built-in Input.. If you are using a microphone connected to a USB port, choose the name of the microphone.. If you are using a microphone connected to an audio interface, choose the channel the microphone is connected to.. Under I hear sound from, choose the audio output you want to use to hear the sound from the microphone.. To turn on monitoring for the track, select the I want to hear my Instrument as I play and record checkbox.. Click Create. The new track appears selected in the timeline.. To start recording, click the red Record button in the control bar. The playhead moves across the timeline, and a new, red region with the recording appears in the selected track. When you're finished, click the Play (>) button in the control bar to stop recording Add Apple Loops GarageBand includes a large collection of Apple Loops you can use in your projects. Apple Loops are prerecorded audio files that are designed to add repeating patterns to your music, and that follow the tempo and key of the project. Add Apple Loops to a project. Click the Loop Browser button (with the eye icon) in the lower-right part of the GarageBand window.
. Click the Button View button (with two musical notes) in the upper-left corner of the loop browser. A grid with keyword buttons appears in the upper half of the loop browser.. Click keywords for the instrument, genre, or mood you want to search for. Loops matching the keywords appear in the list below. You can click multiple keyword buttons to narrow the search criteria.. To preview a loop, click it in the list. To stop a preview, click the loop again. To add a loop to your project, drag it to the timeline (the main part of the GarageBand window). You can drag it to the empty area below the existing tracks. To have the loop play from the beginning of the project, drag it to the left edge of the timeline. You can also drag it to another point in the timeline if you want it to start playing later. Add loops to a project After searching for loops with the loop browser, you add them to the timeline. In the timeline, you can move, copy, and make other changes to the loops. To add a loop to the timeline: Do one of the following:. Drag a loop to an empty area of the timeline, below the existing tracks. A new track of the appropriate type (Real Instrument or Software Instrument) is created, and the loop is added to the new track.. Drag a Real Instrument loop (with a blue soundwave icon) to a Real Instrument (blue) track.. Drag a Software Instrument loop (with a green note icon) to a Software Instrument (green) track. Real Instrument regions cannot overlap in the same track in the timeline. If you drag a Real Instrument loop so that it overlaps another region, the region being overlapped will be shortened. You can convert Software Instrument loops to Real Instrument loops when you add them to the timeline.
Show the master track You can view and edit the automation curves for the overall project in the master track. When you show the master track, it appears at the bottom of the timeline. To show the master track:. Choose Track > Show Master Track. You can choose an automation curve from the pop-up menu on the left, then edit the curve (which appears on the right) by adding and editing control points. The master track includes automation curves for master volume, tempo, and pitch. You can also add curves for master effect parameters. Adjust the project s master volume You can adjust the overall volume of a project using the master volume slider. The master volume controls what the volume will be when you export the project. Use your computer s volume control to adjust the volume at which you listen to the project play. You can also make changes to the master volume level over time by editing the Master Volume automation curve. When the Master Volume automation curve is active, you can t adjust the master volume slider. To adjust the master volume slider:. In the control bar, drag the master volume slider left (to lower the output volume) or right (to raise the output volume). Option-click the slider to return it to a neutral value (0 db gain). To edit the Master Volume automation curve:. Choose Track > Show Master Track.. Choose Master Volume from the menu in the master track header.. Add control points to the master volume curve at the places where you want to change the overall volume of the project.. Move the control points up or down to adjust the depth (intensity) of the volume changes. Add a fade-out or fade-in You can easily add an automatic fade-out to the end of a project, so that the sound gradually fades to silence. When you add a fade-out, four control points are added to the master track for the project. The first control point is added 10 seconds before the end of the last region in the project, the second at 7 seconds, the third at 4 seconds, and the fourth at the end of the last region. Choose Master Volume from the menu in the master track header. Move the control points at the end of the master volume automation curve to adjust the length of the fade-out. To manually add a fade-in or fade-out: Click the disclosure triangle in the track s header, or, for the master track, choose Track > Show Master Track. Choose Master Volume from the menu in the master track header. Add control points to the beginning of the volume curve for a fade-in, or to the end of the curve for a fade-out.
Move the control points to adjust the length and depth (intensity) of the fade-in or fade-out. Add an effect GarageBand includes a variety of pro-quality effects, including Visual EQ, Compressor, Echo, Reverb, and more. You can add effects to any track, including the master track, and choose an effect preset to get just the sound you want. Add an effect. Double-click the header of the track you want to use. The Track Info pane opens to the right of the timeline.. In the Track Info pane, click the Edit tab or (for an Electric Guitar track) the Edit button. The Edit tab shows the effects currently used in the track, and empty slots where you can add additional effects. Each slot with an effect shows a pop-up menu with the effect name above a pop-up menu showing the current effect preset. To the left is an effect icon that opens the Edit window for the effect, and a thin strip with an LED that lets you turn the effect on or off.. Click an empty effect slot, then choose the effect you want to add from the list. The effect name and preset name appear in the slot.. To change the effect, choose a new effect from the upper pop-up menu in the effect slot.. To change the effect preset, choose a new preset from the lower pop-up menu in the effect slot.. To turn the effect on or off, click the thin strip with the LED to the left of the effect icon. Send a song to itunes When you finish your project, you can send it to an itunes playlist to play, burn to a CD, or share on the Internet. Send a song to an itunes playlist. Make sure the project sounds the way you want it to, and that the tracks you want to hear are not muted.. Choose Share > Send Song to itunes.. In the Share dialog, you can add artist, playlist, and album information, and choose compression settings for the exported song. Click Share. itunes opens, with the song added to the playlist.