Garage Band

Building a Basic Arrangement

1. Creating a New Song

• File à New
• In the New Project box, browse to the location where you want to store the song, then type a name for the song in then name field.
• Set the song’s tempo, time signature, and key as described below.

2. Setting the Tempo (the speed of the song)

The tempo defines the rate at which beats occur in the song and is measured in beats per minute, or bpm. You can set the tempo to any speed between 60 and 240 bpm. The default tempo is 120 bpm, which is a common tempo used in popular music.

• In the New Project box, drag the Tempo slider left to slow down the tempo, or right to speed up the tempo.

3. Setting the Time Signature

• In the New Project box, under the Signature category, select the time signature you want.

4. Setting the Key

• In the New Project box, under the Key category, choose the key you would like and if it is major or minor.

5. Click Create and you will be on your way to building a basic arrangement.

Connecting Musical Instruments to Your Computer

To set an audio interface as the audio input device:

• GarageBand à Preferences, then click the Audio/MIDI Interfaces tab.
• In the Audio/MIDI Interfaces box, choose the audio interface from the Audio Input tab.

Adding a Real Instrument Track

• Click the Add Track button, or Track à New Track.
• In the New Track box, click the Real Instrument button and press Create.

• Select an instrument category from the Category list, and then select an instrument from the Instrument list.
• The instrument will appear under the Tracks section on the left hand side.

Getting Ready to Record

Once you have connected your instrument and added a track to record in, there are a few things to check before you start recording:

• Make sure the microphone or instrument is connected and properly working.
• Open the Track Info window (on the right hand side of the screen) to make sure the instrument has the instrument and effects settings you want.
• Sing or play a few notes and watch the track’s level meters in the track mixer to make sure the track is receiving input. (If the red dots at the right of the level meters light up, try dragging the volume slider to the left a little to lower the input volume.)
• You may want to set the song tempo and key before recording a Real Instrument. (Real Instrument recordings are fixed in tempo and key and cannot be changed after they are recorded.)

Recording a Real Instrument

• Under the Tracks category on the left hand side, select which real instrument you want to record.
• Click the header of the Real Instrument track you want to record in to select the track.

• Move the playhead to the point in the timeline where you want to start recording.

• Control à Count In to have the metronome play a one-measure count-in before recording starts.
• Click the Record button, then click the Play button.

• Start playing your instrument. As you record, a new region appears in the selected Real Instrument track with the music you record.
• When you are finished, click the Record button again to stop recording. Click the Play button to stop the song playing.

Changing Real Instrument Settings

To change the Instrument:

• Select the track, under the Track category on the left hand side and then select Track à Show Track Info.
• Select an instrument category from the list on the left, and then select a track instrument from the list on the right.

Adding and Adjusting Effects

• In the Track Info. Box, Click the Details triangle (at the bottom) to reveal the track’s effects settings.

• Click the checkbox for an effect to turn the effect on or off.
• Drag the sliders for the Echo and Reverb effects to adjust the amount of each effect.
• Choose an effect from one of the four Effect pop-up menus on the left, then choose an effect setting for the effect from the Preset pop-up menu on the right.