Hello, welcome to this tutorial dedicated to GarageBand, the free music
creation studio for MacOS and iOS! This is a great tool to make music since
it allows you to combine audio tracks, compose new melodies and
percussions, record from your microphone or perform a great audio mix.
When you open GarageBand its dialog box opens with several options to start
on the left. With Recent you get the list of your most recent projects made
and with Learn to Play and Lessons Store you can get tips and quick lessons
to get through GarageBand.
To see how to use GarageBand let's start from a new project. At the bottom,
on Details, set several options we are going to see, such as the Tempo, the
Time Signature and the input and output sources to use, such as your
microphone as input and your speakers as output source to hear sound.
As you click on Choose the new project opens on the main interface asking
which kind of track you want to add. To understand these let's see the
basic structure of any GarageBand project.
Each GarageBand project is a single music song made by several rows called
Tracks. Each Track collects several Regions (or clips) in time, showing
your note compositions, your audio recordings or rendered audio samples.
These clips, put together, realize the entire song you’r exporting in the
end.
You can create three different kinds of tracks: Audio Tracks, Drummer
Tracks and Software Instrument Tracks.
The Audio Tracks are used to import samples and make recordings. When
creating one you have to choose between recording and importing samples or
recording an external instrument connected to your Mac via USB, checking
the input and the output sources at the bottom. In this beginner tutorial
we won't see how to work with external instruments.
Besides the project tracks you also get several panels that you can
open and close with the buttons in the top left corner. For example the
first button opens the Library panel on the left and the third one the
Smart Controls panel at the bottom. Make sure to enable the Quick Help
window to get tips and full descriptions on the features you hover over
with your cursor.
With the Audio Track set up you can drag and drop any sample you have on
it.
This becomes an independent clip showing its entire waveform. You can check
it by zooming in and out on the timeline with the small slider in the top
right corner.
To playback and pause the tracks use the player above or the Spacebar key.
You may hear the metronome unless you disable it from the top. You can also
adjust the volume of your entire project from the top right corner.
The placement of the marker is shown on the top display in bars and beats.
Click on the down arrow to show seconds on the display or on the timeline.
Select Beats and Project to see all your project settings, including tempo
and time signature.
Let's see how to edit these clips. Click on any clip to select it and drag
it to move it in time or in another audio track. A default beat-per-beat
snapping is present unless you hold down the Control key to avoid it.
Right-click on the clip to cut, copy and paste it and remove it quickly
with the Backspace key. Undo any action with CMD(and)Z any time.
To adjust the clip duration click and drag its edges. If you drag from the
bottom you simply trim the region and its audio waveform. If you drag from
the top you loop the clip over and over, respecting the trimmed waveform.
On the left you can manage the content inside each Track. Double-click on
the track to rename it and use the buttons at the bottom to mute or
unmute the current track content or solo it by muting all the others. Check
the track volume with the volume meter and adjust it if needed. Use the
knob to set the panning between the left and the right stereo channels.
Now let's see how to record with your microphone! When you create an Audio
Track this comes automatically armed and connected to your input source.
This can be tested through its volume meter, which is reactive.
If it is not responding right-click on the track and go to Configure Track
Header... to enable Record Enable.
If the track is armed and the input source correct, click on the Record
button on top to record, clicking again to stop.
To make percussions and beats click on the plus button and select Drummer
to create a Drummer track. This allows you to make drums in a very short
time without making compositions by hand or using external instruments.
By default a clip is built with its audio waveform and the Editor panel
opens at the bottom showing the drum options. You can click and drag the
yellow node to change the rhythm, making it complex or loud. You can also
define which instruments to use or pick any preset from the left list.
From the Library panel you can also select another drummer, fitting the
correct music genre you are looking for.
These drummer clips are always played in loop. These also get adjusted if
you change their length.
You may playback the track in loop to check how it changes. Click and drag
on the timeline to create a yellow section called Cycle Range. This will be
played in loop continuously as long as the Cycle button above is enabled.
Make sure to set the right tempo above. This converts beats and bars into
seconds so the higher the tempo the faster the drummers and the
compositions you make!
To make percussions and compositions with full control you have to create
a Software Instrument track.
From the Library panel on the left select the instrument to use such as
any drum kit, any piano or guitar. At this point open the Editor panel from
the top left corner that shows a Piano Roll at the bottom with the keyboard
you can use to test the track sound.
To build your MIDI composition you can connect a USB keyboard to drop
notes as you play them. If you do not have this possibility, you can also
drop them manually by holding down the CMD key and dragging on the Piano
Roll. Each note has its own length in time and row frequency. You can also
check these under the classic Score view.
Click on any note to select it and drag it to move it in time or in another
frequency, avoiding snapping with the Control key. You can also drag from
its edges to adjust its length and use the backspace key to delete it.
Make sure to playback the interested region in loop while you compose and
pay attention that these notes are sensitive to the tempo chosen for the
project above.
You can also Show Automations at the bottom to change the properties for
each note. For example, set velocity on each note by dragging its level up
or down or adjust the pitch and volume by drawing their automation curve. In
this case just click and drag to fix the level of the first point and then
double-click to fix another node at a different level. This way the
property changes in time by following the curve.
As you create these compositions a new region is created on the track,
showing the notes and automations applied!
From the top left corner you can open the Smart Controls panel to apply
adjustments on the selected Track or the entire project as Master.
Depending on the kind of track you can mix the volume from different
instruments, apply audio compression or great effects. Switch to EQ to open
the Equalizer and apply a custom audio filter.
To save your project go to File and then to Save As.
To render the project into a song go to Share, Export Song to Disk. Define
its name, where to save it, its file format, quality and bit rate. The song
is exported entirely unless you check the option to export only what is
under the Cycle Region you have.
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