GarageBand project: An editable GarageBand project with separate tracks for the idea and each backing instrument. Do one of the following: If the selected file is an audio file or a mixdown: click Import. If the selected file is a GarageBand song: click Open.

• GarageBand’s Arrangement Track is useful for trying out new layouts of existing projects (reveal it by selecting Show Arrangement Track from the Track menu), but if you set up an array of arrangement markers at the start of a project, then add a Drummer Track, the Drummer Track will automatically populate your arrangement with different.
• Note: GarageBand automatically adds the extension.mp3 to your song name, let it be. Select audio quality and hit Export. Bonus Tip: Save GarageBand Project. It is a good habit to save a GarageBand project in the very beginning, instead of doing it in the last step before exporting to mp3.

Incredible music.
In the key of easy.

GarageBand is a fully equipped music creation studio right inside your Mac — with a complete sound library that includes instruments, presets for guitar and voice, and an incredible selection of session drummers and percussionists. With Touch Bar features for MacBook Pro and an intuitive, modern design, it’s easy to learn, play, record, create, and share your hits worldwide. Now you’re ready to make music like a pro.

Start making professional‑sounding music right away. Plug in your guitar or mic and choose from a jaw‑dropping array of realistic amps and effects. You can even create astonishingly human‑sounding drum tracks and become inspired by thousands of loops from popular genres like EDM, Hip Hop, Indie, and more.

More sounds, more inspiration.
Plug in your USB keyboard and dive into the completely inspiring and expanded Sound Library, featuring electronic‑based music styles like EDM and Hip Hop. The built‑in set of instruments and loops gives you plenty of creative freedom.

The Touch Bar takes center stage.
The Touch Bar on MacBook Pro puts a range of instruments at your fingertips. Use Performance view to turn the Touch Bar into drum pads or a one-octave keyboard for playing and recording.

Plug it in. Tear it up.
Plug in your guitar and choose from a van-load of amps, cabinets, and stompboxes.

Design your dream bass rig.
Customize your bass tone just the way you want it. Mix and match vintage or modern amps and speaker cabinets. You can even choose and position different microphones to create your signature sound.

Drumroll please.
GarageBand features Drummer, a virtual session drummer that takes your direction and plays along with your song. Choose from 28 drummers and three percussionists in six genres.

Shape your sound. Quickly and easily.
Whenever you’re using a software instrument, amp, or effect, Smart Controls appear with the perfect set of knobs, buttons, and sliders. So you can shape your sound quickly with onscreen controls or by using the Touch Bar on MacBook Pro.

Look, Mom — no wires.
You can wirelessly control GarageBand right from your iPad with the Logic Remote app. Play any software instrument, shape your sound with Smart Controls, and even hit Stop, Start, and Record from across the room.

Jam with drummers of every style.

Drummer, the virtual session player created using the industry’s top session drummers and recording engineers, features 28 beat‑making drummers and three percussionists. From EDM, Dubstep, and Hip Hop to Latin, Metal, and Blues, whatever beat your song needs, there’s an incredible selection of musicians to play it.

Each drummer has a signature kit that lets you produce a variety of groove and fill combinations. Use the intuitive controls to enable and disable individual sounds while you create a beat with kick, snare, cymbals, and all the cowbell you want. If you need a little inspiration, Drummer Loops gives you a diverse collection of prerecorded acoustic and electronic loops that can be easily customized and added to your song.

Powerful synths with shape‑shifting controls.

Get creative with 100 EDM- and Hip Hop–inspired synth sounds. Every synth features the Transform Pad Smart Control, so you can morph and tweak sounds to your liking.

Learn to play

Welcome to the school of rock. And blues. And classical.

Get started with a great collection of built‑in lessons for piano and guitar. Or learn some Multi‑Platinum hits from the actual artists who recorded them. You can even get instant feedback on your playing to help hone your skills.

Take your skills to the next level. From any level.
Choose from 40 different genre‑based lessons, including classical, blues, rock, and pop. Video demos and animated instruments keep things fun and easy to follow.

Teachers with advanced degrees in hit‑making.
Learn your favorite songs on guitar or piano with a little help from the original recording artists themselves. Who better to show you how it’s done?

Instant feedback.
Play along with any lesson, and GarageBand will listen in real time and tell you how you’re doing, note for note. Track your progress, beat your best scores, and improve your skills.

Tons of helpful recording and editing features make GarageBand as powerful as it is easy to use. Edit your performances right down to the note and decibel. Fix rhythm issues with a click. Finesse your sound with audio effect plug‑ins. And finish your track like a pro, with effects such as compression and visual EQ.

Go from start to finish. And then some.
Create and mix up to 255 audio tracks. Easily name and reorder your song sections to find the best structure. Then polish it off with all the essentials, including reverb, visual EQ, volume levels, and stereo panning.

Take your best take.
Record as many takes as you like. You can even loop a section and play several passes in a row. GarageBand saves them all in a multi‑take region, so it’s easy to pick the winners.

Your timing is perfect. Even when it isn’t.
Played a few notes out of time? Simply use Flex Time to drag them into place. You can also select one track as your Groove Track and make the others fall in line for a super‑tight rhythm.

Polish your performance.
Capture your changes in real time by adjusting any of your software instruments’ Smart Controls while recording a performance. You can also fine‑tune your music later in the Piano Roll Editor.

Touch Bar. A whole track at your fingertips.
The Touch Bar on MacBook Pro lets you quickly move around a project by dragging your finger across a visual overview of the track.

Wherever you are, iCloud makes it easy to work on a GarageBand song. You can add tracks to your GarageBand for Mac song using your iPhone or iPad when you’re on the road. Or when inspiration strikes, you can start sketching a new song idea on your iOS device, then import it to your Mac to take it even further.

GarageBand for iOS

Play, record, arrange, and mix — wherever you go.

GarageBand for Mac

Your personal music creation studio.

Logic Remote

A companion app for Logic Pro.

GarageBand is an ideal software package—easy to use, included on every Mac, and capable of editing interviews quickly. The process of editing audio content by editing waveforms is standard across all audio programs. The actual mechanics for making the edit may differ, but every software package will include a way to cut out unwanted material and join the sound you want to use.

This tutorial provides an introduction to audio editing through GarageBand.

You can download the raw file, a rough edit and the finished audio of the file used in this tutorial from the Apple web site. The files are in the right column.

Setting up GarageBand

Open GarageBand.

GarageBand requires you to select a project type.

Choose Podcast (1) and click Choose (2).

This is the podcasting screen. The first step is to simplify the interface.

Click the Edit button (1) and the Media button (2) to close those two panels.

This interface is less complex.

Select Hide Podcast Track from the Track menu.

The screen is even less complex.

Turn off Ducking. [Ducking is a way to automatically lower the background sound when the foreground sound is louder.]

Ducking is off and there are no ducking controls in the track head.

Delete all but one track—GarageBand requires at least one track.

Position the Finder Window containing the audio source files at the top right of the Finder window.

Importing and Editing

After you setup a Finder window in the upper right corner of your desktop drag a single file into a blank spot in Track Head area.

Each file you drag will appear in a separate track.

The imported audio will appear in a new track.

The new track will have the imported audio file name as the track title. The track waveform will be orange. The orange track color indicates that this is an imported audio file. Voices and Real Instruments recorded directly into GarageBand are color-coded purple. Midi instruments are coded green. Loops are aqua.

Open the edit panel (1).

Click the play control or press the spacebar to play the audio. Press the stop button or the spacebar to stop the playhead at an edit point. Note that the playhead in the multitrack view (1) and the playhead in the Editor (2) show exactly the same point on the waveform. The waveform in the edit window is larger and can be zoomed independent of the multitrack view. This permits precision edits on the waveform.

After you select an edit point, select Split from the Edit menu. Note the Command T keyboard shortcut. Most of the work in editing is making cuts.

The first edit is complete. Note the left edit has a unique region name—cryptobotany.raw.1—(1) and the right edit has a unique region name—cryptobotany.raw.2—(2).

Now that the first edit is complete, you’ll want to delete the left part of this edit—cryptobotany.raw.1 (1). However, after the edit note that both the left region, cryptobotany.raw.1 and the right region, cryptobotany.raw.2 are highlighted.

Garageband Project Ideas

If you hit the Delete key with both regions highlighted the entire track will be deleted. This frequent mistake is easily corrected. Hit the Command and Z key to undo the mistake.

Select just the left region—cryptobotany.raw.1—and press the Delete key.

The left region is deleted and the edit is complete.

Here’s an example of garageband’s non-destructive editing capabilities. Press Command and Z to undo the delete. Now, select just the right region—cryptobotany.raw.2—and press the Delete key.

Notice the special cursor that appears when the mouse is positioned over the lower right corner of the track in the precision editing window.

Click and drag the track to the right. The material that was just deleted reappears.

Removing a section in the middle of the track is only slightly more complicated.

Make a cut (split track) on each side of the sound section that will be removed.

Deselect all track regions by clicking in an empty grey area.

Select the section to delete and press the Delete key.

The section is deleted. The next task on the edit is to close the gap between the two remaining regions and join the two regions together.

Select the right region in the multitrack (upper) window—you cannot move a region by clicking in the Edit panel—and move the region to the left until it is adjacent to the the left region.

Highlight both the left and right regions.

Select Join from the Edit menu.

Two important changes occur. First the two regions are joined. The region label reads cryptobotany raw.3.merged. GarageBand has merged the two files and has written a new temporary file. GarageBand can now handle this file in the same way as a sound recorded directly into a GarageBand project.

Editing an interview primarily consists of cutting out reporter questions and removing segments of the interview that are not necessary for the report or project.

Garageband Project To Mp3

Exporting

After finish editing, you need to export the interview.

Move the End Marker before exporting.

Click the End Marker in the Multitrack window ruler and drag the maker to the end of the interview.

The End Marker is correctly positioned and the project is ready for export.

Select Export Song to Disk from the Share menu.

If you are using this sound project in Final Cut Pro or any other program that will import uncompressed sound files, do not check the Compress checkbox.

If you are using this sound project in SoundSlides or any program that requires a compressed file, check the Compress checkbox and select the method of compression and the settings. This setting is for Soundslides and is set to the required MP3 file format and uses the 128 kbps setting.

Give the export a name (1) and check the location (2) to make sure you know where the file will be saved. Then click the Save button (3).

About this Tutorial

Jerry Monti is a technology trainer for the Knight Digital Media Center.

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Garageband Projects For Middle School

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