Recording real instruments
Now we'll try capturing and recording from a real instrument. Grab your axe or microphone and make sure your connections are set up correctly and ready to go. If in doubt check the recommended settings mentioned previously or instructions from the hardware vendor of the audio interface or USB cables.
On the left-hand side of GarageBand is a plus sign icon. Click on this to create a new track. A prompt will appear that will give you two options; create a Software Instrument Track, or create a Real Instrument Track. Click on the radio button next to Real Instrument Track and click "Create".
This will create a new track in GarageBand. On the right-hand side a prompt will appear called "Track Info". Select the type of instrument you have plugged in to your Mac. To play and hear your instrument make sure that you have clicked "monitor on" from the drop-down list.
To tune your guitar or bass select the instrument track in GarageBand. Click Control -> Show Tuner in LCD and play a note. Tune your instrument as desired.
At this stage you can start playing your instrument and should hear yourself through the computer speakers. With the monitor on you can change the effects by clicking on the "Details" tab. Here you can change the sound of your instrument by selecting different amp, echo, reverb, compressor, and gate settings. If you're a guitar or bass player this is the same as having a multi-effect pedal — which is a hell of a lot of fun to play around with. If you lack musical talent, try using a distortion amp — it's an easy way to make music sound cool and tough without the gazillion hours of practice it takes to master a guitar or bass.
Hot Tip:
If there's a considerable lag between playing an instrument and the sound coming out of the speakers then try and free up your Mac's system resources by closing down applications you don't need open.
Having found your groove, recording a real instrument is the same as the software instrument. Simply allow a count in, and press the red button to start recording. If it helps, GarageBand has a built in metronome to help you keep time. Click on Control -> Metronome to enable or disable it.
If you're looking to have a jam session with band mates to record vocals, guitar, bass, and drums together, GarageBand can record up to eight real instruments at the same time. To do this, simply click on the Record Enable button next to each track you've set up. To do this you will require an audio interface with input channels for each instrument.
Editing and Mixing
Once you've added tracks, loops, riffs, and various hooks in GarageBand you may actually want to arrange them together into a song. The basis of arranging your music in GarageBand revolves around "regions". Different types of regions will appear differently on the GarageBand timeline:
- Blue regions are real instruments created from loops
- Purple regions are real instruments you've recorded
- Green regions are software instruments from recordings and loops
- Orange regions are imported from audio files
These regions can be arranged and edited via dragging, dropping, resizing, copy and pasting, and splitting. Most of these are fairly user-friendly to get the hang of. However, the task of arranging, editing, and mixing your music is going to vary greatly depending on the style of music you want to end up with. It will also take some time to master some of the more advanced features of mixing and arranging your music.
One of the most extensive resources to learn every trick in the GarageBand book is the free PDF provided via Apple on its support website. This guide is worth the read if you're looking to master GarageBand.
Export your work to MP3, CD or iTunes
Once you're happy with your soon-to-be number one hit, it's time to export and share your music. Click on Share in the top navigation and choose your export option of choice and follow the prompts. GarageBand will allow you to burn directly to a CD, move your music to your iTunes library, or export to MP3, AAC, or CD quality on the hard disk. To save your work in the highest quality then de-select the compress box. If you want to share your music on the Web or iPod it's best to compress your music.
Now that you've set up a simple home recording studio using GarageBand, it's easy to continually progress and add new dimensions to your music. Eventually you may want to invest in more expensive software and hardware, but starting off with GarageBand will provide a solid grounding for music recording and editing. But for now, have fun with GarageBand, and in the words of Bon Scott "Let there be rock"!
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