Intro to GarageBand

Tracks hold parts; regions hold audio or MIDI.

1. Open GarageBand and choose File > New. Pick a simple starter template in the Project Chooser; a blank project is fine if your version offers one.
2. Create an Audio track for a microphone or a Software Instrument track for drums, bass, or keys. These do different jobs.
3. Choose File > Save, name the project RN_First_Demo, and put it in a folder you can find. Save again after each useful change.
4. Notice the track headers on the left, timeline and ruler across the middle, playhead showing your position, and Record/Play controls above.

Test the input and output before a full take.

1. Connect wired headphones. Open GarageBand > Settings > Audio/MIDI and choose the microphone or interface under Input Device, then your listening device under Output Device.
2. Select the audio track, open Smart Controls, and check Recording Settings > Input. For one microphone connected to an interface, select its single channel as mono.
3. If GarageBand cannot access the microphone, allow it under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone, then restart GarageBand if needed.
4. Say the loudest line you expect to record. Adjust the microphone or interface's input gain so it stays clean and does not clip, then record and replay ten seconds.

Match the timing before adding more parts.

1. For the beat exercise, choose 90 BPM and 4/4. This is a practice starting point, not a required genre tempo.
2. For a vocal demo, get the beat's tempo from its producer, then drag its WAV or other supported audio file from Finder into the Tracks area.
3. Move the beat to your intended start and play it with the metronome. An ordinary imported file is not automatically an Apple Loop that follows every tempo change.
4. Press Y to browse sounds in the Library. Press O for Apple Loops if you want a quick backing part, and pick one sound you like.

Get a complete idea down, then improve it.

1. Name the microphone track Lead. Lower the beat enough to hear yourself comfortably, select Lead, and place the playhead before your entry.
2. Enable the count-in and metronome if they help. Press R or click Record, perform your hook or verse, then press Space to stop.
3. Record another pass. For several passes over the same section, drag a cycle range in the ruler; repeated recordings create a take folder.
4. Listen to the takes at a similar volume. Choose the one with the strongest feel, then fix the weak line instead of restarting the whole song endlessly.

Clean the edit while keeping the delivery.

1. In a take folder, click the number at its upper-left corner and audition the available takes. Choose the best complete pass first.
2. Save a project copy, then record the replacement on another audio track at the same timeline position. Use the next step to split out and remove only the weak passage from the original track, leaving the rest of that lead intact. Play the join to make sure the two leads do not overlap.
3. Select a region, put the playhead at a cut point, and choose Edit > Split Regions at Playhead. Split around the unwanted part, then remove only that piece.
4. Trim excess silence by dragging a region edge. Listen across each join, including the word before and after it; undo a cut that clips a consonant.

Start with a pocket you can perform over.

1. Add a Software Instrument track and choose a drum kit in the Library. Open Window > Show Musical Typing, or press Command-K.
2. Audition the computer keys to find kick, snare, and closed hi-hat sounds. Drum mappings vary by kit, so listen rather than guessing.
3. Record a short pattern, or Control-click the instrument track and choose Create MIDI Region. Open it in the Piano Roll Editor and Command-click to add notes.
4. For one practice bar at 90 BPM, try kick on beats 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4, and hats on the eighth-note pulse. Repeat for four bars.

A bass part and short phrase can be enough.

1. Add another Software Instrument track and choose a bass sound. Use Musical Typing to play a low note comfortably within the instrument's range.
2. For an original exercise, use A as your home note. Try short A notes around the kick rhythm, leaving gaps so the low end can breathe.
3. Add a keys or synth track. Try a small phrase using A, C, and E, or hold those notes together as an A-minor chord.
4. Record four bars and listen with the drums. If a note clashes or the bass overwhelms everything, move it, shorten it, or turn that part down.

Change notes without rerecording the whole part.

1. Double-click your MIDI region to open the Piano Roll Editor. Drag a wrong note vertically to change pitch or horizontally to change its start.
2. Drag a note's edge to adjust how long it plays. Shorten overlapping bass notes if their sustain makes the part muddy.
3. Select the notes you want to tighten and click Notes in the Piano Roll inspector. Choose a suitable eighth-note or sixteenth-note value from Time Quantize; if that value is already selected, click Q to apply it to the selected notes. Compare with the original and undo if it damages the groove.
4. Adjust velocity to vary how strongly notes trigger. Lower a few hat hits rather than making every hit equally hard, and undo any change that loses the groove.

Give the loop an opening and a change.

1. Make a 20-bar practice arrangement: bars 1–4 introduce keys; bars 5–12 bring in drums and bass; bars 13–20 add a vocal or change one musical part.
2. Copy and paste your four-bar regions onto the appropriate tracks and bar positions. Leave parts out deliberately to change the energy.
3. Create one transition by removing a drum hit, leaving a beat of space, or changing the last bass note before the new section.
4. If Cycle is active, press C to turn it off. Press Return to go to the beginning, then play the whole arrangement without touching anything. If a change arrives awkwardly, adjust the arrangement before adding more effects.

Effects shape a good performance; they don't replace it.

1. Select a track and open Smart Controls with B. Inspect its existing Plug-ins before adding more; a patch may already contain several effects.
2. Use the EQ view for a small adjustment that solves an audible problem. Cut unwanted low rumble cautiously, without thinning the voice or instrument.
3. Try a compressor only if the part's level swings distractingly. Compare its on/off sound at a similar listening level, not just the louder setting.
4. Add a little reverb or delay for space. In the Plug-ins area, use an empty slot to choose an effect, then bypass it to decide whether it helps.

Make the main idea clear before chasing loudness.

1. Turn the backing parts down, then raise them around the lead. Check the busiest section and keep track and overall meters from clipping.
2. Keep the lead vocal, kick, and main bass near the center as a starting point. Try modest panning on extra keys or ad-libs, then listen again.
3. Press A or choose Mix > Show Automation. Choose Volume in the track header's Automation Parameter menu and confirm its Track Automation button is on. Click the empty lane once to create the initial level, then click the line to add four points around a quiet phrase. Lift the middle two points slightly while keeping the outside points at the original level. Play back the change. For freehand drawing, Command-click and drag in the automation lane.
4. Listen quietly on headphones and another familiar speaker. Take notes on one or two real problems and fix those, rather than changing everything at once.

Keep the editable project and the listening export.

1. Save the .band project. Check its endpoint and listen through the ending so reverb, delay, or the final word doesn't cut off.
2. Choose Share > Export Song to Disk. Pick a filename, location, and format: WAVE or AIFF for an uncompressed copy, or an offered compressed format for a listening copy.
3. Check the export-range checkbox. Use it for a selected cycle or region length; leave it unchecked for the whole project. Replay the actual exported file.
4. Back up the project and export. Before publishing, check beat and sample permissions, credits, collaborator splits, and artwork rights; exporting doesn't clear any of them.