GarageBand 2: The Missing Manual

GarageBand 2: The Missing Manual

by David Pogue
Released August 2005
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9780596100353

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Book description

Whether you're a professional musician or a mere novice, Apple's GarageBand software has everything you need to produce commercial-quality recordings entirely on your own. Just imagine how many thousands of singers and instrumentalists remain undiscovered because they lack the capability to produce viable demos. Well, no more.

Now there's no need to assemble a backup band or book time at a professional studio--GarageBand has it covered. And GarageBand 2: The Missing Manual gives you the know-how you need to make it all happen. It's an authoritative, witty guide to constructing digital recordings with GarageBand.

Written by the master of the Missing Manual series, and a musician himself, David Pogue, this top-selling book shows you how to maximize the program's entire set of tools. Pre-recorded loops, sampled sounds, live recordings--they're all explained in easy-to-understand language. It also shows you how to apply professional-sounding effects like reverb or chorusing, and then export the finished product to iTunes, where you can download your work to an iPod, export it as an MP3, or burn it onto CDs.

Now revised to reflect GarageBand's latest features, this book's second edition also addresses how to:

  • use GarageBand's eight-track capabilities
  • display music notation in real time
  • enhance timing and pitch for better quality recordings
  • change the tempo and key of recorded instruments
  • tune guitars with GarageBand before recording

So if you're chasing a dream or just having fun, GarageBand 2: The Missing Manual is the only resource you need to make the finest musical recordings possible.

Table of contents

  1. A Note Regarding Supplemental Files
  2. Copyright
  3. The Missing Credits
    1. About the Author
    2. About the Creative Team
    3. Acknowledgements
    4. The Missing Manual Series
  4. I. Building a Hit
    1. 1. Setting Up the Garage
      1. 1.1. Equipment Requirements
      2. 1.2. Installing GarageBand
      3. 1.3. Opening GarageBand
      4. 1.4. Playback
      5. 1.5. Cycling (Looping)
      6. 1.6. Navigating the Music
      7. 1.7. Two Kinds of Music
        1. 1.7.1. Digital Recordings
        2. 1.7.2. MIDI Recordings
        3. 1.7.3. Why It Matters
      8. 1.8. Tracks
        1. 1.8.1. Creating a Track
        2. 1.8.2. Rearranging Tracks
        3. 1.8.3. Deleting a Track
        4. 1.8.4. Renaming a Track
        5. 1.8.5. Track Characteristics
      9. 1.9. Muting and Soloing Tracks
    2. 2. Loops
      1. 2.1. Starting a New GarageBand Project
      2. 2.2. The Loop Browser
        1. 2.2.1. Loop Quest 1: Button View
        2. 2.2.2. Loop Quest 2: Column View
        3. 2.2.3. Loop Quest 3: The Search Box
      3. 2.3. Placing a Loop
        1. 2.3.1. Drag into a Blank Gray Area
        2. 2.3.2. Drag into an Existing Track
        3. 2.3.3. All Together Now
      4. 2.4. More Loops
        1. 2.4.1. The GarageBand Jam Packs
        2. 2.4.2. Soundtrack Pro
        3. 2.4.3. Apple Loops from Other Companies
        4. 2.4.4. How to Install New Loops
        5. 2.4.5. Removing Loops and Rebuilding the Index
    3. 3. Regions
      1. 3.1. Selecting Regions
      2. 3.2. Renaming Regions
      3. 3.3. Dragging Regions
      4. 3.4. The Grid
      5. 3.5. Looping Regions
      6. 3.6. Shortening Regions I
      7. 3.7. Shortening Regions II
      8. 3.8. Lengthening Regions
      9. 3.9. Splitting Regions
      10. 3.10. Joining Regions
      11. 3.11. Copy and Paste
      12. 3.12. Option-Drag
      13. 3.13. Delete
      14. 3.14. Tutorial: Funk for Nonmusicians
        1. 3.14.1. Phase 1: Clean Up the Garage
        2. 3.14.2. Phase 2: Install Some Loops
        3. 3.14.3. Phase 3: Meet the Time Display
        4. 3.14.4. Phase 4: The Bridge
        5. 3.14.5. Phase 5: The Big Finish
    4. 4. Software Instruments (MIDI)
      1. 4.1. How to Feed a Hungry GarageBand
      2. 4.2. Your FREE! Onscreen Digital Piano
      3. 4.3. The Mac Keyboard as Piano
        1. 4.3.1. Musical Typing
        2. 4.3.2. Control of Key Velocity
        3. 4.3.3. Tips and Tricks
      4. 4.4. MIDI Synths and Controllers
      5. 4.5. Recording a MIDI Track
      6. 4.6. Retakes
      7. 4.7. Spot Recording (Punch In/Punch Out)
      8. 4.8. Cumulative Recording
      9. 4.9. Mod Wheels and Other MIDI Fun
    5. 5. Editing Software Instrument Parts
      1. 5.1. The Track Editor
      2. 5.2. Notation Editing
      3. 5.3. The Encyclopedia of MIDI Editing
      4. 5.4. Transposing Notes or Regions
      5. 5.5. Quantizing (“Align To” Button)
        1. 5.5.1. When Not to Quantize
        2. 5.5.2. How to Quantize
      6. 5.6. Velocity, Pedaling, and Other MIDI Data
        1. 5.6.1. Editing Key Velocity
        2. 5.6.2. Editing Pedaling
          1. 5.6.2.1. “Drawing in” pedaling (notation view)
          2. 5.6.2.2. “Drawing in” pedaling (piano-roll view)
          3. 5.6.2.3. Editing existing pedaling (notation view)
          4. 5.6.2.4. Editing existing pedaling (piano-roll view)
        3. 5.6.3. Editing Control Wheel Data
          1. 5.6.3.1. Control wheels: do-it-yourself
    6. 6. Recording and Editing Live Audio
      1. 6.1. The Setup
        1. 6.1.1. The Microphone
        2. 6.1.2. Line Inputs
        3. 6.1.3. Introducing the Mac
      2. 6.2. Recording a Live Audio Track
        1. 6.2.1. Phase 1: Create the Track
        2. 6.2.2. Phase 2: Prepare the Studio
        3. 6.2.3. Multiple Takes
        4. 6.2.4. Punching In and Out
      3. 6.3. Editing Real Instrument Regions
      4. 6.4. Enhance Timing, Enhance Tuning
        1. 6.4.1. Enhance Tuning
        2. 6.4.2. Enhance Timing
        3. 6.4.3. Transposing a Real Instrument Region
    7. 7. Effects, Guitar Amps, and Instrument Modules
      1. 7.1. Instrument-Named Presets
      2. 7.2. Save Instrument, Delete Instrument
      3. 7.3. Effect Modules
        1. 7.3.1. Generator (Software Instruments Only)
          1. 7.3.1.1. Familiar instrument names
          2. 7.3.1.2. Synthesizer generators
        2. 7.3.2. Gate (Real Instruments Only)
        3. 7.3.3. Compressor
        4. 7.3.4. “Additional Effects” Pop-Up Menus
          1. 7.3.4.1. Amp Simulation
          2. 7.3.4.2. Auto Wah
          3. 7.3.4.3. Automatic Filter
          4. 7.3.4.4. Bass Amp
          5. 7.3.4.5. Bass Reduction, Treble Reduction
          6. 7.3.4.6. Bitcrusher
          7. 7.3.4.7. Chorus
          8. 7.3.4.8. Distortion
          9. 7.3.4.9. Flanger
          10. 7.3.4.10. Overdrive
          11. 7.3.4.11. Phaser
          12. 7.3.4.12. Track Echo
          13. 7.3.4.13. Tremolo
          14. 7.3.4.14. Vocal Transformer
        5. 7.3.5. Equalizer
        6. 7.3.6. Echo, Reverb
  5. II. Beyond the Garage
    1. 8. Mixing and Publishing
      1. 8.1. Mixing Tracks
        1. 8.1.1. Overall Track Volume
        2. 8.1.2. Volume Adjustments Within a Track
        3. 8.1.3. Overall Track Pan Position
        4. 8.1.4. Pan Adjustments Within a Track
      2. 8.2. The Master Track
        1. 8.2.1. Overall Volume
        2. 8.2.2. Fade-ins, Fade-outs
        3. 8.2.3. Reverb and Effects
        4. 8.2.4. Key Changes
      3. 8.3. Publishing the Song
        1. 8.3.1. Converting to MP3, AAC, WAV, or Apple Lossless
          1. 8.3.1.1. How to convert your files
        2. 8.3.2. Burning GarageBand CDs
      4. 8.4. Your Music in iMovie, iPhoto, and iDVD
        1. 8.4.1. iMovie
        2. 8.4.2. iPhoto
        3. 8.4.3. iDVD
          1. 8.4.3.1. Music for slideshows
          2. 8.4.3.2. Music for menu screens
    2. 9. Adding On, Moving Up
      1. 9.1. Making Your Own Apple Loops
      2. 9.2. Moving Your Loops to Another Drive
      3. 9.3. Importing MIDI Files
      4. 9.4. Import iTunes Music Store Songs (Soundflower)
      5. 9.5. More Free Software Instruments (SoundFonts)
      6. 9.6. The iSight as Microphone
      7. 9.7. “Save as Archive”
      8. 9.8. The Instrument Tuner
      9. 9.9. ReWire
      10. 9.10. Build Your Own Drum Loops (iDrum)
      11. 9.11. Add an E-Z Chords™ Feature (ReMIDI)
        1. 9.11.1. ReMIDI + GarageBand
      12. 9.12. Beyond GarageBand
        1. 9.12.1. For Loops: Soundtrack Pro
        2. 9.12.2. For Sequencing: Logic Pro, Logic Express, and Rivals
      13. 9.13. GarageBand Online
        1. 9.13.1. Distribute-Your-Music Sites
        2. 9.13.2. GarageBand Help and Discussion
        3. 9.13.3. Loops and Sounds Sites
          1. 9.13.3.1. Free loops
          2. 9.13.3.2. Free sound effects
          3. 9.13.3.3. Free drum loops
          4. 9.13.3.4. Free sampled instrument sounds
          5. 9.13.3.5. Commercial loops
    3. 10. The Speed Chapter
      1. 10.1. Set the Stage
      2. 10.2. Mute Some Tracks
      3. 10.3. Lock Some Tracks
      4. 10.4. Temporarily Squelch the Effects
      5. 10.5. Combine Tracks
      6. 10.6. Enlarge Your Buffer
      7. 10.7. Lose Some Software Instrument Voices
      8. 10.8. Reduce the Track Overhead
      9. 10.9. Convert Software Instrument Loops
      10. 10.10. Turn Monitoring Off
      11. 10.11. “Bounce Down” Many Tracks into One
      12. 10.12. Install More Memory
    4. 11. Troubleshooting
      1. 11.1. Trouble with Loops
        1. 11.1.1. Your Loop Browser is Empty
        2. 11.1.2. New Add-On Loops Don’t Show Up
        3. 11.1.3. Some Loop Buttons are Dimmed or Missing
      2. 11.2. Recording and Editing Problems
        1. 11.2.1. There’s a Delay When Playing Live
        2. 11.2.2. Trouble Staying with the Beat
        3. 11.2.3. Weird, Phase-Shifty Sound During Recording
        4. 11.2.4. No Sound from a Microphone or Real Instrument
        5. 11.2.5. No Sound from a MIDI Instrument
          1. 11.2.5.1. The status light doesn’t flicker when you play
          2. 11.2.5.2. The status light flickers when you play
        6. 11.2.6. No Sound from External Speakers (or Audio Interface)
      3. 11.3. Mixing and Publishing Glitches
        1. 11.3.1. Finished Song Is Too Quiet
        2. 11.3.2. Tracks Panned to One Side Still Play in Both Speakers
        3. 11.3.3. Tail End of the Song is Chopped Off in iTunes
        4. 11.3.4. Exported Song Won’t Appear in iTunes
  6. III. Appendixes
    1. A. The GarageBand Music Crash Course
      1. A.1. Measures
      2. A.2. The Time Signature
      3. A.3. More About Note Values
      4. A.4. Key
      5. A.5. Tempo
    2. B. GarageBand, Menu by Menu
      1. B.1. GarageBand Menu
        1. B.1.1. About GarageBand
        2. B.1.2. GarageBand Hot Tips
        3. B.1.3. Preferences
          1. B.1.3.1. General
          2. B.1.3.2. Audio/MIDI
          3. B.1.3.3. Export
          4. B.1.3.4. Advanced
        4. B.1.4. Shop for GarageBand Products
        5. B.1.5. Provide GarageBand Feedback
        6. B.1.6. Register GarageBand
        7. B.1.7. Hide GarageBand, Hide Others, Show All
        8. B.1.8. Quit GarageBand
      2. B.2. File Menu
        1. B.2.1. New
        2. B.2.2. Open
        3. B.2.3. Close
        4. B.2.4. Save
        5. B.2.5. Save As
        6. B.2.6. Save as Archive
        7. B.2.7. Revert to Saved
        8. B.2.8. Export to iTunes
      3. B.3. Edit Menu
        1. B.3.1. Undo
        2. B.3.2. Redo
        3. B.3.3. Cut, Copy, Paste
        4. B.3.4. Delete
        5. B.3.5. Select All
        6. B.3.6. Split
        7. B.3.7. Join
        8. B.3.8. Add to Loop Library
        9. B.3.9. Special Characters
      4. B.4. Track Menu
        1. B.4.1. Show Track Mixer/Hide Track Mixer
        2. B.4.2. Show Track Info/Hide Track Info
        3. B.4.3. New Track
        4. B.4.4. Delete Track
        5. B.4.5. Duplicate Track
        6. B.4.6. New Basic Track
      5. B.5. Control Menu
        1. B.5.1. Metronome
        2. B.5.2. Count In
        3. B.5.3. Snap to Grid
        4. B.5.4. Show Loop Browser/Hide Loop Browser
        5. B.5.5. Show Editor/Hide Editor
        6. B.5.6. Show Instrument Tuner
      6. B.6. Window Menu
        1. B.6.1. Minimize
        2. B.6.2. Zoom
        3. B.6.3. Keyboard
        4. B.6.4. Musical Typing
        5. B.6.5. Bring All to Front
      7. B.7. Help Menu
        1. B.7.1. GarageBand Help
        2. B.7.2. Keyboard Shortcuts
    3. C. GarageBand 2 Keyboard Shortcuts
      1. C.1. Navigating GarageBand
      2. C.2. Manipulating Tracks
      3. C.3. Recording
      4. C.4. Editing and Arranging
      5. C.5. Notation View
      6. C.6. Window Management
      7. C.7. File Management
  7. About the Author
  8. Colophon
  9. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: GarageBand 2: The Missing Manual
  • Author(s): David Pogue
  • Release date: August 2005
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9780596100353