What is GarageBand? 1. GarageBand is a Mac programs used for audio editing, recording and as a tool for creating and editing podcasts. You can create projects with only spoken narration or dialogue; add musical backing tracks, sound effects, and other sounds. You record narration in a Real Instrument track. The podcast project includes two Real Instrument tracks, named Male Voice and Female Voice optimized for recording spoken narration or dialogue. 2. You can create several different kinds of podcasts in GarageBand: Audio podcast episodes contain and audio file. If saved as.mp3 they can be downloaded for listening on a broader variety of players and software. This is generally the most recommended format for reaching a wide general audience. Enhanced podcast episodes contain audio along with markers, artwork, and URLs. These podcasts are saved as.m4a files and require itunes/ipods. Select Share > Export to Disk > Compress Using AAC Encoder > Audio Settings > Spoken Podcast > Publish Podcast > check set artwork to recommended size for podcasts when exporting. Video podcast episodes contain a movie and can also contain audio. Select Share > Export Movie to Disk > Expert Settings to choose from a variety of video formats. Enhanced video podcast episodes contain a movie along with audio, markers, and URLs.. Select Share > Export Movie to Disk > Expert Settings to choose from a variety of video formats. Open GarageBand 1. From the your Mac s dock double click the GarageBand icon 2. If the icon is not present on the dock look in your applications folder (From the local hard drive window select Home > Student (look for the House Icon) > Applications > GarageBand. 1
3. When GarageBand launches, you ll be presented with a window that lets you decide what to work on whether you open an existing project, create a new music project or start a new podcast episode 4. If you ve used GarageBand recently, it ll actually open the last project you were working on. Going to File > New will close the current project and bring up this window. 5. Click on Create New Podcast Episode to continue. 6. In the New Project dialog, browse to the location where you want to store the project, and type a name for it. 7. Using the Create Podcast option will give you template tracks set up for the frequency response of male and female voices, rather than the larger frequency range needed for musical instruments. Note: Create New/Open Music Project is used for multi track recording of a variety of instruments. Magic Garage Band generates a new project based on genre and performance styles. 2
The Interface Adding Audio to your Voice Track(s) 1. You have several options for adding audio to your project: Drag and drop an audio file (mp3, wav, aiff, aac) directly from your desktop to your voice track Import from your itunes library through the media browser Record Directly into GarageBand using your built in or USB microphone. 3
Adding and Removing Tracks Not going to be using a female voice? Delete that track using the Track > Delete Track menu option (keyboard shortcut Command Delete). The Jingle track is for intro, outro and background music. The Podcast track is for Artwork. This track is only useful if you plan to save your project to viewed using itunes/ipod. If you are saving your project as an.mp3 file, a more accessible format, the images placed in this track will not appear. Add a new track using the Track > New Track menu option (keyboard shortcut Option Command N). Voice Memos from your voice recorder or other existing audio files can be imported by dragging them from your itunes library to an existing track for editing. To record sound from a microphone (including your internal mic), select Track > New Track > Real Instrument Track > Create. You can arrange the tracks in an order you re happy with by clicking and dragging the track up or down. Selecting Track Presets 1. GarageBand has a set of track presets, such as the Male Voice and Female Voice tracks that were created with the project. 2. If you re using the microphone that s built in with your Mac next to the isight camera, you can choose the isight Microphone presets. 3. Check the Track Info pane on the right to review the options. 4. Under the Podcasting 4
section you can select the effects you would like to apply to the voice recorded in this track. 5. The isight Microphone presets feature bass reduction and a speech enhancer to compensate for the high levels of bass in the isight microphones. Recording Sound from a Microphone (Internal or USB) 1. You can record your voice, an acoustic musical instrument, or any other sound using a microphone. You record sound from a microphone connected to your computer in a Real Instrument track. 2. Before you start recording, do the following: 3. Make sure the instrument you want to record is connected to your computer and is working. 4. Make sure you have enough free disk space for recording. Each minute of stereo audio recorded at CD quality uses around 10 MB of disk space. To record sound from a microphone in a Real Instrument track: 1. Double click the header of the Real Instrument track you want to record in, to open the Track Info pane. 2. In the Track Info pane, make sure the track is set to use the correct input source. 3. From the Monitor pop up menu, choose On, or choose On with Feedback Protection to hear sound from your microphone and protect against feedback. You can also choose Off to hear sound on the track only when you are recording. 4. Drag the Recording Level slider to adjust the recording (input) level, or select the Automatic Level Control checkbox to automatically adjust the recording level. 5. Automatic Level Control lowers the level to prevent feedback, and raises the level if it is too 5
low. You can use Automatic Level Control only if Monitor is set to Off. Depending on your audio hardware, the slider and checkbox may be unavailable. 6. Make some sound into the microphone, and watch the track s level meters to make sure the track is getting input from the microphone. 7. Move the playhead to the point in the beat ruler where you want to start recording. 8. Choose Control > Count In to have the metronome play a one measure count in before recording starts, or set the playhead a few beats before the point you want the recorded part to begin, to give yourself time to start playing. 9. Click the Record button (the red circular button) to start recording. You see the new region appear in the timeline as you record. As you record, watch the track s level meters to make sure the track is receiving input, and that the input level is not high enough to cause clipping. If the red dots next to the level meters light up while you record, lower the input signal and try recording again. 10. When you are finished playing, click the Play button to stop recording. Arranging and Editing your Audio Tracks Removing Unwanted Audio 1. Drag the playhead to a position just before the audio you want to remove. 2. Go to the Edit menu and choose Split to divide the audio track into two sections. 3. Drag the playhead to a position just after the section you want to remove. 4. Choose Split. 5. Click the section that includes the audio you wish to remove > press the Delete key. 6. Combine the audio track by dragging them together. 6
Ducking When you are making a podcast you may want to lower the volume of the backing tracks to hear spoken narration or dialogue more easily. Lowering the volume of some tracks to make others easier to hear is called ducking. 1. Choose Control > Ducking. 2. A ducking control (with arrows pointing up and down) appears in each track s header. 3. Click the arrow pointing up on each track you want to make a lead track. 4. Click the arrow pointing down on each track you want to make a backing track. 5. Choose Track > Show Track Info. 6. When the Track Info pane appears, click Master Track, and then click the Details triangle. 7. To adjust the Ducker effect, choose a preset from its preset menu, or click its Edit button and drag the sliders. 8. To disable ducking, deselect the Ducker checkbox. Adding Markers 1. You can add markers to a podcast or movie, and add URLs, URL titles, and chapter titles to each marker. When you add a marker, the marker s start time appears in the marker s row in the editor. 2. Show the podcast track by choosing Track > Show Podcast Track, or show the movie track by choosing Track > Show Movie Track. 7
3. Set the playhead to the place where you want to add a marker, and then click the Add Marker button in the editor. 4. The marker region appears in the podcast track at the playhead position, and the start time appears in the marker s row in the editor. You can also quickly add a marker by pressing the P key while you are recording. For podcasts, you can also add a marker by dragging artwork into the timeline. Adding chapter titles You can add a chapter title to a marker, making the marker a chapter marker. Chapter markers are visible when you view the movie in itunes or idvd or view it as a video podcast. When you play the movie in itunes or idvd, clicking the Next button moves the movie to the next chapter marker. 1. With the podcast track or movie track selected, open the editor. 2. Select the placeholder text in the Chapter Title column of the marker s row and type a title. Sending your Audio Project to itunes You can send your audio project to itunes and play it in itunes, add it to playlists, download it to an ipod, or burn it to a CD. Audio projects are sent to itunes in AIFF format. You can convert the exported file to another format, such as AAC or MP3, from within itunes. 8
1. Choose Share > Send Song to itunes. 2. In the Share dialog, you can select the Compress checkbox, and then choose compression settings from the Compress Using and Audio Settings pop up menus. 3. You can also change the tags for the playlist, artist, album, and composer. 4. Click Share. 5. When you send a project to itunes, it appears in the itunes Library, where you can add it to playlists, convert it, or burn it to a CD. 6. The entire project, from the beginning to the end of the last region, is exported. If the cycle region is turned on when you export the song, the part of the timeline from the start to the end of the cycle region is exported. 7. If a project has a podcast track, the command Send Podcast to itunes appears in the Share menu. 8. If the project has a movie track, the command Send Movie to itunes appears in the Share menu. 9. Choosing either of these commands exports the entire project, regardless of whether the cycle region is turned on or off. 9