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Take Control of Making Music with GarageBand ‘09
Get creative and make music with the built-in loops in GarageBand '09!
Seattle composer Jeff Tolbert's step-by-step instructions guide beginning and intermediate users through using GarageBand's built-in loops to create three songs, explaining not only how to use GarageBand's editing and mixing features but also how to be playful and creative while composing tunes that please the ear. You'll learn how to plan a song, get the most out of Magic GarageBand, edit and arrange Real Instrument and Software Instrument loops in numerous ways, create exciting mixes, and export your masterpieces.
The book also covers how to change track volume, tempo, and panning dynamically, and how to work with GarageBand's effects. Plus, it includes seven suggestions for solving performance problems.
- More Info
- Contents & Intro
- What’s New
- FAQ
- Reader Comments
- Blog
Bonus! Linked-in audio lets you listen to examples while you read about them, and a five-page glossary helps you quickly learn about music-related terms.
Questions you'll find answers to include:
- What's the arrange track used for?
- How can I use the stock GarageBand loops to make a cool song?
- How do I edit Software Instrument loops?
- I don't read music. Why do I care about Notation view?
- How do I change the tempo in different sections of my tune?
- How do I make my mixes more dynamic and interesting?
- How can I customize a Magic GarageBand song so it doesn't sound like everyone else's?
- How do I make a killer drum break out of GarageBand loops?
- How can I make a ringtone for my iPhone?
"I had a tough time getting started with GarageBand until I bought Take Control of Making Music with GarageBand."
-Lyle H.
Book Info
iPad & KindleAn EPUB is not currently available for this title. A Mobipocket file is not currently available for this title. |
About the AuthorJeff Tolbert is a composer and musician living in Seattle. He is currently writing music for advertising and video games in the comfort of his home studio. He plays bass for several Seattle acts, as well as guitar, piano, ukulele, trombone, and various percussion instruments and household objects. He wishes he had an extra $200,000 so he could buy all the gear on his wish list. |
Book Reviews
Reviews of Previous Editions
Author Interviews
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Table of Contents
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Read Me FirstGarageBand is an exceptional way for musicians and nonmusicians alike to unleash their musical creativity. This book shows you how to use loops, assemble them into a composition, mix the song, and use basic audio effects in GarageBand '09 (part of Apple's iLife '09 suite). Even if you have no musical ability or instruments, you can create an impressive song quickly and easily. This book was written by Jeff Tolbert, edited by Caroline Rose, and published by TidBITS Publishing Inc. |
Introduction
GarageBand makes it easy for someone who isn't a professional musician to create music that sounds professional. It's inexpensive, and because it was developed by Apple, it's pretty to look at. The program does provide online Help, but this book goes beyond what you find in the Help and walks you step-by-step through a number of common (and not so common) procedures. Even if you have some familiarity with other music editing software, the tips and tricks in this book will help streamline how you work in GarageBand.
This book shows you how to create a song in GarageBand using the loops that ship with the product as well as using Magic GarageBand. You'll learn tricks for customizing the built-in loops and Magic GarageBand tunes, and ways to use mixing techniques and audio effects so that your songs will sound unique. Whether you're new to GarageBand or have already played around with it, plenty of audio-related goodies await you within. I won't, however, cover recording a guitar or vocals or setting up a MIDI keyboard; I cover those topics in my second book, Take Control of Recording with GarageBand '09.
I'm also passing along some of the musical knowledge I've amassed over the years, to help you create an interesting and effective composition. This information is oriented toward nonmusicians, so don't worry if all you know about music is that a grand piano is bigger than a ukulele; I've presented the concepts in plain English. You don't need to know what a diminished seventh chord is or how to sight-read an orchestral score to make a song that will impress your friends. If any of the terminology stumps you, you can look it up in the Glossary (or, if the term appears in blue in the text of the ebook, click it to move to where it's defined in the Glossary).
Take Control of Making Music with GarageBand '09 follows a step-by-step approach. I walk you through the creation of three songs: two using loops—one simple and one more complex—and one using Magic GarageBand. I point out exactly which loops, effects, and settings to use where. This specific, sequential approach keeps the book from being a dull and dry reference manual. I suggest that you follow the instructions as closely as you can.
Note: I recommend that you at least skim all three song tutorials, since I mention different techniques in each of them. Even if you don’t plan on ever using Magic GarageBand, for example, note that I cover some more advanced GarageBand features in that section.
After you've worked through a song, it's yours to play with. Fly, be free, create! GarageBand is a tool to unleash your inner genius. I hope this book helps you to do just that.
Making Music with GarageBand Quick Start
This book shows you how to create exciting songs using the music loops that come with GarageBand. I take a sequential approach and build on what I've shown in earlier sections. If you're a less linear person and like to jump around, you may have to backtrack occasionally if you come across something unfamiliar.
Set up:
- Update GarageBand if necessary and set preferences so that it will run at its best; see Configure GarageBand.
Make your first tune:
- New to GarageBand? Make your first song in no time! Learn what a loop is and how to work with it; see Add Loops.
- Tweak your tune, make the loops work together, and give the song an ending; see Learn Editing and Mixing Basics.
Make a great song:
- It's time to start making great music. Decide on your goal and find loops that help meet that goal; see Plan the Song.
- Learn what it takes to make your composition interesting and exciting; see Consider the Elements That Make a Song Work.
- Crop some loops and expand others, change instruments, and move notes around, using both notation view and graphic view; see Work with Regions and Loops.
- Explore the basics of audio editing and effects—fades, equalization, panning and more; see Mix Your Song.
Customize a Magic GarageBand song:
- Create a Magic GarageBand song, extend the arrangement, change keys and tempos, and cross-fade between instruments; see Transform a Magic GarageBand Song.
Experiment with advanced loop techniques:
- Create a drum break, add chord changes to loops, import MIDI files and loops from other sources, and more; see Learn More Loop Techniques.
Finish your song:
- Export your song to iTunes and turn it into an MP3 so you can share it with your friends, or into a ringtone for your iPhone; see Export Your Song.
Improve performance:
- Learn how to get the most out of your CPU and minimize your chance of seeing the dreaded "System Overload" message; see Appendix A: Improving Performance.
What's New in the GarageBand '09 Edition
This book is a new edition of Take Control of Making Music with GarageBand, which I first wrote for GarageBand version 1.0. I've updated the book for each major new version of GarageBand so far. For this edition, I updated the book to cover new features in GarageBand '09, also known as version 5.
Here's what's new in this edition:
- When you create a GarageBand project, you now get a host of new options in the initial dialog. Most of them aren't relevant to this book, but I cover those that are, namely Loops (for all the projects I create that use loops) and iPhone Ringtone (a special option for that purpose; see Create a Ringtone, p. 101).
- GarageBand's Track Info pane has been redesigned, making it much prettier and easier to use. I walk you through its use in several places.
- Notation View also sports a new look and feel, which I talk about in Create a Track in Notation View .
- GarageBand '09 has numerous other interface changes, which I cover throughout the book (and many screen shots have been updated to reflect these changes).
Does this ebook talk about the GarageBand app that runs on the iPad?
Sorry, it does not. Although the two programs share some features, this ebook has nothing particular in it about the iPad app.
I have an old version of GarageBand and don't want to update right now. Can I get a previous edition of this ebook?
You can read about old versions of GarageBand as follows:
GarageBand '08 (version 4):
GarageBand '06 (version 3):
GarageBand 1 or 2: From either of the above-listed ebooks for GarageBand '06, you can download free copies of still-earlier editions that cover GarageBand 1 and 2. Instructions are on the second page of Take Control of Making Music with GarageBand 3.
Can I read this ebook on an iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, or Kindle?
There are lots of great ways to read our ebooks on these devices. For more details, please read our latest Device Advice.
Ask a Question
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Send Us Your Comments!
How could we not publish such kind words? If you'd like to send us your comments (good or bad, though we hope they're all good), just click the Feedback link on the cover of your copy of the ebook. Be sure to let us know if we can publish your comment. Thanks!
I read Jeff Tolbert's books Take Control of Making Music with Garageband '09 and after that Take Control of Recording with Garageband '09. Being a foreigner myself (Dutch) and a complete beginner in music making and recording, I was surprised to understand every word, description, explanation, technical detail, and humorous remark in both books. Mr. Tolbert must be a born teacher, connecting all the time with the level of thinking of the beginning student in a most positive, even enthusiastic way.
In short, a big compliment!
Kind regards, Rob F.
Update Plans
April 2011 -- We don't plan to update this ebook about GarageBand 5/'09 again. However, we did create a new edition of the ebook to explain music making in GarageBand 6/'11—Take Control of Making Music with GarageBand '11.
—Adam Engst
GarageBand 6.0.2 Can Open Projects from iPad Version
April 4, 2011 --
Apple has released a minor update to the Mac version of GarageBand '11. Version 6.0.2 reportedly improves overall stability, but most notably it introduces support for opening projects created in the iPad version of GarageBand. When you first open an iPad project after installing this update, GarageBand on your Mac will need to download an additional update that’s just shy of 200 MB. Note also that when you open iPad GarageBand projects, you’ll immediately be prompted to save them under a new name. That’s because once you’ve modified a project in the desktop edition, it can no longer be opened by GarageBand for iPad.
—Tonya Engst
GarageBand ‘11 Update
December 10, 2010 --
GarageBand ’11, the much-anticipated update to Apple’s wonderful GarageBand application, has a number of new features that make recording and creating music even easier than before. I’m currently updating my two ebooks—Take Control of Making Music With GarageBand and Take Control of Recording With GarageBand. Here's a list of what I plan to change:
—Jeff Tolbert
Listen to Jeff
April 24, 2009 --
Author Jeff Tolbert talks about GarageBand '09 in MacVoices podcast #967 with host Chuck Joiner. You can tune in and find out what Jeff has to say about guitar amps, Magic GarageBand, in-GarageBand artist lessons, and more.
—Tonya Engst
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