Garageband for Dummies
GarageBand FOR DUMmIES‰
by Bob “Dr. Mac”LeVitus
GarageBand FOR DUMmIES‰
GarageBand FOR DUMmIES‰
by Bob “Dr. Mac”LeVitus GarageBand For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2004 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permis- sion of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, e-mail: [email protected]. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
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For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please con- tact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2004104563 ISBN: 0-7645-7323-3 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1O/QU/QY/QU/IN About the Author Bob LeVitus, often referred to as “Dr. Mac,” is considered one of the world’s leading authorities on the Macintosh, its operating sys- tems, and the iLife applications. A prolific author, he has written 47 popular computer books, selling millions worldwide.
His most recent titles include: Mac OS X For Dummies: Panther Edition, and Dr. Mac: The OS X Files: Panther Edition (or, How to Become a Mac OS X 10.3 Panther Power User).
Bob is known for his expertise, trademark humorous style, and ability to translate “techie” jargon into usable and fun advice for regular folks.
Bob is a huge GarageBand fan, but one with real-world audio pro- duction experience. Long before becoming a Mac geek, he studied audio engineering with Grammy award-winning producer Bill Lazerus in Los Angeles while playing guitar and singing in bands, and producing other artists and bands. Dedication For my family: Lisa, Allison, and Jacob.
I missed you guys so much. But now I’m done and you know what that means . . .
I’ll be back!
Can’t wait!
Love, Daddy Summer 2004 Author’s Acknowledgments First and foremost: Thank you for buying my book.
This book was a team effort. Though my name appears on the cover, it wouldn’t exist without the extraordinary efforts of that team. And so, before we go any further, I’d like to take this oppor- tunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of them . . .
Major thanks to Andy Cummings and Bob Woerner at Wiley, for believing in this project and giving it the green light.
Big time thanks to my project editor, Becky Huehls, who not only minded my Ps and Qs, but managed to keep me from using the word, “stuff,” on every page. I’d also like to thank copy editors John Edwards and Jean Rogers for their fine work, and all the folks in production for their efforts in putting together the book you hold in your hands.
My super duper literary agent, Carole McClendon at Waterside Productions, deserves a double helping o’ praise for putting up with me all these years. Thanks again (and, you’ll always be Swifty to me).
A heaping helping of thank-you to my tech editor, researcher, and all-around good influence, Bryan Chaffin. This book wouldn’t be the same without his massive contribution, and I can tell you with- out reservation, Bryan Chaffin rocks.
And to my wife, Lisa, and my kids, Allison and Jacob, thanks once again for putting up with my all-too-frequent hibernations and giving me the space I need to do what I do. I love you guys.
Whew. I’m almost done, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank some of the nice folks at Apple who helped this book along in some way including iLife Product Manager Peter Lowe, PR Specialist Nathalie Welch, and of course, the Czarina of Product Loan, Keri Walker.
Last but definitely not least: Thanks to Apple, for creating GarageBand and pricing it right. Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Composition Media Development Project Coordinator: Maridee Ennis Project Editor: Rebecca Huehls Layout and Graphics: Andrea Dahl, Acquisitions Editor: Bob Woerner Lauren Goddard, Denny Hager, Copy Editors: John Edwards, Jean Rogers Joyce Haughey, Stephanie D. Jumper, Michael Kruzil, Lynsey Osborn, Technical Editor: Bryan Chaffin Heather Ryan, Jacque Schneider Editorial Manager: Leah Cameron Proofreaders: TECHBOOKS Production Permissions Editor: Laura Moss Services, Brian H. Walls Media Development Manager: Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Services Laura VanWinkle Media Development Supervisor: Richard Graves Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services Contents at a Glance
Introduction ...... 1 Part I: Starting on a Good Note...... 7 Chapter 1: In the Beginning: Introducing GarageBand ...... 9 Chapter 2: Equipping and Setting Up Your Recording Space ...... 25 Chapter 3: GarageBand Preferences: How Do You Like Yours?...... 53 Chapter 4: Introducing Multitrack Recording with GarageBand...... 67 Part II: Laying Down Tracks...... 93 Chapter 5: It (Usually) Starts with a Loop...... 95 Chapter 6: Recording with MIDI and Software Instruments...... 115 Chapter 7: Recording Vocals and Acoustic Instruments...... 133 Chapter 8: Recording Electric Guitars and Other Electronic Instruments ...... 153 Part III: Post-Production: Finishing Your Song ...... 169 Chapter 9: Editing and Polishing Tracks ...... 171 Chapter 10: Mixing Tracks into Songs ...... 193 Chapter 11: To Master Mastering ...... 215 Part IV: Sharing Your Creations with Others ...... 225 Chapter 12: CD Recording, Reproduction, and Distribution...... 227 Chapter 13: Creating Smaller Audio Files for iPods, E-Mail, and the Web...... 239 Chapter 14: Using GarageBand Recordings with Other iLife Applications...... 253 Part V: The Part of Tens ...... 261 Chapter 15: Ten Handy GarageBand Add-Ons...... 263 Chapter 16: Ten Ways to Improve GarageBand’s Performance...... 275 Chapter 17: Ten Ways to Take Your Recordings to the Next Level ...... 289 Chapter 18: Ten Useful Web Sites...... 295 Index ...... 301
Table of Contents
Introduction...... 1 About This Book...... 1 Not-So-Foolish Assumptions...... 2 Conventions Used in This Book ...... 2 How This Book Is Organized...... 3 Part I: Starting on a Good Note...... 3 Part II: Laying Down Tracks ...... 3 Part III: Post-Production: Finishing Your Song...... 3 Part IV: Sharing Your Creations with Others ...... 4 Part V: The Part of Tens...... 4 Icons Used in This Book...... 4 Where to Go from Here...... 5
Part I: Starting on a Good Note ...... 7
Chapter 1: In the Beginning: Introducing GarageBand ...... 9 What Is GarageBand?...... 10 What Can You Do with GarageBand?...... 10 What Can’t You Do with GarageBand?...... 11 Checking Your System Requirements...... 12 The official requirements ...... 13 The realistic requirements: Dr. Mac’s advice...... 13 What Else Do You Need to Run GarageBand?...... 15 Recording with GarageBand: A Few Teasers ...... 17 Sneak peek 1: The recording sequence ...... 18 Sneak peek 2: GarageBand ...... 20 Chapter 2: Equipping and Setting Up Your Recording Space ...... 25 Cobbling Together a Studio (Without Breaking the Bank) ...... 25 Making the Most of Your Recording Space ...... 27 Deadening the room...... 27 Preventing background noise ...... 28 Equipping Your Studio: “Must-Have” Gear versus “Good-to-Have” Gear ...... 28 Choosing a Microphone ...... 29 Dynamic and condenser microphones...... 30 Microphone polarity patterns ...... 32 Microphone preamps...... 33 Setting up your microphone ...... 34 xii GarageBand For Dummies
Finding the Right Speakers ...... 35 Listening with Headphones (Without Messing Up the Take)...... 37 Adding a MIDI Keyboard to Your Setup...... 38 Finding a keyboard...... 39 Connecting a MIDI keyboard to your computer...... 41 Unraveling the Cable and Connector Conundrum...... 42 Adding an Audio Interface to Your Setup...... 46 Using an interface with GarageBand...... 46 Shopping for an interface ...... 47 Perfecting Your Mic Setup...... 49 Choosing a mic stand...... 49 Recording vocals with pop filters and wind screens...... 51 Boosting Your Hard Drive Space ...... 51 Recording in Tune with a Tuning Device (for Guitarists) ...... 52 Chapter 3: GarageBand Preferences: How Do You Like Yours? . . . . .53 The General Pane: No Pain, in General...... 54 Metronome radio buttons ...... 54 Ask me before you discard any unsaved changes ...... 56 Keyword browsing ...... 58 Resetting the keyword layout ...... 59 The Audio/MIDI Pane...... 59 Audio ins and outs ...... 60 Optimizing your buffers...... 61 Knowing your MIDI status ...... 62 The Export Pane...... 63 The Advanced Pane ...... 64 Chapter 4: Introducing Multitrack Recording with GarageBand . . . .67 Understanding the Role of Stereo in Multitrack Recording...... 68 Strolling through the Recording Process, Quickly...... 70 Cutting the Tracks (“No blood on ’em, Mr. Dylan”)...... 71 Listening to tracks during recording and playback ...... 76 Changing a track’s settings ...... 78 Checking levels during recording and playback ...... 79 Adjusting levels ...... 80 Polishing tracks ...... 82 Mix That Sucka ...... 84 Setting the pan...... 85 (Lord and) Mastering...... 87 Managing Song Files...... 89 Table of Contents xiii
Part II: Laying Down Tracks...... 93
Chapter 5: It (Usually) Starts with a Loop ...... 95 What Is a Loop, Anyway? ...... 95 Spicing Up Your Songs with Loops ...... 96 Finding Loops for Your Songs...... 96 Meet the Loop Browser ...... 98 Viewing loops in button or column view...... 98 Searching for a loop that you love ...... 100 Previewing loops ...... 104 Keeping your favorite loops at the ready...... 105 Adding third-party loops to the Loop Browser ...... 105 Setting a Loop’s Tempo ...... 106 Adding Loops to Tracks ...... 107 Dragging and dropping loops ...... 107 Undoing and redoing a loop...... 110 Extending, shortening, and repeating loops...... 111 Changing instrument and preset settings ...... 113 Editing Loops: A Preview...... 113 Reusing an edited loop in a different song...... 114 Chapter 6: Recording with MIDI and Software Instruments ...... 115 What Is MIDI, Anyway? ...... 115 Controlling Software Instruments with a MIDI Keyboard ...... 116 Choosing Software Instruments ...... 117 Recording Tracks with Software Instruments ...... 120 Altering the Sound of Software Instruments...... 121 Tweaking an instrument’s generator ...... 122 Adding and changing effects...... 125 Testing your changes...... 131 Chapter 7: Recording Vocals and Acoustic Instruments ...... 133 Getting Ready to Record ...... 134 Setting up your mic and recording track...... 134 Tweaking the pan to hear vocals better...... 139 Positioning the microphone...... 139 Setting levels ...... 140 Adding effects ...... 141 Checking for unwanted noise ...... 144 Not for drummers only ...... 144 Recording the Track ...... 148 Improving the Sound of Recordings ...... 149 xiv GarageBand For Dummies
Chapter 8: Recording Electric Guitars and Other Electronic Instruments ...... 153 Overview from the Top: Recording Direct or Live...... 153 Recording Direct with GarageBand’s Virtual Amplifiers...... 155 Setting up to record ...... 155 Troubleshooting your setup ...... 157 Making a too soft instrument louder ...... 158 Setting the levels ...... 159 Recording the track...... 160 Recording Live with an Amplifier and Microphone(s)...... 161 Customizing the Sound of Your Guitar Tracks ...... 164 Changing the presets and amp simulators ...... 164 Editing the presets ...... 164 Making other changes...... 166
Part III: Post-Production: Finishing Your Song...... 169
Chapter 9: Editing and Polishing Tracks ...... 171 “When Should I Edit Tracks?”...... 171 Editing Software versus Real Instrument Tracks ...... 172 Fixing Flubs and Faux Pas ...... 173 Punching in and out to replace part of a track...... 174 Just undo it . . . and then redo it...... 176 Splitting and joining tracks ...... 176 Silencing mistakes with the Track Volume rubber band...... 177 Moving Regions ...... 179 Editing Software Instrument Tracks ...... 179 Changing the tempo...... 180 Changing the pitch ...... 180 Rearranging notes in a track...... 182 Sweetening: To Add New Material? Or Not? ...... 187 Percussion...... 188 Backing vocals ...... 189 Special effects ...... 190 Horns, woodwinds, and strings...... 190 Chapter 10: Mixing Tracks into Songs ...... 193 What Is Mixing? ...... 193 Creating a Level Playing Field...... 194 Roughing it with a rough mix...... 194 A fine tune ...... 196 Level meters: Red = dead ...... 197 Table of Contents xv
Panning Tracks Left or Right ...... 198 The Effects of Adding Effects...... 200 Equalization? Or not?...... 201 Echo and reverb ...... 206 Compressor...... 207 Chorus ...... 207 Doubling Tracks ...... 207 The copy and paste method ...... 207 The re-recording method ...... 208 Ping-Ponging to Create a Submix (And Save Your Processor) ...... 209 Chapter 11: To Master Mastering ...... 215 What, Exactly, Is Mastering? ...... 216 Before You Master...... 216 The Master Track Is for Mastering Tracks...... 217 Applying the final presets and effects ...... 218 Setting the Master Volume ...... 220 Before You Call It “Done”...... 222
Part IV: Sharing Your Creations with Others ...... 225
Chapter 12: CD Recording, Reproduction, and Distribution ...... 227 The Benefits of Burning CDs...... 227 Getting Ready to Burn Songs on CDs...... 228 Gathering what you need to burn CDs ...... 228 Setting the Cycle Region...... 228 Exporting your song to iTunes ...... 230 Creating the Final CD ...... 231 Burning the CD on your Mac...... 231 Making multiple copies of the same CD ...... 233 Lovely labels for your CDs ...... 235 Distributing CDs ...... 235 CD Baby ...... 235 Amazon.com ...... 236 More distribution ideas ...... 237 Chapter 13: Creating Smaller Audio Files for iPods, E-Mail, and the Web ...... 239 Choosing a Compression Type...... 240 Making AAC and MP3 Files...... 242 Distributing Your Music ...... 248 E-Mailing AAC or MP3 files ...... 248 Posting your song on the Web...... 249 xvi GarageBand For Dummies
Chapter 14: Using GarageBand Recordings with Other iLife Applications ...... 253 Using Your GarageBand Compositions with iMovie...... 253 PseudoSync: Previewing the movie score...... 254 Finishing the movie score ...... 256 Using Your GarageBand Compositions with iDVD...... 258 Using Your GarageBand Compositions with iPhoto Slideshows...... 259
Part V: The Part of Tens ...... 261
Chapter 15: Ten Handy GarageBand Add-Ons ...... 263 Using Dent du Midi for GarageBand Karaoke ...... 263 Tuning Tunable Instrument(s) ...... 264 Chromatic Tuner ...... 264 Audio Units tuner ...... 265 eMedia Tuner ...... 266 Tuning Vocals and Instruments after the Fact with Auto-tune...... 266 Creating Drum Loops and Tracks with iDrum...... 267 Adding Extra Loops, Effects, and More with GarageBand Jam Pack.....268 Adding Guitar Amps and Effects with AmpliTube ...... 269 Controlling GarageBand’s Features with ShuttlePRO...... 271 Edit and Modify Loops with the Soundtrack Loop Utility ...... 272 Converting VST Plug-Ins to AU Plug-Ins for GarageBand...... 273 Chapter 16: Ten Ways to Improve GarageBand’s Performance . . . . .275 Checking the Basics...... 277 Paying Attention to the Color of the Playhead...... 278 Changing the Maximum Number of Real Instrument Tracks ...... 279 Changing the Maximum Number of Software Instrument Tracks...... 280 Changing the Number of Notes That Software Instruments Can Play Simultaneously ...... 281 Hiding the Track Mixers while Playing or Recording ...... 282 Minimizing the GarageBand Window while Playing or Recording...... 282 Correcting a Delay between Playing and Hearing...... 283 Optimizing Processor Performance in the System Preferences Application...... 284 Upgrade Your Mac...... 286 Getting more RAM ...... 286 External FireWire hard drive...... 286 Processor upgrade ...... 287 Table of Contents xvii
Chapter 17: Ten Ways to Take Your Recordings to the Next Level ...... 289 Get a Better Microphone(s)...... 289 Make Sure Your Speakers/Reference Monitors Reproduce Sound Well...... 290 Get Better Headphones ...... 290 Fine-Tune Mic Placement ...... 291 Improve Room Acoustics...... 291 Use Quality Cables ...... 291 Add a Mixing Board to Your Studio ...... 292 Switch to More Powerful Software...... 293 Logic Express or Logic Pro...... 293 Pro Tools...... 294 Chapter 18: Ten Useful Web Sites ...... 295 General Audio and Recording Sites ...... 295 Tab Robot ...... 295 MIDI Explorer ...... 296 Mix...... 296 EQ ...... 297 Electronic Musician...... 297 Sweetwater Sound...... 297 Musician’s Friend ...... 298 Mac- or GarageBand-Oriented Sites...... 298 Apple GarageBand discussion board...... 298 OS X Audio ...... 299 Mac Music ...... 300 iCompositions...... 300 MacJams ...... 300 The Mac Observer’s GarageBand Garage forum...... 300
Index...... 301 xviii GarageBand For Dummies Introduction
f you want to make music with GarageBand, you’ve made the right choice Itwice — once by choosing GarageBand, which has to be the easiest way yet to create your own music, and again by choosing this book to help you along. Before you know it, you’ll be topping the charts and basking in fame, glory, and fortune.
Well, it is possible. By the time you finish this book, you’ll possess the knowl- edge, although I’m afraid you’ll have to provide the talent yourself.
Don’t worry. Just sit back, relax, and get ready to have a rockin’ good time. That’s right. This may be a computer book, but we are going to have a good time together. What a concept! And I promise it’s true — whether you’re new to music making or a grizzled studio veteran, I guarantee that learning to make music with GarageBand For Dummies is going to be fun and easy. Hey, it couldn’t go on the cover in such big letters if it weren’t true.
About This Book Of course, GarageBand For Dummies is going to show you everything you need to get the most out of Apple’s amazing GarageBand recording-studio-in-a-box software. But I hope to give you much more than that.
Here’s a quick look at just some of what this book can do for you: