What actually can I do with Garageband?

[ozimax]

I am a newcomer to Mac and GB in particular, only launched it for the 1st time yesterday. I am an amateur composer, pianist (35 years), accordionist, and songwriter here in Australia.

I had ordered Finale for osX but cancelled after I read it was a dog. I have been using Notepad Plus for basic composing and also Cubasis VST, both for Win XP. I have numerous instruments but my current baby is a Korg SP200 coupled with nice big keyboard amp. I also have a Roland USB-midi cable which I hope will work with my G4 iBook (640mb ram)

My question(s) as a newcomer is this:

What can I actually do with GB? eg can I notate, print notation, export midi files, is there a GB showcase site on the web? Short of searching thru every post on macrumors, is there a beginners GB site to help me get started?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Max

[JFreak]

garageband is a loop player, not a composing software. you can play software instruments via midi, but it all becomes audio as you record it.

if you want a good notation software, take a look at www.sibelius.com

[ozimax]

Thanks, have you used Sibelius eg would you recomend it for osX? Max

[JFreak]

i have a registered copy of sibelius (v2.1) and i can tell you it is very simple yet full-featured app and runs very nicely on osx. it has even brought a piece of aqua interface from osx to windows world :)

yep, sibelius is a finale-killer on osx - download a demo and try it out.

[Flowbee]

garageband is a loop player, not a composing software. you can play software instruments via midi, but it all becomes audio as you record it.


It sounds like you've never actually used Garageband.

Garageband is not just a loop player. Midi does not 'become audio' as you record it.

That being said, Garageband does not do notation and does not import or export midi (yet).

To the original poster, a pretty complete list of Garageband features can be found at:
http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/

You might also try a Garageband-specific site like Macjams.com.

[Snarf!]

Get Logic 6. It does everything. loops/auido/midi/notation/insert task here..
http://www.apple.com/logic/

I don`t know how i managed without it.

[powermac99]

is there a GB showcase site on the web? Short of searching thru every post on macrumors, is there a beginners GB site to help me get started?

Check out iCompositions (http://www.icompositions.com). We've got more than 2000 GarageBand songs uploaded and every user gets 150MB of free space to upload their compositions. Once you've uploaded your compositions, other users can leave comments and rate the song for each of four criteria (specific, not just overall).

Take a look :D

[ChrisH3677]

Pm, you did yourself a dis-service... iComp is also one of the best GB sites for GB tutorials.

[ozimax]

Get Logic 6. It does everything. loops/auido/midi/notation/insert task here..
http://www.apple.com/logic/

I don`t know how i managed without it.
Seems like this is the software I need, but I'm not related to Billy Gates so don't have a spare $3000 AUD to buy it with. Solutions anyone??

Max

[JFreak]

It sounds like you've never actually used Garageband.

you got me - i have only "tried" it and made two test songs. it felt so good when i decided that the testing is done and it's time to get back to ableton live. for me it was just a nice toy, but the comparison goes to ableton live and that's hard app to beat.

and you're right - for most people it's far more than a toy. but when we're talking about notation software, in that regard, it's "just a loop player".

[saxman]

Makemusic has had considerable problems migrating Finale to OSX. However, they have finally (no pun intended) turned the corner. If you're serious about composition (notation only, Finale is not a sequencer, mixer, loop player...), then get Finale. Sibelius is a good program for "typical" music notation. But Finale can do anything you want with notation (ie. George Crumb scores). It has a steeper learning curve, but is by far the most powerful notation program.

If you're doing lead sheets or traditional music notation, almost any notation program will work... no need to spend lots of cash if you're not going to use the high end features. If you want a music app that can do all things, it will compromise on one or several things.

[powermac99]

Haha, thanks Chris. When am I going to hear some of your songs over there? ;)

[Flowbee]

but when we're talking about notation software, in that regard, it's "just a loop player".

Well, if we're talking about notation software, in that regard, Ableton Live is "just a loop player" too.

[ozimax]

Does anyone have any experience with Songworks II?

http://www.ars-nova.com/songworks.html

BTW, I have actually mucked around with GB - it's amazingly easy to combine loops, editing as you go - quite amazing stuff. Max

[JFreak]

Well, if we're talking about notation software, in that regard, Ableton Live is "just a loop player" too.

yep.

i think i had made myself clear in my previous posts - i use sibelius for notation, and prefer ableton live over garageband. for me, garageband is just a nice toy. decent, apple-quality soundtrack lite, but just a toy.

if they implement rewire in it, i'd take it into more serious use.

[legion]

I second sibelius as probably what you are looking for (more than Logic.) Any old-school pianist will find it much more comfortable and offer what you'd be looking for. Logic doesn't have the breadth of notation capabiliites of sibelius. If you are looking to mix or record sound, then Logic would be more useful, but your stats seem to indicate real piano playing and traditional composing and orchestrating.

[ChrisH3677]

Haha, thanks Chris. When am I going to hear some of your songs over there? ;)

maybe when i do some new stuff... how much do you pay to have the most played GB artist on the 'net on iComp? :D :D :D ;)

[powermac99]

An account upgrade or an iCompositions Creations Disc? :p ;) :)

[James L]

Garageband is a multitrack, single channel input, 64 track recording studio.

I have recorded vocals, bass through a D.I., several guitar amps (both mic'd and from a line out), keyboards, a sax, etc with it.

It has built in midi software instruments, so if you have a midi keyboard you can lay out your track, then have it be a piano, keyboard, 12 string guitar, etc.

It has built in amp emulation, which actually isn't 1/2 band (not quite Line 6 quality, but good). As long as you have a preamped guitar signal you can use the built in amp, digital effects, etc to record great guitar tones. Hell, I have even gotten decent tones out of GB with a guitar plugged straight into the powerbook with NO preamp, just a lot of noise gate!

You have control over track by track EQ and volume.

Furthermore, it has thousands of loops. So, construct a drum line with loops, lay down bass and guitar manually if you so desire, plug in some horn stabs with loops, record your vocals manually. EQ it all, adjust the volume, fade, etc. Then simply export it out to iTunes as an AIFF.

The limitations of GB are that it is a single input (at a time) system, so you can't record 3 things in at once. The other one would be no notation system.

"JUST a LOOP PLAYER".

Garageband is sooo much more than a loop player. I spend maybe 10% of my garageband time with loops. The other 90% is spent recording live instruments and mixing.

Cheers!

James

[grneyedjay]

You can drag it to the Trash....I'll be honest, I've thought about it.

Hook it up to a synth keyboard, and you'll see how much time you spend in that wonderful piece of software! [Then the Apple Store Rep slowly lowers his Nintendo Zapper and places it back in its holster.]

[James L]

I just noticed the title of your post: "What actually can I do with Garageband?"

I guess it is like any artist, non artist, and the tools provided. Some people can paint the Mona Lisa, some can't draw a stick figure.

I have heard some amazing recordings using real instruments, mic'd instruments, midi instruments, loops, etc. In the right hands it is amazing for the price (free!).

Cheers,

James

[Amani]

I just started working with GB today. I'm using tutorial book. But I have to be honest and say I have NO musical creation background. Wish I did. So is it possible to compose good songs on GB if you don't know how to play an instrument?

Learning GB has made me more interested learning how to play a real instrument. I've always wanted to learn how to play the piano. With GB, I now just might make learning to play the piano a goal in my life.

[JFreak]

"JUST a LOOP PLAYER".

Garageband is sooo much more than a loop player. I spend maybe 10% of my garageband time with loops. The other 90% is spent recording live instruments and mixing.

let me explain... that 90% of the time you are using for recording and mixing in garageband, i prefer to spend using protools, which isn't limited to single input and has pro plugins for processing the sound. so in that perspective, about that 10% of the time, it's just a loop player.

garageband would be however VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY good software instrument if apple implemented proper rewire into it. currently you can route other rewire apps into garageband, but cannot get garageband into other rewire apps. if i could, i'd very much like to sometimes record that bösendorfer piano into protools. but i can't. i have to set up two systems having pro audio interfaces routing garageband into one's digital output while recording it into protools via another system's digital input. that's too much of a hassle and i have to be really desperate to putting in such an effort.

to summarize: for average joe garageband might be a killer. for a pro, it isn't. if one could rewire gb into protools, it would be instantly a pro app.

[fingers]

to summarize: for average joe garageband might be a killer. for a pro, it isn't. if one could rewire gb into protools, it would be instantly a pro app.
I know that quite a few pro's that are using GB for what it excels - songwriting. GarageBand is no Pro Tools or Logic killer but it allows anyone from absolute beginner to seasoned audio pro's the ability to be creative. I love Pro Tools LE - but it is so refreshing to work in GarageBand. I work on a PowerBook and it's fantastic to work on my sofa, with just a pair of headphones. Ok i can't record to a pro standard - but for arranging and editing it's perfect. When I want to record audio - I can just plug in my mbox.

I think Reason and GarageBand in ReWire mode is a fantastic combo too (as is PT LE and Reason). Apple have really done an amazing job with GB - sure it is not gonna replace Logic or Pro Tools for pro studio work - but it's GUI is superb and very intuitive.

It is a great tool for any Pro audio mac user to utilize. Sure it has no built in traditional notation, midi export etc etc - but it is a very useful and creative tool. It doesn't replace my PT LE or Reason but augments them very well.

Hey - Why not just export that Grand Piano as audio from GB and import it into Pro Tools? ;)

Rich

[fingers]

So is it possible to compose good songs on GB if you don't know how to play an instrument?

Yeah why not! GarageBand is one beauty of an instrument! There is only one pure musical instrument - the voice! So in my world - guitars, pianos, dustbin lids and everything else that can make a sound (including GarageBand) is a musical instrument. The hard part is coming up with something fresh and original....

You can use the built in appleloops, and the built in keyboard to record software instrument parts and of course use your mic to record what ever you like! I expect your tutorial book to walk you through all this - (if not one book i like is Mary Plummer's GarageBand book.)

Good Luck and have fun!

Rich

[James L]

let me explain... that 90% of the time you are using for recording and mixing in garageband, i prefer to spend using protools, which isn't limited to single input and has pro plugins for processing the sound. so in that perspective, about that 10% of the time, it's just a loop player.

garageband would be however VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY good software instrument if apple implemented proper rewire into it. currently you can route other rewire apps into garageband, but cannot get garageband into other rewire apps. if i could, i'd very much like to sometimes record that bösendorfer piano into protools. but i can't. i have to set up two systems having pro audio interfaces routing garageband into one's digital output while recording it into protools via another system's digital input. that's too much of a hassle and i have to be really desperate to putting in such an effort.

to summarize: for average joe garageband might be a killer. for a pro, it isn't. if one could rewire gb into protools, it would be instantly a pro app.



Well said!

[rockaprs]

This is an awesome resource for anyone that wants to know ANYTHING about the song writing industry. They are also giving away a gibson acoustic guitar, definately check it out!

www.songwriter101.com

[R-Man]

I am blown away at the quality of the information posted in these threads! Please help.

Here is my vision:

I am playing lead guitar along with 2 live front vocalists. Everything else (drums, bass, keyboards, steel guitar, etc) is precorded and mixed to be played back during live performance.

Most recorded music tracks will be live instruments recorded in my home studio by musician friends.

I just picked up a used BOSS BR-864 which I thought made a decent starting point. But now I am not so sure.

I am a MAC nut w/ 2 G4 PB's.

My question: Garageband or step up to ProTools or Live?

Thank you!

[fingers]

I just picked up a used BOSS BR-864 which I thought made a decent starting point. But now I am not so sure.

I am a MAC nut w/ 2 G4 PB's.

My question: Garageband or step up to ProTools or Live?

Thank you!

What is a BOSS BR-864? Is it a digital multitracker?

I am pretty sure you could do everything in GarageBand - I think it would be a good choice - and it's almost free.

Pro Tools is pretty much the industry standard for recording audio - but with it comes a steeper learning curve than the user friendly GarageBand. The MBox is a pretty inexspensive route to Pro Tools LE (comparitively speaking) It's only a 2 track (ie stereo) device so it might not be ideal if you want to track all three of you at once. Stepping up from the mbox to a 002Rack or 002 interface is quite expensive... Logic is certainly worth considering. Live - I have very little experience of by all accounts pretty revolutionary but I personally didn't get the hang of it from a demo - so i can't comment. If you want to mix and create as part of your live performance then it might be a cool option?

My suggestions ; Try GarageBand but if your serious and don't mind investing time learning a new app then Pro Tools or Logic would be my choice.

BTW. Who produced your backing tracks - what system do they use?

[R-Man]

Thanks fingers.

The Boss BR-864 can be found at
http://www.rolandus.com/products/details.asp?catid=12&subcatid=48&prodid=BR%2D864

I don't understand enough about this whole digital recording process to recognize whether this unit is un-necessary or not. The demo seemed pretty cool but maybe Garageband features makes it obsolete.

The backing tracks and sunsequent playback during live performances are really what I am asking about.

I want my musician friends to lay down some excellent tracks that my live singers and I (lead guitar) can play along with at showtime.

Does any of this make sense?

Thanks
R

[fingers]

Thanks fingers.

The Boss BR-864 can be found at
http://www.rolandus.com/products/details.asp?catid=12&subcatid=48&prodid=BR%2D864

I don't understand enough about this whole digital recording process to recognize whether this unit is un-necessary or not. The demo seemed pretty cool but maybe Garageband features makes it obsolete.

The backing tracks and sunsequent playback during live performances are really what I am asking about.

I want my musician friends to lay down some excellent tracks that my live singers and I (lead guitar) can play along with at showtime.

Does any of this make sense?

Thanks
R

If you have to record more than a stereo recording at any one time then you will need another solution. I don't think the Boss unit will do this - you will need to check the specs. If you need to record a band - then ideally you would need a multi input device either standalone or to feed your mac. GarageBand does not support more than two tracks at once recording tho.

So do you need more than 2 tracks (recording at one time) ?

If 2 tracks will do - then use GarageBand and get m-audio mobile pre (or an mbox)

As far as playing back your backing tracks for a live audience goes - i reckon an ipod would be perfect. The boss unit would almost certainly not hold a full set on it. The ipod would hold thousands of mp3 backing tracks.

I hope this helps.

[Harald4]

Hi folks,
let's get back to the original question by a picture:
Have you ever seen the guitar Willie Nelson is playing, because his
ex-wifes do not allow him to own a better one?
Have you heard the songs and the solos he's playing on this piece of crap?
It's always the man behind the tool.
GB is young and will probably run fine on a G5, a G3, like mine was'nt intended for such a program but with all the AU's I've found on the net it shows a picture where emagic with a 1000 $ program is heading to.
Talking about notation?
Why not try a 15$ program called melody assistant from
www.myriad-online.com?
Talking about editing files and dropping them into GB?
Why not try free Audacity 1.2.2?
You already started reading and thinking?
Check out wikipedia...

[512ke]

Great links. $15 musical notation program. Very cool!

I personally would try out Garageband first, before stepping up to a more powerful (but complicated and expensive) program.

I'm a musician but not a professional one. Garageband is the program that lets me make music when I've got only 10 or fifteen minutes of time.

Record instruments, lay down tracks, save it to iTunes, post it on the 'net.

For me it's just like iPhoto/.Mac/homepage but for music!

:)

http://www.macidol.com/jamroom/bands/405/music.php

[Harald4]

Some guys can draw the Mona Lisa...
Thats the point.
Try this:
1. Create a midi file for a single instrument that feels right
(check myriad-online.com for a 15$ notation/sequencer/editor/u
name it program)
2. Use GarageBand Import to convert the file and drag it into the
timeline
3. Spend some time with the software imstrument options

Not satisfied?

4. Get some audio units
It's the man behind the tool...

[Poff]

[Mr. Know-It-All]

Clearly JFreak is either a PC user or an idiot (I'm not sure there is really a difference.)

True, Garageband does play software loops, but you can also record real instruments through not only the internal mic (on powerbooks), but also through various hardware interfaces that connect either via USB or Firewire.

Garageband allows you to adjust track volume at various points as well as track panning. You can apply any of the software effects to the live instrument you are recording without losing the true sound of the instrument. If you don't like the effect, just change it to something else.

I have used the internal mic on my powerbook, the m-audio 410 as well as Line6's PODxt Live to interface and record with my computer...all of which have served their purpose.

The current issue I am trying to solve is getting Garageband to recognize my digi002.

Any ideas?