GarageBand recommendations

[Jamie-30]

Looking at learning the keyboard/piano and GarageBand sprung to mind.

I’d been looking at Yamaha/Casio keyboards. Would any one recommend GarageBand and if so, recommendations for a keyboard please.

Also, would GarageBand have the same musical tones as as a keyboard and would there be any costs for adding things like learning how to play keyboard sessions?

 

[BrianBaughn]

I'm a Logic Pro user and don't have much recent GarageBand experience. What it amounts to is a stripped down version of Logic Pro.

GB definitely has some piano virtual instruments as well as other types of virtual keyboard sounds…all will work with a MIDI keyboard. I don't think GB has any "built-in" piano lessons. I don't know what to recommend for lessons.

Which keyboard to get depends on what you expect. Truly "weighted" keyboards that feel like playing a real piano are generally more expensive. I wish I had one of those myself. The one I have is a full 88-key "semi-weighted" model and I'd say it's closer to not being weighted at all than it is to a real piano feel.

If you're anywhere near a music store you should visit and try out the options.

 

[Jamie-30]

I'm a Logic Pro user and don't have much recent GarageBand experience. What it amounts to is a stripped down version of Logic Pro.

GB definitely has some piano virtual instruments as well as other types of virtual keyboard sounds…all will work with a MIDI keyboard. I don't think GB has any "built-in" piano lessons. I don't know what to recommend for lessons.

Which keyboard to get depends on what you expect. Truly "weighted" keyboards that feel like playing a real piano are generally more expensive. I wish I had one of those myself. The one I have is a full 88-key "semi-weighted" model and I'd say it's closer to not being weighted at all than it is to a real piano feel.

If you're anywhere near a music store you should visit and try out the options.

Thanks for the reply, so Logic Pro is the better option? Would Logic Pro offers the same features as an actual keyboard/piano?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Logic Pro is the full featured version. Garage Band is stripped down. The latter will be easier the learn as a beginner and does offer some basic lessons. The former has a steeper learning curve. There are plenty of other apps that offer keyboard lessons too... and there are plenty of free lessons on sites like YouTube.

For your stated needs in #1, GB is fine and ANY MIDI keyboard will be fine to use with it.

If you buy an instrument, it is probably going to have its own "tones" (instruments) built in so it doesn't have to be linked to a computer to make any sound at all. As a MIDI instrument, you can record those tones in GB or LP as a live track... as you could if wanting to record your voice or a guitar, etc.

GB and LP are going to also have a bank of sounds you can play too. You are basically asking your keyboard to use the sounds within your Mac instead of using any onboard sounds. Think of it as an extension of sounds available within the keyboard. You can also mix & match (some instruments in the keyboard and some GB instruments... just as you can mix in your voice, a guitar, drums, tc on their own tracks too).

 

[SeilerBird]

Lots of free lessons on Youtube for free. I would start there.

 

[maxoakland]

Garageband is great software. I recommend it all the time. I started on Garageband and after I became familiar, it was easy to move to Logic. And Logic can even open my older Garageband files!

 

[Big Bad D]

If your aim is looking to learn to play a keyboard/piano, then learning how to use a DAW is really not the efficient way. Just buy a standalone electronic keyboard/piano and use some online videos to get some starters. Musora is a good subscription online music tutorial, including piano.

If serious to learn then my recommendation is to buy the biggest (number of keys) full-size keyboard you can afford or have room for, this is far more important than features. Many keyboards will have interfaces to use with DAWs if you want to explore that later.

I fully agree with a previous comment, suggesting to visit a proper music store to see and try options. Many may also have decent value trade-ins.