iLife® '09 Portable Genius

Chapter 7. How Do I Set Up a Virtual Studio in GarageBand?

GarageBand gives you all the tools you need to create professional-quality music on your Mac. But because of its power and complexity, GarageBand has a steep learning curve and takes some getting used to. This chapter shows you how to come to grips with GarageBand, assemble and configure your computerized music studio, use GarageBand's "magic" feature to quickly create a customized backing track containing exactly the type of music you want to play along to, and even have GarageBand teach you how to play songs.

• Understanding What You Can Do with GarageBand

• Creating and Saving a Song Project

• Getting Up to Speed with the GarageBand Interface

• Connecting Your Audio Instruments

• Setting Preferences to Suit the Way You Work

• Kick-Starting a Song with Magic GarageBand

• Using the Learn to Play Feature and the Lesson Store

Understanding What You Can Do with GarageBand

GarageBand lets you create original music quickly and easily by using your Mac on its own or with musical instruments.

GarageBand comes with a library of prerecorded audio loops for many different instruments, from rock music standards such as drums, bass, and guitars (lead and rhythm) to instruments such as woodwind, brass, and organs. You can arrange these loops to play back in the order you want, repeat them as needed, and even change their tempo and pitch. You can use the Magic ...