Garage Band'09 first hand. GarageBand - Become a Pro Musician

Let's do it together.

Recently, the GarageBand app has been getting everyone New user with the purchase of any Mac or iOS devices. Let's see what this program is.

We will deal with the guys who know everything about Apple. Many thanks to them for the educational program.

launch

At the first start, the program will download the main package of the most necessary musical instruments. It will take quite a bit of time. An additional advanced package can be downloaded later for free. It will weigh about seven gigabytes.

When you open GarageBand, you will see a window with project presets. In the advanced project settings, you can set the tempo and tone of the future composition.

It is also possible to run guitar and keyboard lessons. In the same section, you can buy additional video tutorials from famous musicians that will teach you how to play your songs on guitar or keyboards.

Program device

And so you launched GarageBand. By default, an empty project will have one instrument open, the classic electric piano. On the left you will see the "Library" section, in which you can select the desired tool. By clicking on the button with the “+” sign above the tracks, you will see a window with a choice of the type of new instrument. It will be a virtual instrument, audio recording and "Drummer".

When you select a track not with a virtual instrument, but with the ability to record audio, presets with audio effects appear in the library window. These will be the settings for recording voices and guitars.

"Drummer" is a smart instrument for quick creation drum tracks. It has very flexible settings that do not focus on the technical component, but allow you to communicate with him as with a live musician. For example, with the help of a special panel, just ask him to play a little quieter and use a slightly more complicated drawing - and he will do it right there!

Recording from line-in or microphone

If you want to record voice, guitar or any other real musical instrument, you can do this using the built-in microphone, connect an external microphone or instrument to the computer's audio input, or use an external audio interface, which I will discuss a little later.

Virtual instruments and effects

Virtual Instruments are software music plug-ins. It can be an all-digital synthesizer or an audio sample-based instrument.

GarageBand already has a huge selection of these tools to suit the widest range of genres. But if you want to try something different, you can install third-party music plug-ins in Audio Unit format. Starting with iOS 9, audio plugins are supported systemically and on mobile platform. There aren't many of them yet, but it's only a matter of time.

To launch such a plugin, create any virtual instrument, click on the "B" button or the Smart controls icon on the top left, in the bottom panel that opens, click on "i". You will see a Plug-ins dropdown menu. In the same place, you can adjust the track's audio effect or add a third-party effect plugin, if you have one installed.

In the iOS version, when choosing a new instrument, simply scroll to the Audio Units section.

Working with MIDI

All notes played on the software instruments are recorded in the format midi. Midi regions can be distinguished from audio files even externally. What you see is not a sound wave, but rectangular notes, each of which can be edited after recording - shifted along the timeline, pitch and pressing force.

Using the Quantize function, you can immediately align the entire midi region along the rhythmic grid. A very handy feature for both novice musicians and experienced keyboardists, just to speed up the recording process.

Apple Loops

This is a special format of short audio files that can automatically adjust to your project - in time and tone. You don't need to know the original tempo of this recording at all - just drag the loop to a new track and it will adjust to your song.

GarageBand comes with a fairly large library of different genres and types of Apple Loops. This is both percussion and stringed instruments, and drums, and more. Ideal for quickly creating both musical sketches and full-fledged compositions.

Our choice: acoustics for listening to masterpieces created in GarageBand:

• most portable - fits in your pocket
• unrealistically stylish - girls will definitely appreciate
• for those who are not afraid
• no longer just a stereo system, but rather a black square in the world of acoustics

Using optional recording devices

If you get a little more serious about music, you will probably think about buying an external sound card. It will come in handy for channel recording. Let's say you want to record a song with a guitar or even a few guitars, but you want to play it all "live". Connect an external multi-channel audio interface via USB, Firewire or Thunderbolt, set it up so that each individual track in GarageBand "sees" a separate channel - and go!

Many modern audio interfaces also support iOS via a USB Camera adapter. So there is an opportunity to organize.

Version differences on iOS and Mac

The Mac and iOS versions have quite a few differences, mostly due to input type differences. On iOS, you launch a virtual piano and play right on the screen, and you can set the scale that will match your song and you will not make a mistake on any note. On a Mac, you still need to connect a Midi keyboard (or any other midi controller) to play keyboards.

There are also a lot more smart tools in GarageBand for iOS. This is not only "Drummer", but also a simplified version of it - Smart drums. Also Smart Keyboard, Smart Guitar and Smart Bass.

There is also a Sampler tool. With it, you can record absolutely any sound and play it on the keyboard as if it were a simple piano.

On an iPad or iPhone, GarageBand will offer you the option to record audio from other music applications using the Inter-app Audio feature.

The iOS version also has a completely new mode for working with music - Live Loops. It invites you to work with all instruments, both virtual and stored in audio files, in loop format. You will see a grid with squares, each of which is a loop. Loupes of one instrument are arranged horizontally.

You can run one loop at a time, or the entire vertical row at once.

Each loop can be customized and edited. He can play in a circle, once or even backwards.

And, of course, you can create your own loops using any tool in GarageBand.

This mode is best for creating dance music, but even if you have no desire to become David Guetta, you will spend hours playing with looped tracks. And don't forget to hit the Rec button =)

Despite the differences between GarageBand on desktop and iOS, projects created in either version open on both Mac and iPhone. What's more, GarageBand projects can be opened in its big brother, Logic Pro X, for more serious work on your composition.

How to make and record your track

Now let's try to make the first composition in GarageBand ourselves.
So let's get started.

Launch the GarageBand app on your iPad click the plus sign in the top left corner to create a new project.

drums

Scroll through the instruments to the drummer and select it. Press on play, try different variants settings and you'll hear your drummer's playing style change on the fly. Choose the one you like.

To change the tempo, click on the project settings button on the top right. There you can change both the speed and the key of the song.

Go to the track mode on the button on the top left. Increase the duration of the song by tapping on the plus sign on the timeline on the right.

We shorten the drum track. Create a new drum region by clicking on empty place on the track and selecting the "create" option. Then click on the region and "edit". We repeat what we did earlier with the new region so that the drummer's playing style is slightly different.

Guitar

Let's add a smart guitar track by clicking on the plus sign at the bottom left in the tracks mode.
Choose the guitar you like and turn on autoplay. First press play and play the chords to find and memorize your favorite combination. When you're ready to record, click on Rec.

If you want to change a recorded part, you can do so by tapping on it. Select "edit" and go to midi editing mode. To add or remove a note, hold down the pen icon at the top left. Each note can be changed in length, moved or deleted.

You can also cut the region into two parts. To do this, set the slider on the timeline to the place where you want to cut the region and select the "split" option. We pull the scissors that have appeared down and you're done - now we have two ringtones.

Create a smart bass and smart key track in the same way. As you play these instruments, remember what chords you played on the smart guitar before. Record and edit parts on them.

apple loop

Let's add an Apple Loop with percussion to our song. To do this, click on the button with a loop on the top right. In the drop-down menu, select an instrument - percussion. Select the loop you like and drag it to a new track.

Sound setting

To fine tune the sound your song, select each track in turn and then click on the mixer button on the top right. Here you can adjust the volume, panning, effects, frequencies and compression.

Don't forget to keep an eye on the volume of your individual tracks and the overall mix. If the volume indicator of one of the tracks turns red during playback, turn it down. If the sound of this instrument as a result "disappears" behind the rest, or the indicator of the overall volume turns red - slightly reduce the volume of all tracks.

We export

Price: free
For iPhone: yes
For iPad: yes
Russian language
Developer/Publisher: Apple Inc.

Design

All musical instruments still resemble their counterparts from real world: guitars in Garage Bandreminiscent of guitars, drums - drums, etc. All this, as before, greatly simplifies the development of the program.

Is the app free?

Not so long agoApplemade the app free. This news made many people happy. What was it? Generosity gesture? No matter how. On the one hand, now you do not need to immediately pay 169 rubles. Got a chance to try Garage Bandwithout paying a dime.

On the other hand, only a few tools are free in the application. From keyboardsavailable- Grand Piano, electric piano, Classic Rock Organ, Vintage Lead; frompercussion- Classic Studio Kit, Classic Drum Machine; fromguitars– Acoustic, Hard Rock. It's also a free tool. Audiorecorder, which allows you to record any sound or voice.

All the rest of the huge number of tools we are offered to purchase for all the same 169 rubles. As you can see Applejust moved to freemiumapplication version.

How to record own songs via Garage Band?

After playing around with the app, I figured readers would be interested in learning how to actually create their own songs? detailed instructions I didn't find it on the Internet. At first glance, the skefowarmism of the tools really facilitates the process of getting to know the program, but then everything is not so obvious.

So, first we choose any tool we like. For example, SmartGuitar.

The guitar image will appear by default. Acoustic. By clicking in the small window on the left side of the screen with the image of a guitar and the inscription Acoustic, you can choose another guitar. As I wrote above, among the free ones, there is also HardRock- guitar.

By choosing a guitar, you can start the process of recording a song. We press red record button, then start playing the guitar. I'm not good at music, so I turned on the switch on the guitar Autoplay, the guitar began to play by itself, and I only periodically ran my fingers along the strings. Next, stop the recording and press the button on the top panel (the blue menu button, as in the screenshot below). A screen will appear showing one recorded track in green. On the left side of the track, so as not to get confused, a guitar is depicted.

If desired, double-clicking on a track will bring up the editing menu: cut, copy, delete, and other actions with the track. Well, the track itself can be stretched in length or reduced.

Next, click the plus button at the bottom of the window to add new tracks from other instruments to our song. Select the tool again, this time, for example, GrandPiano.

By analogy with the guitar, press record and record the melody. But it's much better to press the button first playon the top bar (triangle icon), after which the guitar track will start playing. This will allow you to pick up a melody by ear on the piano, combined with a previously recorded guitar track. And after that we press record and play the piano.

Stop recording and return to the track screen. Now we have 2 recorded tracks: guitar and keyboard. Further we act according to the same principle.

Output:

DesignGarage Bandremained virtually unchanged, which in itself is already very good. It's still one of the easiest apps to learn to make your own music.

And here is an interesting video review from freetonik. GarageBand was launched on the 1st generation iPad, so there are some brakes:

If you are familiar with this program from the iLife package, then its main features will not be a discovery for you. However mobile version GarageBand still has the same exceptional features that were not available in the desktop version and in no other software solution for tablet computers.

So, the main feature of the program is the ability to create sound recordings. The iPad version is limited to 8 tracks, it can be both instruments and voice. As we heard at the launch, that's double what the Beatles had when they recorded Sgt. Pepper. However, even if you need more, nothing prevents you from creating a track of eight tracks, mixing into one and continuing in a new project, which instead of the first track will contain mixed eight.

As well as in desktop version, you can connect your guitar to your iPad and use the preset amps (9 varieties) and effect pedals (10 varieties). To do this, you will need a special adapter module, which can be purchased separately.

But connecting a guitar is not the main feature of the program. main feature, this is the ability to use the iPad itself instead of a midi keyboard, which will allow you not only to record music on the road and anywhere else, without the instrument itself, but also allow you to learn to play it if you don’t already know how. And you can reproduce not only classic sound piano, but dozens of others, including the organ along with its features. And even if suddenly you do not find a suitable one, you can create it yourself, having previously recorded its basic sound, which will automatically be spread out throughout the entire musical sequence. It can be either the sound of an ordinary instrument, or something original, such as the meowing of a cat or the chirping of a canary. In general, everything is limited only by your imagination.

For more reality of the game, you will get more than just an on-screen keyboard. The GarageBand keyboard, unlike other synthesizer programs, has so far a unique ability to respond to pressure. This will allow you to play both Forte and Piano if you wish. Just because of this functionality alone, you can spend $4.99 and not regret anything. All this, of course, is realized thanks to the capabilities of the accelerometer. Screen keyboard contains two octaves, but you can choose the option dual keyboard, or there is an option, using a special button to increase the octave during the game. but to such a method, it will be necessary to adapt.

Beyond imitation keyboard instruments, you will also have drums and a guitar at your disposal, on which you can play, including with the help of preset popular chords. Smart chords, as Apple calls them, will sound just as good as professional ones in your hands. in all likelihood recorded not without their help. They are also available on keyboards. An analogue of smart chords is also available for drums, allowing you to create your own rhythm. It's simple, in the case of the guitar, click on the letter of the chord and do whatever comes to mind with the strings. By the way, drums are also sensitive to the place of touch, which will allow you to get a sound of varying degrees of volume and sound.

And of course, for beginners, there are over 250 sound loops available, with which you can compose an accompaniment in a matter of minutes. Playing guitar picks without even knowing how to play is now easier than ever. The main thing is to choose a rhythm and choose the next chord in time in order to accompany if you wish at any party.

In general, the mobile version of GarageBand came out well. She combined not only a mobile recording studio, but also a whole range of musical instruments. Until recently, to get all these joys, you had to purchase a whole bunch of programs. Of course, I will not say that this is a kit for a professional solution, it is not. But to create a good demo of your work, and anywhere you want, you can easily.

As for the effects, the program can use them for voice recordings, and also knows what reverb, echo and panorama are.

When GarageBand and iMovie hit the app store, the press was full of rave reviews. Now few people can try iMovie ( official sales have not started outside the US, and the prices for "gray" iPads are still very high), but owners of the first generation tablet can play with GarageBand. So I asked on twitter if there are people among the readers who are really passionate about music, and what do they think of GarageBand for iPad?

I am very grateful and thankful for all the answers. But special thanks to Leonid Kirakosyan, who spoke in detail about the disadvantages of the application. What follows are his impressions. Don't forget to follow Leonid on Twitter: @kirakosyan_l

The release of iPad 2 was accompanied by praise for the new applications for the iPad, which became Garage Band and iMovie. I must say, the first one immediately aroused skepticism in me: the developers promised that the program would feel the force of pressing, it would present instruments, amplifiers, a sampler and other joys for musicians and beginners. So for musicians or beginners? Let's find out in a short review.

To be honest, I can’t call myself a beginner, and my main instruments are an electric guitar, classical guitar and bass guitar. Of course, like any musician, I have an interest in everything that can make sounds, and therefore I distinguish a hi-hat from a kick drum and I can play " dog waltz» on the piano. I have very little teaching experience, I imagine how beginners react to notes, basic harmony and " simple ways memorization." In the first section, I will try to look at Garage Band through the eyes of a beginner, in the second - through the eyes of a musician, and in the third - I will summarize the above, describe the experience of creating an (un)finished composition.

Beginning

So, I opened the GarageBand I bought for $5 and immediately decided to try Smart Guitar. By default, the "already clamped chords" mode is enabled - steps of a single chord are located on each vertical. The first thing that struck me was the major chord of the lowered VII degree major scale and the nearby diminished 7th chord. Minor scales in general, they proposed something specific: major and minor "versions" of the fifth degree chord, some other reduced miracle. If in Russian, Apple used not quite ordinary chords. Moreover, the chords are nothing more than tracing paper from open position fingerings. In Russian, the “lower” note on the vertical is not always the main (tonic) - the lack of logic is embarrassing. Fans of thieves and the repertoire of the Kino group are in shock, they are looking for their native Do, they get Sol, they are shaking in nervous tension. And - they switch to the Autoplay function, somehow (no more than that) the guitar can play itself. I'll tell you right away similar picture will appear before lovers of bass guitar and keyboards, and what I have described above are just examples of the lack of logic.

Thus, all sorts of simplified modes suffer from minor flaws and features that will make life difficult for beginners. The main steps are not marked everywhere, the chords are non-standard, the ordinary consumer does not understand the basics of harmony. For the first hour, you will famously click on Autoplay in all modes, record your hit, but then you will realize that you will not be able to realize at least some idea: Garage Band is something like one big “Create a random song” button, which at the same time also gives the illusion of personal contribution with the help of mini-games in the spirit of 90s arcades (the screenshot shows one of the mini-games - Smart Drums)

So, my prediction: after two hours of entertainment, having really mastered the program, the beginner will be faced with the fact that something does not sound, but how to make it sound is unclear. I want to change something to sound like this, but it doesn’t work. The long-known truth - you can't learn to play a musical instrument - appeared in all its glory.

Musician

Guitar and bass. Being a musician after all, I switched the guitar to Notes mode. 8 positions, 4 types of guitars with almost no sound settings (no tone knobs, no pickup switch). Of course, the first thing I tried was sensitivity: Apple promised that the virtual instruments would be sensitive to pressure. Perhaps the accelerometer of the 1st iPad does not allow this function to be revealed, and the gyroscope will correct the situation, but then it was necessary to turn off the "dynamics" by default. The sound has two stages (medium and loud), which seem to decide for themselves when to enter. Terrible.

The neck of the guitar is stuck in an open position, no one will ever let you play the “tops”. The bends and vibrato are tolerable, but for some reason only by a semitone, the response speed is below average, the sound is turned up by default in the most disgusting way, it is better not to turn on the effects at all. The bass guitars sound terrible - Paul McCartney, my favorite, was never a great sound model, but here his "Liverpool" style is present.

Keyboards. In general, there is a feeling that the developers sincerely pored over the keyboards, and the guitar was completed in a hurry. A variety of different organs and synthesizers and their sound, working with the interface and in general everything related to keyboards leaves pleasant impression. The same problems with the dynamics, otherwise it's great.

Drums. The program has just a drum kit, automatic Smart Drums and already recorded grooves. Friends, drums were done in one day. I could end here, but still I will describe: in the mode drum set snare drum (lead drum, huh?) plays quietly and sometimes gives out something tolerable according to the mood. Hitting the cymbal makes the pedal twitch nervously, and my attempt to record a shuffle ended (attention!) with GarageBand itself (!) shifting all my weak beats into strong ones. The program has a decent amount of already recorded drum tracks and my blues is not lost. I'm incredibly upset that I had to turn to the samples, but there's nothing to be done. Smart Drums are the already described "Create a Random Song" with the illusion of creativity. No, thanks.

guitar amp. Apple has courageously crammed a feature into their software that can't be used without third-party accessories. That's bad luck, all third-party companies have written "their Garage Band" for their own accessories. It is unlikely that anyone will use this feature. But the developers didn't even bother to license virtual amplifiers - Garage Band is written on what should be Orange.

The program also has a microphone and a sampler, but I do not think that these functions are of any interest to anyone. In general, you won’t play - except to record the vocals for the song.

In general, it's hard for me to imagine a musician who actually uses GarageBand. He will not play with such an application, it will not work in it.

You can see in the picture that I couldn't record all the solos at once, I never managed to play everything cleanly and without mistakes. I constantly forgot that the bends here are only semitones, the fingers broke into neighboring notes and the phrases ended on nothing.

Summary - Garage Band Blues

When I woke up the morning after the release of the program, I decided to record the blues using the Garage Band. To be honest, I counted on at least 3 squares, but the solo recording exhausted me so much and required so much time and effort that I limited myself to one. I didn’t have enough for turnaround either, I just looped the transition.

You will listen to the blues later, but for now you can read the blues, since the picture is really sad.

In general, the program sometimes podglyuchivaet and freezes. For some reason, you can not cut the tracks on the left - only on the right. Rewriting occurs according to incomprehensible logic. But these are all small and not too scary bugs that will disappear, I'm sure, very soon.

For beginners, the program is a game. A game that, as I suspect, will quickly get bored, and, despite its unusualness, is unlikely to compete with any Angry Birds. I compare these two applications quite consciously, and I don’t think that someone will seriously exchange new compositions with friends, novice musicians, share noticed chips and wait for updates. They play and forget.

Coming up with scenarios for using GarageBand for musicians is also difficult for me. Apps with Guitar Amp features have existed before, everyone who needed them bought them. burn musical idea on the road it will not be so easy due to the poor implementation of the tools. Hardly anyone will write music, even electronic music, on the iPad.