BP12b_practical experience

Well, it took the better part of a week, but I got through all of the Lynda.com tutorials on GarageBand! This program is very intuitive when you get to know it. It’s not unlike a non-linear video editing application.

I’ve progressed well beyond the magic GarageBand introduction and I have begun adding to my little song some elements from the loop library. One thing I found out was that our Macbooks didn’t come with a full install of GarageBand and I had to go to Apple to download the complete set of instruments and loops. It took some time as it was a good 1.25GB in size, but it’s well worth it in terms of variety and functionality. I was able to find a good “conga” loop in the percussion section of the loop library. GarageBand has very powerful tools to edit each instrument. It’s truly amazing – a complete recording studio on my notebook! There’s a lot that I have yet to explore. To get really deep into it, I’ll need a MIDI controller and a USB interface to plug my bass into. The MIDI controller will give greater control in playing the virtual instruments and the USB interface will allow me to experiment with recording a real instrument. I think I can acquire these for about $100 US. Another feature that fascinates me is the new Electric Guitar tracks. A user can use a USB interface with an electric guitar and has access to an amazing variety of virtual guitar amps and effect pedals. I can see this getting somewhat addicting!

I’m astonished by the versatility of GarageBand. One feature that I wasn’t aware of allows the user to enhance the narration of podcasts. I like this as I, like many people, am not to wild about the way my recorded voice sounds. This could be used for voice morphing as well. But the most exciting feature for me is the Movie Score feature. I wanted to use GarageBand because the stock music files in imovie are beginning to get a bit stale for me. I wanted a way to create unique music for my projects. This feature allows the user to drag a movie file into GarageBand and compose the entire audio score in GarageBand. Not just music, but sound effects as well. I look forward to utilizing this tool extensively. I’m glad I chose to get to know this program! It’s been an eye opener and I’m very pleased with the surprises that this program continues to have in store for me!