Mac Time Waster - GarageBand

[Yuri_Rage]

I've been messing around quite a bit with Mac software via the OSx86 project (legally...I have a license for a single copy of Leopard). My latest time waster is GarageBand. My initial impression was, "oh, just another crappy sequencing app." But...wow is this thing powerful! It interfaces with SWMBO's Yamaha keyboard that just happens to have a built in USB MIDI controller and will lay down anything I play on sheet music. It records real vocals, acoustic and electric guitar (or anything with a pickup) in a rather rudimentary yet quite versatile series of sound bytes. To top it all off, I can point and click on a virtual piece of staff paper to compose original scores. It's got a handful of canned loops and virtual instruments that are certainly enough to get anyone started. I'm either easily impressed, well behind the times, or perhaps GarageBand is actually as cool as I think it is.

Here's a simple little tune I whipped up in an hour or two after discovering the wonders of GarageBand. We'll call it The Who goes 80's with a really amateur lead guitarist who can't handle chord changes.

Yuri's first hack at GarageBand

 

[Flyin' Lion]

I don't use it, but SWMBO edits music for her dance recitals on it--that's one of the reasons we buy Macs in the first place.

Seriously, she can cut and splice "inappropriate" language out of just about any song, which opens up a lot of options for music used in a three-year-old's dance, without anyone ever being the wiser.

 

[944play]

I made this in GarageBand:
http://www.johnwhipple.net/music/cheease.guitar.mp3

 

[ChshreCat]

Seriously, she can cut and splice "inappropriate" language out of just about any song, which opens up a lot of options for music used in a three-year-old's dance, without anyone ever being the wiser.

So, the average Eminem song would last about 12 seconds?

I've created music using Acid Pro. Sort of like Garage Band on steroids. And it runs in Windows.

 

[Brewsmith]

I use Logic Audio. The software used to be owned by Emagic, then Apple bought the company and used the software architecture to create Garage Band. I mostly use it for demos of compositions and arrangements.

I recorded dialogue for a puppet sketch adapted from the famous "Who's On First?" routine. Here's a silly remix I did using the audio from the sketch and my Roland JV 2080 synth all recorded and mixed in Logic

Who's On First Remix