Exploring the Timeline

The Timeline is the largest portion of the GarageBand window. It contains tracks where you can record both Software Instruments and Real Instruments. You can also add loops of prerecorded musical parts and arrange the different regions to create a finished song.

The Timeline includes the following controls:

• Playhead Shows exactly what part of the song is currently playing. The playhead is a triangle (with a red vertical line underneath) on the Beat Ruler. You also use the playhead to determine where to cut, copy, and paste music regions within the Timeline.

• Beat Ruler Shows musical time in beats and measures. Click anywhere in the Beat Ruler to move the playhead to that position.

• Tracks Contain recordings of the Real Instrument or Software Instrument parts. They can also contain loops of prerecorded musical parts from the Loop Browser called Apple Loops.

• Timeline Grid button Lets you choose the note value of the Timeline grid, or you can choose Automatic so the value will change as you zoom in to and out of the Timeline.

• Regions Display the individual musical parts that are either pre-recorded loops or parts that you record using Real Instruments and Software Instruments. Each prerecorded loop, Software Instrument, or Real Instrument part you record is represented in the Timeline as a separate region that is color-coded according to type. Regions can be moved, copied, cut, and pasted, as well as extended or looped, in the Timeline. Software Instruments and Apple Loops can be edited and transposed in the Track Editor.

• Volume curves Graphically represent the volume within a track. You can dynamically change the volume of a track for different parts of a song using control points along the Volume curve.

• Pan curves Graphically represent the left-to-right panning of a track within the stereo field. You can dynamically change panning for different parts of a song using control points along the Pan curve. Pan curves are a new feature in GarageBand 2.

• Master track Lets you change the volume, pitch, and effects for the overall song. You can dynamically adjust the Volume curve in the Master track just as you can for individual tracks, but adjustments to the Master track's Volume curve affect all of the tracks in the Timeline. New with GarageBand 2, you can also dynamically adjust the Master pitch to transpose (change the key of) the project.

• Playhead Lock button Locks (gangs) the playheads in the Timeline and Track Editor together, or unlocks them to show different sections of the song at the same time.

• Scroll bars Let you see a different part of the song in the Timeline. Click and drag the horizontal scroll bar to move horizontally in the Timeline. Use the vertical scroll bar to move vertically.