Recording Software Instruments

When you connect a music keyboard to your Mac, you unlock a symphony's worth of software instruments that you can play and record. There are pianos and keyboards and guitars of all kinds. There are synthesizers, strings, a flute, and some horns. And there are some drums you just can't beat.

As the following pages describe, you can edit your recordings and use effects to refine your tracks. You can even create completely new instruments of your own design.

If you don't have a music keyboard and don't want to spend a fortune on one, check out the offerings from M-Audio (www.m-audio.com). Its Keystation 61es is a 61-key (five octave) keyboard that sells for under $200. Its "semi-weighted" action gives it a piano-like feel, and its keyboard is velocity sensitive: it measures how hard each key is pressed. Most of GarageBand's software instruments respond to this velocity information, changing their loudness and other characteristics to allow you to play (and record) with expression.

You can also use a costlier keyboard that requires a separate MIDI interface. (MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, and is a standard for interconnecting electronic instruments and computers. Think of it as USB with a music degree.) Pricier keyboards often provide weighted actiontheir keys respond like a piano's instead of like an organ's, and thus feel more natural to experienced pianists. You'll also find more keysup to 88 of them.

Recording a Software Instrument

Step 1.	Create a new track. Click the New Track button ( ) or choose New Track from the Track menu (Option -N).
Step 2.	In the New Track dialog box, click Software Instrument, then click OK or press Return. Tip You can try out the selected instrument by playing keys on your music keyboard or by clicking the on-screen keys in GarageBand's Keyboard or Musical Typing windows (see page 333).
Step 4.	Get ready. Position the playhead a few measures before where you want to begin recording. To give yourself time to get ready, choose Count In from the Control menu.
Step 5.	Hit it. Click the Record button ( ) or press the R key. To stop recording, press the spacebar or click the Play button ( ).

Notes and Tips

Watch your playing. As you record, GarageBand displays the new region (and its notes, in piano-roll style) in the timeline. Display the track editor for the current track, and your performance appears as you playeven in music notation.

Recording in an existing track. The instructions at left assume you're starting a brand-new track. You can, of course, also record in an existing software instrument track. Just select the track's header to enable it for recording. To change the track's instrumentbefore or after you recorddouble-click the track header to display the Track Info pane.

Multitrack recording. You can record one software instrument track and some real instrument tracks at the same time: record a vocal while you play, or record a couple of acoustic instrumentalists. For details, see page 338.

Anatomy of a Music Keyboard

Like many keyboards, M-Audio's Keystation 61es contains no sound-generating circuitry. When you play, the keyboard transmits MIDI data that describes which keys you pressed, how hard, and for how long. Keyboards that lack sound-generating circuitry are often called controllers.

Most keyboards can accept an optional foot pedal that plugs into the back of the keyboard and acts like a piano's sustain pedal. If you frequently play piano software instruments, you'll want a pedal. Some keyboards also accept a volume pedal that many software instruments respond to, giving you more expressive options.

Adjust Your Sensitivity