11.1. Trouble with Loops

11.1. Trouble with Loops

Loops, as described in Chapter 2, are among the greatest joys of GarageBand. So when they don't work, they're among the biggest disappointments.

11.1.1. Your Loop Browser is Empty

Adding more loops to GarageBand isn't just a matter of stuffing them into a certain folder on your hard drive. You also have to make GarageBand aware of them. To do that, you force GarageBand to index any new loops, building an internal card catalog of which loops you have and where they're stored.

If anything goes wrong with GarageBand's loop index, you may discover that all of the buttons in the Loop browser are dimmed and no loops appear in its list. Other wackiness can result, too, like loops that exist in name only or simply misbehave.

In all of these situations, the solution is to rebuild the GarageBand loop index. You do it like this:

1. Quit GarageBand. In the Finder, open your hard drive window. Then open the Library Audio Apple Loops Index folder (see Figure 11-1, top) .

   Inside, you'll see the actual text files that constitute your current index.

   

   Figure 11-1. Top: You've found your secret stash of index files, buried deep within the GarageBand folder. If you're having loop problems, throw them away; Garage- Band will recreate better ones. (Note that GarageBand 2's loops aren't in the same place they were in in GarageBand 1.)
   Bottom: Garage-Band, too, knows that you've fooled with its indexes.

   
   

2. Drag the index files to the Trash .

   GarageBand will rebuild fresh, healthy ones in just a moment.

3. Open GarageBand and click the Loop Browser (eyeball) button .

   GarageBand suddenly realizes that it has no loops, and shows the dialog box at bottom in Figure 11-1.

4. In the No Apple Loops Found dialog box, click OK .

   Now return to the Finder.

5. Open your hard drive Library Audio folder again. Drag the Apple Loops folder directly into any visible portion of GarageBands Loop browser .

   GarageBand dutifully recreates its loop index, based on the current location and contents of that Loops folder.

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Note: If you've installed any Jam Packs, drag their folders (also in the Library Application Support GarageBand folder) into the Loop browser, too.

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Figure 11-2. If you don't seem to be seeing all of your loops, it's possible that you're viewing only one of your loop sets. Loops that came with GarageBand, loops that came with a Jam Pack, and loops that you've created yourself are all listed separately in this subtle pop-up menu.

It shows you only the loops that fit your song's time signature, and hides the rest. (They wouldn't sound right anyway.) If your song is in 7/4 time, for example, you won't see any loops at all . The vast majority of Apple loops are in 4/4 time.

It shows you only the loops that fit your song's key , or are close to it. See Section 2.4 for details, and for the workaround.

Remember that each time you open GarageBand, you see only 30 loop buttons. But you can drag the prominent, dark gray, brushed-metal divider bar upward, using the spot on either side of the time display as a handle, to reveal 24 more.

By Control-clicking individual buttons in the Loop browser, it's possible to choose new identities for the buttons you see here. That's a great feature, because it means that you can put the buttons you consider important in more easily reached positions .

Of course, it also means that you (or some meddlesome interloper) can duplicate buttons, hide buttons, and so on.

If you suspect that something's amiss, choose GarageBand Preferences. Click the General button, and then click the Reset button at the bottom of the dialog box. All buttons return to their original Apple factory-set positions.