- On-Screen Keyboards
- External Instruments
- Choosing a GB Instrument
- Recording Options
- Recording a Track
On-Screen Keyboards
GarageBand offers two types of on-screen keyboards. Both can be used to record tracks. These are not advanced enough to allow you to perform a complicated piano piece, but they do allow you to record simple melody and harmony lines.
The first type of keyboard often appears automatically when you begin a new song. Simply click on the keys to play. To bring up the keyboard at any time, select Keyboard in the Window menu.
The smaller keyboard inset in the top of the window allows you to choose what octave to use. The blue section highlights the area of the keyboard that you are currently using. The small grey arrows on either side of the larger keyboard also allow you to move up and down an octave. The numbers on the keyboard also denote octaves.
| Note to pianists (and others familiar with a piano keyboard) : The GarageBand on-screen keyboards have more octaves than a standard piano, going both higher and lower. C0 is the lowest C that would normally be on a piano keyboard. C3 corresponds to middle C. |
Another way to record melody and harmony lines is with Musical Typing. This keyboard allows you to make more adjustments as you play. To bring up this type of keyboard, select Musical Typing in the Window menu.
Again, the small inset keyboard can be used to change the octave, along with the Z and X keys. Unfortunately, you can only play in one octave at a time.
Advanced adjustments : Press the tab key to turn sustain on/off. The 1 and 2 keys adjust the pitch up or down as long as you hold the key. Press the 4-8 keys to adjust modulation as you would with a mod wheel; press 3 to turn modulation off. C and V adjust the velocity (i.e. how hard you "press" the keys).
Watch the video
On-Screen Keyboards
dial-up | broadband
flash movie
Entire Tutorial
