- On-Screen Keyboards
- External Instruments
- Choosing a GB Instrument
- Recording Options
- Recording a Track
Editing Software Instruments
Software Instruments record every note of a performance individually, giving you more flexibility when editing. You can edit each individual note's pitch and length, along with cutting, copying, and pasting.
To begin, select the Software Instrument track you want to edit and click on the Track Editor button. The Track Editor display will be much different from the display with the Real Instrument track.
Here, you have two display options: graphic view and notation view. The two boxes in the lower left corner of the editor window allow you to choose which view you'd like (see right). |
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Graphic view displays your track as a series of bars:
Each bar represents a note. The longer the bar, the longer the note lasts. The bar's left/right position tells where the note occurs within your track. The bar's up/down position affects pitch.
Click on a bar to hear the note. You can click on each bar and drag it to a new place within the track and/or to a new pitch (the note will play as you adjust the pitch).
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You can also adjust the length of a bar. When you place the cursor at the right end of a bar, it will become the resize cursor (see left). Drag the end of the bar to its desired length. |
If you are familiar with musical notation, you may also want to edit your Software Instrument track in notation view. This view displays the track on a staff in standard musical notation.
You can also drag a note to a new position in the track or up and down to a new pitch. Also, when you click on a note, a green bar will appear to its right. This tells how long the note lasts, just like in graphic view. To adjust this, just resize the bar.
Remember : Notation view is NOT perfect! Programs specifically designed to transcribe and create musical scores are available; GarageBand is not one of them! For example, here is the section of Mozart's Fantasie No. 3 in D minor that I recorded in the Software Instrument track example above. Notice that the track editor does not register the same notation as my original sheet music; even many of the note and rest lengths display differently.
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You can also copy, cut, and paste Software Instrument tracks. In graphic or notation view, highlight the desired area by clicking and dragging a box around the notes or bars. Now, in the Edit menu, select Copy or Cut.
Note: When you cut a portion of a Software Instrument track, it will leave a silent gap for that portion of the original track. Even if you cut the notes at the end of a track, silence will be left behind.
You can paste a selection into an existing Software Instrument track by positioning the red progress line where you would like the selection to be inserted. Click on Edit - Paste. If you would rather paste your selection as a new track, click in the track line where you'd like it to go. Now, click on Edit - Paste to insert the selection.
Watch the video
Editing Software Instrument Tracks
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flash movie
Entire Tutorial
