Apple GarageBand '09 - Manual (Page 63)

Chapter 6 Tutorial 4: Playing and Recording Software Instruments 63
4 To start recording, click the Record button.
5 Start playing your music keyboard, clicking notes on the onscreen music keyboard, or
using Musical Typing. As you record, a new region appears in the selected Software
Instrument track.
6 When you’re finished, click the Record button again to stop recording. Click the Play
button to stop the project playing.
After you record, you can listen to your new recorded part to see how you like it.
To hear the new recording:
1 Move the playhead to the point in the timeline where the new region starts (align it
with the left edge of the region).
You can also move the playhead to an earlier point in the project, or to the beginning
of the project, to hear the new recording in the context of the project.
2 Click the Play button, or press the Space bar.
Merging Software Instrument Recordings
You can record a Software Instrument using the cycle region. When you record a
Software Instrument using the cycle region, by default a new take is recorded each
time the cycle region repeats, just like recording a Real Instrument. You can change the
default behavior so that Software Instrument recordings using the cycle region are
merged into a single take. This can be particularly useful when you record drum kits
and other layered parts.
To have GarageBand merge Software Instrument recordings:
1 Choose GarageBand > Preferences.
2 In the General tab, click the checkbox for Cycle Recording.
For information on recording using a cycle region, see “Recording Multiple Takes with
the Cycle Region” on page 54.
Play button
Cycle button
Record button