Apple GarageBand 2.0 - Manual (Page 42)

42 Chapter 6 Working With Real Instruments
To turn monitoring on or off for a Real Instrument track:
1 Select a Real Instrument track, then click the Track Info button to open the Track Info
window.
2 Choose “On” or “Off” from the Monitoring pop-up menu.
Turning on monitoring can produce feedback (loud, sharp noise) if the audio input
picks up the sound being output through your speakers. This is the reason monitoring
is off by default. You may want to turn off monitoring for a Real Instrument track when
you are not singing into the microphone or playing the instrument connected to the
track. If you are recording multiple Real Instrument tracks, be sure to turn off
monitoring when you finish recording a track to prevent feedback.
Getting Ready to Record
Once you have connected your instrument and added a track to record in, there are a
few things to check before you start recording:
• Make sure the microphone or instrument is connected properly and is working.
• Make sure the correct audio drivers are selected in the Audio/MIDI pane of
GarageBand Preferences.
• Open the Track Info window to make sure the instrument has the instrument and
effects settings you want, and is using the correct input channel (or pair of channels).
See “Changing Real Instrument Settings” on page 45 for more information.
• Sing or play a few notes and watch the track's level meters in the track mixer to make
sure the track is receiving input, and isn't clipping. If the red dots at the right of the
level meters (called clipping indicators) light up, try dragging the volume slider to the
left a little to lower the input volume.
• You may want to set the song tempo and key before recording a Real Instrument.
Real Instrument recordings are fixed in tempo and key, unlike loops and Software
Instrument recordings, and cannot be changed after they are recorded.
Recording a Real Instrument
Now you’re ready to record your Real Instrument. You can record one Real Instrument
track at a time.
To record a Real Instrument:
1 Click the header of the Real Instrument track you want to record in to select the track.
2 Move the playhead to the point in the timeline where you want to start recording.
3 Choose Control > Count In to have the metronome play a one-measure count-in before
recording starts. You can also set the playhead a few beats before the point where you
want the music to come in to make it easier to start playing on the beat.