GarageBand for Mac Interactive Tutorial
Guided beginner course · GarageBand for Mac
Record and edit a two-bar instrument phrase on a Mac, extend it into eight bars and export a listening copy.
Based on Apple’s GarageBand for Mac 10.4.14 guide, checked 27 October 2026. These are Mac desktop instructions, not iPhone/iPad instructions. The course uses Musical Typing and an available built-in patch.
Before you start
- GarageBand for Mac installed with an available software-instrument patch and working playback.
- Your Mac keyboard and a folder for the saved project and export; a microphone or external MIDI keyboard is unnecessary for this exercise.
- Optional practice audio for separate listening. No MIDI-file import or third-party plug-in is required.
Work in a practice project and keep the supplied files together. The checks on this page record your answers and your own confirmation that you tried the exercise.
Practice lab: listen, mix and download
Start with the same two parts: a beat and a simple melody. Both are eight bars of 4/4 at 120 BPM—16 seconds each. The pack also includes MIDI notes and three drum one-shots.
Original DeviceCritique synthesized teaching audio. Your DAW instrument can sound different; the exercise is about timing, editing, balance and a complete export.
The full-length WAVs are mono, 44.1 kHz / 16-bit. Unzip the pack for MIDI and kick, snare and closed-hat samples. Keep a copy of your editable DAW project as well as your final audio file.
Try the balance here
Play the two stems together. Lower the melody to hear the beat on its own, then bring it back. Use the same listening decision in your DAW.
Press Play when you are ready to listen.
Lesson 1 of 8
Choose where the music comes out
By the end: Identify the playback device before recording notes.
Choose the listening destination before recording notes. This course uses a software instrument and your Mac keyboard, so microphone gain and guitar amplification can wait.
Open the right settings
Choose GarageBand → Settings, then click Audio/MIDI. Find Output Device and select the installed Core Audio device connected to your headphones or speakers. Audio/MIDI settings.
Distinguish input and output
The input device is the source for audio recording; the output is the listening destination. Our note-playing exercise does not need a new microphone source. Keep the listening volume comfortable before trying unfamiliar patches.
Set a modest goal
Plan to hear one sound, capture four notes and finish with an audio file you can play elsewhere. Leave downloaded sound packs and extra plug-ins out of this first pass so each stage has one clear job.
Check your project: You can name the chosen Output Device and explain why this exercise does not require microphone input.
If your result is different
If you later hear nothing from every patch, return to Output Device first. The New Track dialog also links to that setting through “I hear sound from.” Track output setting.
Lesson 2 of 8
Start a named 120 BPM project
By the end: Create a new project and establish a clear musical ruler.
Build eight bars at 120 BPM in 4/4 from a two-bar phrase. Save a named project first, then read the ruler’s boundaries before attempting the recording.
Create the project
Choose File → New, select a simple project template and click Choose. Save with File → Save, entering a name and location on the first save. Create and save projects.
Enter the tempo
In the LCD’s display menu, choose Beats & Project. Double-click the tempo number and enter 120. This is the musical pace, not the audio sample rate. Tempo in the LCD.
Read the bar boundaries
Confirm 4/4 in the project’s time-signature display. Locate bars 1, 3 and 9 in the ruler: the first two-bar phrase runs to bar 3; eight bars run to bar 9. Project time signature.
Check your project: The named project shows 120 BPM and a 4/4 ruler whose two-bar and eight-bar boundaries you can identify.
If your result is different
If the LCD shows only clock time, choose Beats & Project before looking for the tempo. The number at a bar’s beginning marks a boundary, so count the intervals between numbers.
Lesson 3 of 8
Play a patch with the Mac keyboard
By the end: Choose a software-instrument track and use Musical Typing.
An instrument track generates sound from notes; an audio track records incoming sound. Choose the former, then audition a patch before asking Record to remember the performance.
Create the correct track
Choose Track → New Track or click Add Track above the headers. Select Software Instrument and click Create. The Library opens for patch selection. Create a software-instrument track.
Open the playing keys
Select that track and choose Window → Show Musical Typing. Use the displayed note keys to play; its octave controls shift the available range. Try four separate notes with a short gap between them. Musical Typing.
Choose one sound
Audition two available patches with the same four notes. Keep the one whose start and release you can hear most easily. Record its name in a note so you can identify the exercise when you reopen it.
Check your project: The displayed keyboard keys play your chosen patch on the selected software-instrument track.
If your result is different
If the keys do not play the intended instrument, select the correct track again. Musical Typing sends note input to the selected software instrument; an audio track serves a different purpose. Selected-track requirement.
Lesson 4 of 8
Record a phrase worth editing
By the end: Capture four notes as a MIDI region.
Capture four notes across two bars, leaving breathing room before the ending. A slightly uneven take is still useful editing material; first establish that recording and playback work.
Prepare the start
Select the software-instrument track and move the playhead to bar 1. Set the metronome and count-in if you want a steady lead-in. Confirm Musical Typing still plays the chosen sound. Recording preparation.
Capture the notes
Click Record in the control bar and play the phrase through Musical Typing. Keep the wanted notes inside the first two bars, then click Stop around bar 3. The performance appears as a MIDI region. Record software instruments.
Hear the recorded version
Return to bar 1 and play without pressing the note keys. Listen for the four intended notes. Choose one start that could move and one note that could end sooner; those are concrete editing goals for the next lesson.
Check your project: A visible MIDI region contains the performance and plays it without new key presses.
If your result is different
If no region was created, check the selected track and the Record step. Hearing a patch during rehearsal is different from capturing a take. Record and Stop workflow.
Lesson 5 of 8
Improve timing and note length
By the end: Edit notes and prepare a clean two-bar region.
Keep the sound unchanged while adjusting one note’s start and another note’s ending. Listen between edits so you can explain an improvement rather than just redraw the performance.
Open the note editor
Double-click the recorded MIDI region to show the Piano Roll Editor. Find the notes inside the region before dragging anything. Open Piano Roll.
Make the two edits
Click one note and drag left or right to change its time position. Drag the edge of a note to change its duration. Play back after each movement and keep the version that serves your phrase. Move and resize notes.
Set the phrase boundary
In the Tracks area, use the region’s lower-right edge and Resize pointer to end it at bar 3. Keep the wanted notes inside the two-bar span. Resize a region.
Check your project: The two-bar region has one deliberate note-position edit and one duration edit you can hear.
If your result is different
If dragging repeats the region instead of shortening it, you reached the upper-right Loop handle. Use the lower edge to resize the region, and the Piano Roll note edge to resize one note.
Lesson 6 of 8
Turn two bars into eight
By the end: Loop the region and set the track’s output level.
Repeat the phrase into eight bars and listen at the joins. Revise an awkward source ending before changing the level or adding effects that distract from it.
Use the Loop handle
Hover over the region’s upper-right edge. When the Loop pointer appears, drag to bar 9. The original two-bar region now repeats through eight bars. Watch the notches that mark complete repetitions. Loop regions.
Inspect the repeated joins
Play from bar 1 through the last repetition. Listen closely at bars 3, 5 and 7. If the same awkward ending returns each time, revise the source notes or the original region boundary rather than treating every repetition as a separate accident.
Choose a level
Drag the track header’s Volume slider left or right while listening. Resize the header if the slider is hidden. Compare two levels and keep the one that is comfortable and clear. Track volume levels.
Check your project: The region repeats to bar 9 and plays at a deliberate output level.
If your result is different
If you added silence instead of repetitions, you used the Resize handle. A MIDI region can be lengthened with silence; the upper-right Loop handle repeats its existing contents. Resize behaviour · Loop behaviour.
Lesson 7 of 8
Export a section you can check elsewhere
By the end: Keep the project and make a WAVE listening copy.
Future-you needs editable notes; a listener needs audio. Save the project and deliberately mark the export range, then check the delivered file rather than only the session.
Save the editable work
Choose File → Save. Keep the project for future note and patch changes; exporting will create a separate file. Project save.
Mark the listening section
Drag in the top part of the ruler from bar 1 to bar 9 to create the yellow cycle area. Adjust its edges if needed. Cycle mode must be on for this export-range route. Cycle area controls.
Export the audio
Choose Share → Export Song to Disk. Set a name/location, select WAVE and a quality setting. Select Export cycle area, or length of selected regions, then click Export. Play the result outside GarageBand. Song export procedure.
Check your project: The project is saved and an exported WAVE file plays the intended sketch outside GarageBand.
If your result is different
If only a short selected region exports, inspect whether Cycle is on and the yellow area spans the intended section. The checkbox uses selected-region length when Cycle is off. Export-range behaviour.
Lesson 8 of 8
Make a second idea with less guidance
By the end: Complete another sketch and explain one improvement.
Make another sketch with a different rhythm or patch. Keep the workflow small enough to finish. The page records your acknowledgement; it does not inspect your GarageBand session automatically.
Set a tiny brief
Choose a mood word and one difference from the first phrase: more space, a shorter ending or a different note order. Keep 120 BPM and the two-bar building block so you can focus on that one change.
Build and listen
Create a new project, choose a software-instrument patch and record through Musical Typing. Make a timing edit and a duration edit, then loop the phrase to eight bars. Listen to a join before deciding the arrangement is done.
Deliver and describe
Save the project and export the intended cycle area as WAVE. Listen outside GarageBand and write one sentence about what the new version does differently. Use the official recording/export pages where you need a reminder. Recording reference · Export reference.
Check your project: A second editable project and listening file exist, with an intentional difference you can describe.
If your result is different
If you need help, name the stage that failed: audible patch, recorded region, edited notes, repeating phrase or exported audio. Revisit that lesson rather than starting a third unfinished project.
A little loop with a proper finish
Create a new eight-bar sketch with a deliberate rhythm or sound change. Record, edit, loop, save and export it. Confirm the listening copy independently before marking the project complete.
- Musical Typing plays the intended software instrument.
- A new MIDI region contains the performed phrase.
- One note’s timing and one note’s duration were deliberately edited.
- The original two-bar region repeats through eight bars.
- The project reopens and the exported WAVE plays the intended section elsewhere.
You have recorded your practice checks and answered the knowledge questions. Keep your editable project and listen through your exported version once more.
Official manuals and lessons used for this course
Documentation-based instruction, checked 27 October 2026. Progress and quiz answers stay in this browser. Use the checkpoint descriptions to assess your own DAW project. The original practice audio demonstrates an exercise; it is separate from the manufacturer interface reference.