Change the LCD display in GarageBand
05/24/2013
In GarageBand, click the icon on the left side of the LCD at the bottom of the window to show Chord, Time, Measures, or Tempo.
Change a track icon in GarageBand
05/03/2013
In GarageBand, to change a track icon, select the track, then click the Track Info button, then click the track icon and choose a new one.
Show the Loop Browser in GarageBand
04/04/2013
In GarageBand, to show the Loop Browser, choose Control> Show Loop Browser, or press Command-L.
Show piano notation for the right hand in GarageBand
03/23/2013
In GarageBand, while taking a Learn to Play piano lesson, press the 4 key to show notation for the right hand.
Move forward in a GarageBand project
03/16/2013
In GarageBand, press the Right Arrow key to move forward in a project.
Move up one octave in Musical Typing in GarageBand
02/24/2013
In GarageBand, when playing a Software Instrument using Musical Typing, press X to move up one octave.
Delete a selected track in GarageBand
02/12/2013
In GarageBand, to delete a selected track, choose Track> Delete Track, or press Command-Delete.
Jump to the end of the selected region in GarageBand
01/19/2013
In GarageBand, to jump to the end of the selected region, press Function-Control-Right Arrow.
Quickly raise track volume in GarageBand
01/05/2013
In GarageBand on a Mac with a Multi-Touch trackpad, select a track then rotate clockwise to raise its volume.
Move forward by the visible width of the timeline in GarageBand
12/30/2012
In GarageBand, press Page Down (Fn-Down Arrow) to move forward by the visible width of the project timeline.
Show or hide the Track Editor in GarageBand
11/27/2012
In GarageBand, press Command-E to show or hide the Track Editor for the selected track.
Create a new track in GarageBand
11/08/2012
In GarageBand, to create a new track in a project, press Command-Option-N.
Turn the metronome on or off in a GarageBand lesson
10/15/2012
In GarageBand, when playing a Learn to Play lesson, click the metronome icon in the control bar to turn it on or off.
Quickly reset balance levels in GarageBand
10/07/2012
In GarageBand, Option-click a track's balance knob to quickly reset its value back to zero.
View glossary topics in a Learn to Play lesson in GarageBand
09/25/2012
In GarageBand, to view glossary topics in a Learn to Play lesson, click the Glossary button in the upper-right area of the lesson window.
Quickly mute or unmute a track in GarageBand
09/02/2012
In GarageBand, to quickly mute or unmute a track, select the track, then press the M key on your keyboard.
Move down one octave in Musical Typing in GarageBand
08/08/2012
In GarageBand, when playing a Software Instrument using Musical Typing, press Z to move down one octave.
Show or hide automation curves in GarageBand
07/31/2012
In GarageBand, to show or hide the automation curves for a selected track, press the A key on your keyboard.
Move forward in larger increments in a GarageBand project
07/21/2012
In GarageBand, press Option-Right Arrow to move forward in larger increments in a project.
Zoom out in GarageBand
07/14/2012
In GarageBand, press Option-Control-Left Arrow to zoom out.
Show piano notation for the left hand in GarageBand
07/07/2012
In GarageBand, while taking a Learn to Play piano lesson, press the 3 key to show notation for the left hand.
Raise a note by one semitone in GarageBand
07/01/2012
In GarageBand, when viewing the musical score, to raise a note by one semitone, click the note in the staff then press the Up Arrow key.
Quickly jump to the end of the timeline in GarageBand
06/24/2012
In GarageBand, to quickly jump to the end of the timeline, press Option-Z.
Show or hide the podcast track in GarageBand
06/19/2012
When making a podcast in GarageBand, press Command-Shift-B to show or hide the podcast track.
Quickly solo or unsolo a track in GarageBand
06/09/2012
In GarageBand, to quickly solo or unsolo a track, select the track, then press the S key on your keyboard.
Loop a region continuously in GarageBand
06/04/2012
In GarageBand, to loop a region continuously, select the region in the timeline, then press the O (not zero) key, or choose Control> Loop Region.
Move back in a GarageBand project
05/26/2012
In GarageBand, press the Left Arrow key to move back in a project.
Transpose notes up one octave in a GarageBand musical score
05/12/2012
In score view in GarageBand, click a staff note to select it then press Shift-Up Arrow to transpose the note up one octave.
Reposition a button in the Loop Browser in GarageBand
05/06/2012
In GarageBand, to reposition an instrument or genre button in the Loop Browser, click and drag it to another location.
Move notes forward one measure in GarageBand
04/29/2012
In score view in GarageBand, select some notes, then press Shift-Right Arrow to move the selected notes forward one measure in the score.
Join regions in GarageBand
04/06/2012
In GarageBand, to join multiple Software Instrument regions into a single region, select the regions and choose Edit> Join.
Turn sustain on and off in GarageBand
03/30/2012
In GarageBand, when playing a Software Instrument using Musical Typing, press Tab to turn sustain on and off.
Send a song to iTunes from GarageBand
03/21/2012
In GarageBand, after finishing a project, to send it as a song to your iTunes library, choose Share> Send Song to iTunes.
Raise the master volume in GarageBand
03/10/2012
In GarageBand, press Command-Up Arrow to raise the current project's master volume.
Choose the next higher guitar preset in GarageBand
02/25/2012
In GarageBand, press comma (,) when recording in an electric guitar track to choose next higher guitar preset.
Jump to the beginning of the selected region in GarageBand
02/14/2012
In GarageBand, to jump to the beginning of the selected region, press Function-Control-Left Arrow.
Unmute all tracks in GarageBand
01/21/2012
In GarageBand, to unmute all tracks, Option-click any track's Mute button.
Show piano notation for both hands in GarageBand
12/21/2011
In GarageBand, while in a Learn to Play piano lesson, press the 5 key to show notation for both hands, left and right.
Add an automatic fade-out to a project in GarageBand
11/17/2011
In GarageBand, to add an automatic fade-out to a project, gradually fading the sound to silence, choose Track> Fade Out.
Delete a region and move all following regions to the left in GarageBand
09/30/2011
In GarageBand, to delete a selected region and move all following regions in the same track to the left, choose Edit> Delete and Move.
Choose the next lower guitar preset in GarageBand
09/09/2011
In GarageBand, press period (.) when recording in an electric guitar track to choose the next lower guitar preset.
Use a Keynote slide as an image in a podcast in GarageBand
07/25/2011
In GarageBand, to use a Keynote slide as an image in a podcast, drag and drop the slide's thumbnail from Keynote into the Podcast Track in GarageBand.
Duplicate a note in score view in GarageBand
07/13/2011
In GarageBand, to duplicate a note in score view, press Option then drag the note head to a new position within the music notation.
Slow down a "Learn to Play" lesson in GarageBand
06/30/2011
In GarageBand, when playing a "Learn to Play" lesson, drag the Speed slider in the bottom control bar to the left to slow down the lesson playback.
Move back by the visible width of the timeline in GarageBand
06/13/2011
In GarageBand, press Page Up (Fn-Up Arrow) to move back by the visible width of the project timeline.
Adjust a track's volume slider in finer increments in GarageBand
05/28/2011
In GarageBand, to adjust a track's volume level in finer increments, hold down the Shift key while you drag its volume slider.
Lower the master volume in GarageBand
05/16/2011
In GarageBand, press Command-Down Arrow to lower the current project's master volume.
Add notes to notation in GarageBand
04/28/2011
In score view in GarageBand, to add notes to the notation, first choose a note value from the Insert pop-up menu then Command-click in the staff to add it.
Duplicate a track in GarageBand
03/22/2011
In GarageBand, to duplicate a track, creating a new track with the same instrument and effect settings, select it and choose Track> Duplicate Track.
Quickly lower track volume in GarageBand
03/15/2011
In GarageBand on a Mac with a Multi-Touch trackpad, select a track then rotate counterclockwise to lower its volume.
Specify a loop as a favorite in GarageBand
02/28/2011
In GarageBand, to specify a loop as a favorite, click the "Fav" checkbox for the loop in the results list in the Loop Browser.
Save instrument loops or movies inside of GarageBand projects
02/19/2011
In GarageBand, to save Real Instrument loops or movies inside a project when saving, choose File> Save As and select Archive Project.
Quickly lock or unlock tracks in GarageBand
02/04/2011
In GarageBand, select a track in a project, then press the L key to lock or unlock the selected track.
Precisely adjust the volume curve for tracks in GarageBand
01/27/2011
In GarageBand, when raising or lowering a control point along a track's volume curve, hold Shift to adjust its value in finer increments.
Move notes back one measure in GarageBand
01/18/2011
In score view in GarageBand, select some notes, then press Shift-Left Arrow to move the selected notes back one measure in the score.
Create an Apple Loop from a recording in GarageBand
01/09/2011
In GarageBand, to create an Apple Loop from a recording, select a recorded region in the project timeline then choose Edit> Add To Loop Library.
Show tempo and key in the loop browser in GarageBand '11
12/29/2010
In GarageBand '11, to show tempo and key in the loop browser, choose GarageBand> Preferences> Loops> Loop Browser> and select “Display original tempo and key”.
Prevent a track from being edited in GarageBand '11
12/20/2010
In GarageBand '11, to prevent a track from being edited, choose Track> Show Track Lock, then click the lock button in the track's header.
Show a floating notepad in GarageBand '11
12/09/2010
In GarageBand '11, to show a floating notepad, useful for keeping text notes about a project, its lyrics, etc., choose Window> Notepad.
Do a one-measure count-in before recording in GarageBand
11/29/2010
When recording in GarageBand, choose Control> Count In to set the metronome to play a one-measure count-in before recording starts.
Move backwards in larger increments in a GarageBand project
10/14/2010
In GarageBand, press Option-Left Arrow to move backwards in larger increments in a project.
Change the default tags for exported GarageBand projects
09/14/2010
In GarageBand, to change your default tags for Playlist, Artist Name, etc. for projects exported into iTunes, choose GarageBand> Preferences> My Info.
Quickly reset volume levels in GarageBand
09/03/2010
In GarageBand, Option-click a track's volume slider to quickly reset its value back to zero.
Zoom in GarageBand
08/22/2010
In GarageBand, press Option-Control-Right Arrow to zoom in.
Transpose notes down one octave in a GarageBand musical score
07/28/2010
In score view in GarageBand, click a staff note to select it then press Shift-Down Arrow to transpose the note down one octave.
Quickly jump to the beginning of the timeline in GarageBand
07/06/2010
In GarageBand, to quickly jump to the beginning of the timeline, press the Z key.
Rename a region of a GarageBand project
06/22/2010
In GarageBand, to rename a selected region, choose Control> Show Editor then double-click the region's name at the top of the Editor.
Use Easy View mode in a GarageBand piano lesson
06/15/2010
In a GarageBand '09 "Learn to Play" piano lesson, press "E" on your Mac keyboard for "Easy View" mode, showing the note names in the score and on the keyboard.
Unsolo all tracks in GarageBand
05/30/2010
In GarageBand, to unsolo all tracks, Option-click any track's Solo button.
Use GarageBand to tune your guitar
05/18/2010
When taking a Learn to Play guitar lesson in GarageBand '09, click the "Tuner" button in the upper right corner of the window to show the built-in guitar tuner.
Select related loops in the GarageBand timeline
05/09/2010
In GarageBand, after placing a loop into the timeline, click the arrows next to the loop's name to select from other loops in its family.
Lower a note by one semitone in GarageBand
04/23/2010
In GarageBand, when viewing the musical score, to lower a note by one semitone, click the note in the staff then press the Down Arrow key.
Increase the size of the software keyboard in GarageBand
04/15/2010
When using the software keyboard in GarageBand (via the Window> Keyboard menu), click and drag the keyboard's lower right corner to increase its size.
Open "Learn to Play" lessons in GarageBand as projects
04/04/2010
When taking a Learn to Play lesson in GarageBand '09, click the "Open in GarageBand" button to open the lesson as a new, fully-editable GarageBand project.
Print sheet music from GarageBand
03/24/2010
To print sheet music notation from a Software Instrument track in GarageBand, view the track in the Track Editor, click the Score button, then print.
Quickly duplicate items in the GarageBand timeline
03/13/2010
In GarageBand, press the Option key while dragging any item in your project to automatically duplicate the item within the project’s timeline.
Split regions of tracks in GarageBand
03/06/2010
In GarageBand, to split a region of a track, click on the track to select it, slide the playhead to where you want the split to occur and then choose Edit> Split.
Change a button in the Loop Browser in GarageBand
01/16/2010
In GarageBand, to change a button in the Loop Browser to a different instrument or genre, Control-click it and choose an option from the pop-up menu.
