Apple Training Series: GarageBand 3 (Paperback)

by Mary Plummer (Author)
Key Phrases: real instrument, software instrument, acoustic guitar, Loop Browser, Track Info, Media Browser (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Whether you're an accomplished musician or a student, Garageband is the most rewarding way to create, perform, and record your own music. In the only Apple-certified guide to Garageband, composer and master trainer Mary Plummer shows you just how easy it is to turn your Mac into a fully featured recording studio. Plummer offers a complete, self-paced course in all aspects of Garageband - from mastering the interface and basic recording techniques to the secrets of arranging a song, editing and mixing tracks, adding effects, and distributing your Garageband compositions. Fully updated for version 3, Mary covers all of Garageband's hot new features including podcast recording and iMovie scoring.

Product Details

• Paperback: 421 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press (May 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321421655
• ISBN-13: 978-0321421654
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #390,380 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent learning tool, January 24, 2007

By	C. Ramlo (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

GarageBand 3: Create and Record Music on a Mac is encyclopedic in scope and of great interest to anyone with an interest in digital audio production, including podcasting. Although I use a Mac for work, this book and its accompanying DVD provided my first introduction to GarageBand 3--Apples' digital audio production software. Having heard good things about the program, I was already intrigued to learn more. However, as this was my first in-depth exposure to any type of digital audio software, I was also fairly intimidated-I was apprehensive that I would need to be a competent musician before I even began. Despite these initial apprehensions I quickly found GarageBand3, by Mary Plummer, to be extremely well-written. It is easy to read. The book is well organized--full of clearly laid out, easy-to-follow instructions and examples.

The book provides details on how to record, arrange and mix music using GarageBand. In addition, there are instructions for how to record your own instruments, as well as more than 1,000 loops (royalty free) that are included with the program. And, once the project is exported it can be easily integrated with other iLife Applications.

The book begins with an overview of GarageBand 3's interface, which I was surprised to find fairly intuitive. The Timeline is also easy to understand and its workings are the subject of Lesson 2. Lessons 3-6 cover arranging music and introduce how to use Software Instruments, Real Instruments and Apple Loops. Lesson 7 examines mixing and adding effects. Lessons 8 and 9 look at using the software for podcast creation and, even scoring movies. The final Lesson covers various information on exporting your completed projects.

Exercises are provided for each chapter. I found following along with them to be of tremendous benefit with learning the application. For example, the exercises for Lesson 8, Creating Podcasts, show you how to set up the voice tracks for your recording. Then the rest of the lesson builds on this initial project to show you how to work with multiple voice tracks, add markers and record sound effects to the Timeline. Learning more about podcasting was my primary motivation for reading this book and I was not disappointed. From the opening pages of this book I was spurred on to learn more. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about GarageBand and I would recommend GarageBand to anyone interested in learning more about podcasting.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank You Ms Plummer, September 28, 2007

By	MLC "MLC" (CALIFORNIA) - See all my reviews

I did not know what GarageBand was until I explored the icons on my new MAC. Needed help here. Logged on to Amazon.com and found Mary Plummer's book GARAGEBAND 3. I am learning the program by doing the lessons in the book, supplemented with CD lesson files. I am truly excited because it has opened a new world--creating music tracks. Each lesson is a building block, and Ms Plummer's instructions are easy to understand and follow.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended : a very good book, January 26, 2008

By	C. W. Browne (Johannesburg, South Africa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having been given an Apple iMac complete with the GarageBand application, I was intrigued but at the same time a little apprehensive about trying it out. However, GarageBand 3 by Mary Plummer made it all so easy.
I decided to first do all the lessons; the instructions are clear and easy to follow, so it was a pleasure. I did sometimes take longer than the estimated time to do each lesson.
On completion, I had gained a comprehensive knowledge of all that this wonderfully creative program can accomplish, and was even enlightened as to what a podcast is. And if I forget again, the book is always at hand to remind me. I would have liked some comments about the advantages, if any, of other programs such as Logic.
My main interest with GarageBand lies in composing music, and this book introduced me to its many fascinating possibilities. So thank you, Mary Plummer. I must finish this now, to get back to Garageband....