First Song with GarageBand
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5:16 Introduction
Learn about what this series is about and hear a run through of the song that will be built up throughout the following videos.
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5:11 Laying Down a Beat
Starting with a blank project, follow along as a kik and snare part are created, and then two Drummer tracks are added and EQ’s and layered together to form the basic groove for the song.
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4:42 Verse Chord Progression
Watch as the basic chord pattern for the verse is recorded in real time, time corrected in the Piano Roll editor, layered with an additional keyboard sound, and copied across sixteen bars.
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5:04 Verse Bass Part
See how the bass part is built up by recording a part that matches the rhythm of the keyboards, quantizing it, layering it, and copying it.
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3:56 The Prechorus
Hear how this section is used to build up anticipation by using wide open chord voicings with no third. It creates an ambiguous quality that keeps the listener’s attention, wondering where it will lead to and how it will resolve.
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3:30 The Chorus
Hear how a delayed harmonic resolution is created by placing an Am chord before arriving at the C, and how the rhythmic connection between the keyboard and bass parts is finally relaxed and separated.
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3:53 Pads & Pitch Risers
Watch as a pad is added to fill out the harmony in the prechorus, and pitch risers are added to build the excitement and anticipation leading to the chorus.
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4:11 Adding an Intro
See how elements of both the the verse and the prechorus are modified and combined to form an introduction, and used as a means of foreshadowing what is to follow later in the song.
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2:40 Adding Strings to the Chorus
Watch as an eight bar counter melody is created in the chorus using a single note string line doubled in octaves. Using a longer motif in this way over the four bar chord pattern creates more interest and keeps the listener focused for the full eight bars.
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1:47 Song Structure
See how the song form is built up using simple copy and paste functions.
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5:58 Developing the Arrangement Pt. 1
Learn to add and remove elements from various sections as a vehicle to build or reduce the energy and intensity in different sections of the song.
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7:07 Developing the Arrangement Pt. 2
See how removing various elements on the second verse and second chorus creates a “breakdown” style effect, creating contrast and interest between the various song sections.
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5:35 Lead Vocals
Watch and listen as the lead vocals for each section of the song are are loop recorded three times.
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4:16 Backup Vocals
See how the background vocal hook is constructed, and layered, to fit with the chorus’s melody.
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8:00 Editing the Vocals
Follow along as EQ, compression, and reverb are added to the lead, backup, and harmony vocals. Hear how some stereo delay combined with layering the three different takes together is used to create an alternate feel during the second verse. Finally, hear how the breakdown effect at the beginning of the final choruses is enhanced by featuring the backup vocals without the lead vocal.
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9:19 Adding Guitar
See how a guitar part (played by groove3 colleague Orren Merton) is constructed to support the natural tension and release in the songs arrangement, and watch as the verse part is edited and processed to help contrast and compliment the keyboard rhythms.
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2:37 Vocal Problem & Soloution
Discover how a common problem with layered vocals not all ending in sync together is fixed by selectively trimming away some of the region ends.
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10:57 Finishing the Mix
See how some of the final elements come together to finish the mix, including changing the rhythm guitar tone, adding volume automation to the keyboard parts, setting the Master Track effects processing, creating a fade out, and sharing the finished mix.
Product Overview
Say you've got a creative spark for a song idea and want to compose, record, and mix it into a song, using Apple GarageBand. In this 90 minute series, Eli Krantzberg shows you how you can use GarageBand to make it all happen, step by step.
Eli starts by explaining the series, and giving you a preview of the song, called "Hello Fun." The next videos are all about Song Buildup, Laying Down the Beat, coming up with a Chord Progression and Baseline for the Verse, creating a Pre-Chorus, then a Chorus.
Once the parts start taking shape, Eli dives into expanding the song with Pads and Pitch Risers, forming an Introduction, and adding String Synths to the Chorus.
With the parts formed, Eli now turns to song structure and developing the arrangement. With the song itself beginning to form, he spends the next few videos showing you how to Add and Edit Vocals and Guitars before finally Finishing off the Mix and sharing it with the world.
If you're new to GarageBand, maybe even to digital music in general, "First Song in GarageBand" will get you started on the path of complete song creation!
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Reviews
Submitted 2 years ago
Outstanding tutorial!
This was so helpful in more ways than one! Not only does it teach GB tips and tricks to quickly build a song..., it also teaches great songwriting skills! Great job Eli!! You are the man!!
I am a: Professional, Musician
Ease of Use Quality of Videos Value of Training Access to Videos
Submitted 3 years ago
Great For Beginners
This video tutorial series is an excellent collection of videos for beginners wanting to know the power of GarageBand. Eli provides a clear concise explanation of the workings GarageBand by constructing a song from scratch. And in the process also shows you how to arrange a song. So, you get a two for one deal. This series also closely complements GarageBand Explained. So, if you want more in-depth coverage I highly recommend watching that series as well. Excellent all around.
I am a: Musician, Hobbyist, Beat Maker
Ease of Use Quality of Videos Value of Training Access to Videos
Reviews
Submitted 2 years ago
Outstanding tutorial!
This was so helpful in more ways than one! Not only does it teach GB tips and tricks to quickly build a song..., it also teaches great songwriting skills! Great job Eli!! You are the man!!
I am a: Professional, Musician
Submitted 3 years ago
Great For Beginners
This video tutorial series is an excellent collection of videos for beginners wanting to know the power of GarageBand. Eli provides a clear concise explanation of the workings GarageBand by constructing a song from scratch. And in the process also shows you how to arrange a song. So, you get a two for one deal. This series also closely complements GarageBand Explained. So, if you want more in-depth coverage I highly recommend watching that series as well. Excellent all around.
I am a: Musician, Hobbyist, Beat Maker
1. When did you start dabbling in music?
I started playing drums in high school at age fourteen. Like most kids my age around then, I was into progressive rock. Genesis, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Yes. They rocked my world. A few short years later though, my musical life changed. While studying music in college I discovered Charlie Parker, Milt Jackson, Sonny Stitt, and John Coltrane. Milt Jackson spoke to me in such a profound way that it left me no choice but to take up vibraphone.
These great players, along with drummers like Philly Joe Jones, Max Roach, Art Blakey, and Elvin Jones changed not only the way I thought about drumming, but also music - and by extension, life - as a whole. I realized life was meant to be a creative endeavor. The idea of improvising based on a loose set of guidelines and rules permeated into my psyche even when I wasn't holding a pair of drumsticks or mallets. But if I am going to be perfectly truthful, I have to hold Henry Miller and Woody Allen equally responsible for shaping the way I view and experience the world around me.
2. What training have you had?
I am currently an Apple certified Logic Pro. Young and cocky, and armed with only a partial University degree, I dropped out of school and began playing steady commercial hotel engagements and jazz gigs when I could. This went on for many years until I decided it was time to complete my degree - which I ultimately did with a major in Political Science and a minor in music.
It was at this point that I formed my current band Nightshift. We are going in to our twenty third year now - playing commercial one nighters like weddings, corporate events, etc. Don't turn your nose up at it though - it has allowed me a wonderful quality of life. It gave me the freedom to go back to school and complete a post graduate degree in Communications Studies - all the while supporting myself by playing weddings.
3. When did you get into recording?
It was in this graduate program - in the early nineties - that I found myself drawn to the fledgling emerging universe of hard disc recording and midi sequencing. Based on nothing more than the recommendation of one of my band mates who had an old Atari, I jumped in head first and bought a Mac LC ll, along with a version 1.1 of what was then Notator Logic. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But, in hindsight, it was a decision of epic importance in my life - shaping my future as much as the music of Milt Jackson and Charlie Parker did fifteen years prior.
I opened up my own commercial home studio in 1998 and began doing a variety of projects, working on radio jingles, artist CD projects, and whatever came my way. A couple of years later a colleague called me up - desperate. He was working at a post production house and one of the editors had just quit. They were doing audio post for a weekly TV series and needed a Pro Tools editor - and fast! And so, once again, I jumped in head first into what would ultimately open up my world even more - the world of Pro Tools.
4. People you have worked with/for?
Focusing on Logic, I built up a small but loyal client base and my phone kept ringing for Logic tech support and instruction. Film composers and studio owners all over the city were calling me. Even the music stores were giving out my phone number at this point! This kind of stuff becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. The more of it you do, the more calls you get to keep doing it. At least that's the way it should be!
As my Logic chops kept growing, I was hired by an old buddy of mine, Len Sasso, who was then an associate editor at Electronic Musician magazine, and began writing some columns for them. I had a blast doing them - and really learned to focus and express my thoughts in a concise and clear manner. This lead to a collaboration with LA based composer Terry Michael Huud on the 2006 film called Civic Duty - which was certainly one of the highlights of my professional life as a composer.
5. Why are you so good at training people?
I wake up every day excited to boot up, and create. Whether it's instructional videos, creating music, working with a studio client, performing with my band, or teaching at the schools - my days are filled with what I love doing. Enriched by the stimulation and creative freedom this modern music making software brings to my life. I bring that excitement and passion to each and every training product I create. My years of experience both using and teaching these programs has taught me the best way to make the user comfortable with these complex programs.
Products by Eli
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tutorial videoAAS Chromaphone Explained
Eli Krantzberg returns, this time showing you the incredible AAS Chromaphone creative percussive synthesizer. This synth is capable of creating incredibly expressive drum, percussion, string, and synth-like instruments, so hold the phone and check it out!
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tutorial videoAAS Strum GS-2 Explained
In this FREE series commissioned by Applied Acoustic Systems, Eli Krantzberg covers the expansive performance library of electric and acoustic guitar strumming inside and out, and shows you how to make Strum GS-2 your new favorite session guitarist!
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tutorial videoAirEQ Explained
Eli Krantzberg returns with an in-depth series on the amazing AirEQ by Eiosis, which was designed with a vision of achieving musical, technical and sonic excellence in equalization. This just might become your to go-to EQ!
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tutorial videoAlchemy 2 Explained
Logic Pro X 10.2 integrated Alchemy 2, one of the most powerful virtual instruments ever made. In this three-hour video training tutorial series, Eli Krantzberg teaches you how to become a Alchemy wizard and unleash all of its power on your music!
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tutorial videoAmple Sound Super Jumbo Explained
Eli Krantzberg presents a detailed series of Super Jumbo tutorials! Learn Super Jumbo, Ample Sounds’s incredibly realistic virtual acoustic guitar instrument inside and out, as well as how to use it creatively.
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