This is a follow up to a post I wrote a few weeks back about recording guitar with Garage Band. This article is useful no matter what type of instrument you are trying to record. Whether you are using a real instrument or a software instrument, there are many caveats to creating that perfect song without sounding like you recorded it in your bedroom using your computer. Garage Band is a sweet piece of software that allows just about anybody to make a decent recording. If you follow the three guidlines below you can really harness the power of Garage Band and create some great songs:

Have a goal. I’ve wasted hours upon hours because I sat down with Garage Band and instead of focusing my efforts, I just noodled around with all the features and loops untill I got nowhere. I had alot of fun, but I really wanted to lay something down. When learning Garage Band I highly encourage noodling around, but after you’ve gotten up to speed set some goals for yourself before each session so you can focus your creative energy better.

Practice without Garage Band. Before you go to record a song, sit down and practice it untill you have mastered it. Play along with the built in metronome so you can master playing in time. Learn to play it at a faster tempo so that when you slow it down to its intended tempo, you can play it with ease. If you are using a software instrument then it is impossible not to practice using Garage Band, but don’t record it. The point here is to switch back and forth between practicing and recording. This will save time and help you record the perfect track.

Think rhythm and melody. When I am composing music with Garage Band I like to arrange the song around either the melody or the rhythm. I love the blues, so I usually compose the melody on the guitar and then create the rest of the parts around it. I also get good resultw when I come up with a rhythm on the drums or bass and then arrange the song around it. Everybody has a different songwriting style, but these are two very commonly used techniques.

Update:
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