DianaDee Osborne Library Building in GarageBand etc

Have you created a great MIDI track with a repeating section of notes?
You can get multi-use out of all your work AND make future song development faster by saving that section to the Loop Library. Other sites give you technical instructions... This one offers quick hints. My examples are 2 piano circus beats: (1) a 16-beat section with rather steady beat in A minor and (2) a 16-beat section with 'fancy' grace notes and runs in C major.
EASY LIBRARY BUILDING Hints:
NOTE: When later using loops, plan to copy-and-paste each loop region rather than drag it "loopstyle"... a future blog will describe the advantage. For now, just note that this method is required for odd loops described in Step 1.
1. Loops do NOT have to be 2, 4, or 8 measures as usual. You can build into your loop with a grace note or glissando in the first measure that will slide into an additional 4 measures. THEN when you later import the loop from the library, you just copy-and-paste those introductory odd notes into the last measure before your loop, delete that first measure IN your loop, and slide the loop up against the previous measure.
2. Obviously you would quantize your loop measures before building the actual loop (see earlier hints on making this easier).
3. SAVE YOUR PROJECT before moving on! Step 7 can be "dangerous"!
4. In your original (source) track, split at the beginning of measure you want to create as a loop and and the beginning of the measure AFTER the loop-to-be.
5. Create a DUPLICATE track, and copy the newly split region (the loop-to-be) onto the duplicate track. **Be sure it begins at measure 1.1.1.001 (or whatever your program's name for Project Count 1).
6. Re-join the track you split in Step 4.
.
HINTS you might NOT FIND ELSEWHERE..... and they are really useful.
7. CHANGE YOUR PROJECT KEY to the key of your loop. This is DANGEROUS -- it will change EVERY other track also.... However it's the only way for the Loop Library to record the actual key of your loop. Example: In your project of G major, your loop often will be in E minor (the minor for that key); your loop will save as G major if you skip this Step (7).
8. Check the LENGTH of every MIDI note VISUALLY. Using the Piano Roll view, ensure that NO NOTES OVERLAP into the next note... REASON: (a) Over-long notes: Even if the next note is quantized, it often cannot be heard until the previous note ends. (b) Over-short notes may be what you DO want for staccato (choppy) sound, but check in step 9. (c) Consistent length in a chord: If 2 notes are long, are you getting the full sound you want from the shortest note? OR, if 2 of the 3 notes are short, is the longest note obnoxious? :)
9. Check the LENGTH of every MIDI note by LISTENING to the SOLO track. Can you hear every note you want to hear?
10. Check the Velocity (loudness) of each note by clicking on it and ensuring it is about the same as surrounding notes (unless planned otherwise, of course).
ADDING your region loop to the Loop Library.
Just follow the program's instructions. In Garageband:
1. Highlight the region you want to loop.
2. Go to Edit >Add to Loop Library.
3-A. Type in a name for your loop.... LOOP NAMING HINTS are in another blog.
3-B. Select the Instrument Description. Suggestion: for MIDI drums, use the Kits category so you can always quickly find them at the top level of Kits in the Loop Library.
3-C. IMPORTANT: SET YOUR LOOP TO Scale-Any. That puts it at the top level under your instrument...It will show up whatever your project's key. You might also want Genre-None.
4. Enter your computer password when asked.... and the loop should show up immediately in your loop library, showing the key you selected. It will also show 16 beats for 4 measures, or a time for odd-measures-loops. You don't care about the tempo... that's just a guideline for design, since MIDI notes will adapt to the tempo of any project when you import them.
5. MUTE the loop track if you want to save it for future changes..... like a QUICK change to another key for another loop.
6. CHANGE THE KEY BACK!
7. PLAY your project to check that it's still ok.. and Save if so. If there's any problem, just use File> Revert to Saved Project. And that's it! Another loop for faster song development in the future!
May you absolutely love working to create new music for The World!
©2012 DianaDee Osborne

Bad Moods To Great Songs

Have you ever had "one of those days"?

Since you're reading this, you're human. Since you're human, yup you've had one of 'em. We all do.

Once I went to the glass recycling truck-container in our area, and two women were there with a huge box of glass items. Each took turns flinging a bottle or jar as hard as she could against the interior metal wall of the container. The resulting crash was pretty impressive after each throw.

And I often laughingly think of that, whenever I sit with either my guitar or keyboard on a bad day and start pounding out "whatever" music.... no special place that I'm going, just as the women weren't aiming at a specific spot with their glass. Since I'm pounding random chord progressions, there's no "right" or "wrong." I can just enjoy the impressive crashing music that comes after each hit.

When you're having a really bad day, try this! 
Even better, RECORD it - WITH a slow metronome setting--
1. Create a project titled something like "Untitled 4-4 Em" (In minor keys, EVERY one of the 12 scale notes works Except the 3rd - which turns it to major. And 4-4 time gives you lots of pounding drum loop possibilities if you don't go add your own live track.)
2. Play anything with the metronome set to something like 70... if you're not "right on" this won't matter, but the "fence" will help you create some pretty dramatic music after Step 4.
3. After you've pounded out a recording, hit the stop button. Then hit Record again and do another region on the same track. And repeat. If desired, duplicate this track and mute this one, then repeat step 3 on a new track.

Later when you've mellowed out a bit,
4. Go into the Notation View, highlight one or more music notes, then do a Select-All, and quantize all notes to 1/8th notes.  (See previous blogs for method tricks, if needed.)
5- This isn't really a step:   
 **DO NOT** go to fix the "odd" notes. Listen on different days to the results -- you may find that you love the weird timings, the unintended 'grace' notes.

6. Later you can decide which recorded regions you don't really like, and delete them.
7. And for those you do like, you can play a C "instrument" against the track in MIDI; I like flute, which I might later change to tenor sax for more drama.
8. If you want to add a melody, just play "anything" and later you can change the MIDI notes to fit the lyrics you decided upon. Both flute and a single clean guitar MIDI tracks give a nice melody contrast to the pounding supporting music.

9. Most of all, remember: It's called "PLAY music"!

Much joy to you in pounding out those Bad Mood Days. You just might get some fantastic songs out of your Play:_
©2012 DianaDee Osborne

SCORE Sheet Length Control - by DianaDee Osborne

Have you ever highlighted a GarageBand music track in its "Score" mode, clicked on
File > Print > Preview
and watched a DOZEN pages of music sheets pop up on your screen?
Before you waste all that paper (and confuse anyone who might try to read your score), there are
TWO SIMPLE METHODS for shortening the length of your score:

(1 - The QUICK easy one). While the Score for the music track you want to print is in the window, you can adjust the width of the music measures you see with the slider at the bottom left right below "Auto Align to".
HINT: The SCORE will include the Track's Name under the Project Title; you can change it to be longer, more descriptive, if desired.
a. Slide it to the left to make your measures more narrow.
b. Return to File > Print > Preview.
c. If there are only a few lines of music notes on one page, repeat steps 1a and 1b to tighten them.
d. Return to File > Print > Preview AND set the print range to pages 1 through the last page that has music notes on it.
e. Then when you print, whether to a printer or to a PDF file, you'll get a MUCH shorter SCORE!

(2 - Still easy but more time consuming). Let's assume you want to print the PIANO score.
a. Highlight your piano track (not the notes in the Score view) -- both the MIDI track and the NAME of the track (for example "Grand Piano on Stage" - my favorite).
b. Go to Track > Duplicate Track. A new UN-populated (in GB, not other programs) track appears. RE-NAME this track, such as SCORE PIANO. [All files in your computer's file list are grouped under "Score" if you put the instrument name last.] **THIS IS THE NAME THAT APPEARS on GarageBand SCORE printouts. You ARE allowed odd characters like & or +).
c. Hit the HOME key to move the red line (playhead) to Measure 1.1.001.
d. Return to the piano track and copy its MIDI notes onto the new track (Ensure still at 1.1.001).
e. Play your music, and then STOP and SPLIT the track at the end of the first Verse+Chorus (etc.) -- in front of music that repeats.
f. If you have a special ending such as a Tag, do a SPLIT in front of that also.
g. Delete the MIDI region (if any) in between the main region and the Tag region.
h. Ensure SNAP TO GRID is on (Control Menu). Then slide the Tag region to begin after the main region, with at least 3 empty measures so musicians can see the break.
i. IMPORTANT --- now MUTE the new track! Otherwise you'll get an 'interesting' result when you play your project!

THAT'S IT! An easy way to shorten your score!
Future hint under DianaDee Osborne GarageBand Hints will be for
CREATING A SINGLE SCORE FROM MULTIPLE TRACKS for the same instrument.

Much joy in music to you as we enter another year of opportunities and doors!
©2018, 2011 DianaDee Osborne

An updated version published 27 April 2018.

Changing Music Score Key while Saving Your Music: MIDI ONLY

Have you ever created a studio project in Garageband setting the key and tempo along with the filename, then played a fantastic track.... and THEN realized that you set the project for the wrong key? Result: Your music score may have so many sharps or flats in it that only a college music major would want to try it. This hint shows -- it's NOT too late to fix your score!....

....even though the GarageBand program makes you think it is. After you've created a beautiful music track, if you look at the score (fancy GB wording: in the Notation View), you CANNOT simply change the GB key. Changing the tempo or signature there keeps all notes the same, but if you change the key, GarageBand transposes all your music to that key.

For projects with only MIDI tracks (hence ability to create score):
EASY FIX so that the score's signature shows the key you want but your recorded music won't change:
1. SAVE your project. Just in case you want to revert to the existing file :)
2. TIGHTEN your view (the slider under the top window) so you can see all or most of your track. (It also helps to do a Track > Hide Track Info for long tracks. If in the Loop Browser, first Track > Show Track Info.... another of those weird hints not in all instruction guides.)
3. Select the entire track (dark green... the track, NOT the notes in the track). and CUT.
Hey, now you understand that suggestion to first Save!
4. Select Control > Show Tempo (if you're not already there).
5. Change the Key to whatever you like.
6. Hit HOME to put the red marker at Measure 1 count 001.
7. Ensure that the correct track name is highlighted. Then do Edit > Paste.

Your original track will be pasted in exactly as it was.... NO transposition done after you changed the key. Now when you check the score, it most likely looks a lot easier to play!
Much joy to you in defeating those little quirks in GarageBand!
©2018, 2011 DianaDee Osborne
An updated version published 20 February 2011
Updated version published   16 February 2018

ENHANCE TIMING HINT 1, DianaDee GarageBand

The purpose of DianaDee Osborne GARAGEBand Hints is simple:
I had to learn a lot of tricks by trial and error. EVERY one I know who writes music has been very frustrated at times by trying to get the "music in my head" into Garage Band, to share with the world. I'VE LEARNED SOME REALLY EASY TRICKS, and just want to share, in case it makes *your* life more fun as you record your music!

Some examples from new songs will be provided at times.... 

They can be found in FREE down-loadable MP3 format (full song) 

with FREE matching PDF music files for many of these, 

at my website: www.DianaDeeOsborneSongs.com     CLICK HERE 

No cost, no commitment, no registration input boxes!
Just ideas from one musician to others!
=================================

ENHANCE TIMING HINT 1 (MIDI tracks only.... the PIANO ROLL screen with "squares")
This feature is in the bottom left corner when you hit the snowflake at the bottom of your GarageBand screen. Why do you want to do this? To make the drum kits hit exactly "on" beat with your music notes (if that's what you want your music to do, of course!). A super-quick method for NON-syncopated music... does not work for jazz and blues, sadly!:

If you can join every region on your MIDI track, this is faster. However you might not want to.... a hint as to why will come soon! For each region on your one MIDI track:

1. Ensure that the signature (like 4/4) is correct so that the measure bars will be in the right places.
2. Select your track.
3. Select the snowflake in the bottom left corner to show the editing music feature.
4. If it's not already showing, press the Score button to show actual music notes. This method works well for Piano Roll.... but not in *this* hint:)
5. Touch your cursor on a single note (it turns green when selected).
6. Go to your top GarageBand menu and select Edit > Select all. (Or type the shortcut apple-a).
7. Every note in the region will now be green. The "Enhance Timing" label now says "Align to". Click on the up-down edge of the bar to change "none" to "1/8 note" or whatever is the smallest (shortest) note in your piece.
8. IF YOU DID NOT JOIN all the regions in your MIDI track, just repeat steps 1-7 for each region.

Now it's time for the more detailed work, but you're already a lot closer to matching whatever drum track you choose. Hints for DETAILED Enhance Timing will be provided in Hint 2. Have Fun with *your* music to the World! Much Music Joy to you!
©2011 DianaDee Osborne.com

Updated Version Reprinted 2 January 2018