Lesson 3: Make an Arrangement
In this lesson, you will copy/paste contents of multiple tracks to make a new arrangement of previously composed song material. You will use the Arrangement Track to identify and label A and B sections of your song. The Arrange Track is new for GarageBand '09, so if you've used GarageBand before, you may want to at least view the tutorial (4 minutes) as there are some tips for using the Arrange Track that do not appear in the list of practice items.
Here is the sample song from the last lesson, with the final A section added and the Arrange Track inserted:
Tutorial:
Supports:
Would you lilke to look at a piece of paper instead of a web page? Click to download a reference guide (list of menu items and keyboard shortcuts) and the list of practice items for this lesson. Would you like to track your progress? Use the Practice Items pages as a checklist or download the Self-Assessment Rubric.
Reference Guide - Lessons 1-3: Edit, Loops, Arrange (PDF)
Practice Items - Lesson 3: Arrange (PDF)
Practice Items:
Open GarageBand project from Lesson 2 – Compose Using Loops.
Open Arrange Track: Track ⇒ Show Arrange Track (shift+⌘A).
Set borders for A section.
- Click on “+”
in arrange track. - Click and drag right border to desired location.
- Single-click on “untitled” and re-name “A section.”
Set borders for B section.
- Click on “+” in arrange track.
- Click and drag right border to desired location.
- Single-click on “untitled” and re-name “B section.”
Copy contents of A and paste after B.
- Click and drag mouse over contents of all three tracks of A section.
- Copy: Edit ⇒ Copy (⌘C).
- Move cursor to end of B section.
- Paste: Edit ⇒ Paste (⌘V).
Set borders for last A section.
- Click on “+” in arrange track.
- Click and drag right border to desired location.
- Single-click on “untitled” and re-name “A section.”
Fade ending (if desired).
- Loop/repeat end of each track in final A section (at least one measure).
- Show Master Track: Track ⇒ Show Master Track (⌘B).
- Click on volume line directly below the spot in the song where you want to begin your fadeout. A small dot will appear.
- Click on volume line directly below the spot in the song where you want to end your fadeout. Another small dot will appear.
- Click on 2nd (later) dot and drag down to bottom of window.
Save.
SHARE YOUR SONG:
Did you ignore my advice and spend WAY too long creating a composition? Do you really like it and want others to hear it? Do you want to share it with the world? Send me your song as an email attachment (ferdons@yahoo.com) and I will link it on this page. If you include your first name (or screen name), where you live, or any other info you’d like to mention about your song, I will post that with your composition.
CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS:
Form can be a difficult concept for many students to grasp. Adding the visual elements that are possible in GarageBand will help students to put a label with aural information. Do you teach general music? You can take a song that students are working on, drag in into the timeline and have students help you figure out where the phrases are and label them. Are you an instrumental music teacher? Many methods books come with audio CDs. Drag a song into the GarageBand timeline, label sections then rearrange the song.
