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Home / Features / How to master…GarageBand

How to master…GarageBand

It might be free, but GarageBand is also a super-powerful – here's how to wield it

If you’re armed with a reasonably recent Apple Mac or iOS device, you can download GarageBand for free. Which is great, because GarageBand is one of the most powerful music-making tools in existence.

Despite being free, GarageBand isn’t a stripped-back throwaway tool for shoving loops together (although it does have that capability); instead, it strives to cater for all levels of musician, whether you’re a total novice determined to bash out some tunes, or a pro who fancies diving deeper into the software’s capabilities.

Before you start randomly chucking around blips and bloops like digital confetti, allow us to guide you along the path of GarageBand enlightenment by highlighting its best features and showing you how to get the best from them.

And if you’ve dabbled before, you may be surprised by some of the excellent new tricks available.

These tips use GarageBand 10.2 for macOS , which requires macOS 10.11 (El Capitan) or later, and GarageBand 2.3 for iOS 11 . However, many of them also work on earlier versions of the software.

Beginner: Embrace loops

On macOS and iOS, GarageBand has a loop browser, enabling you to create songs by dragging and dropping pre-made loops to tracks on the timeline. To open the loop browser, click/tap the loop icon in the toolbar. You can search for specific instruments or genres. Drag a loop to an empty area underneath any existing tracks to get started.

Many musicians dismiss loops, but they are useful for building confidence in songwriting, and they can help speed along working on new ideas. Using the occasional loop can add texture to otherwise fully custom compositions, and be handy to jam along with.

Use smart instruments

Ignore music snobs who balk at the idea of automated accompaniment. Smart Instruments in GarageBand for iOS are an excellent way to learn how to construct chord progressions, and a speedy means of fashioning a custom backing track to jam with. You can choose from smart bass, drums, strings, guitars, piano (keyboards). World instruments can also be played as Smart Instruments.

Smart drums have you arrange individual drums on a grid, defining whether each should be loud/quiet and simple/complex. The other instruments let you tap out notes within specific chords, or use autoplay to quickly record bass riffs and keyboard arpeggios.

Learn to play

In the ‘New Project’ dialog on macOS, click ‘Learn to Play’ for playalong intro videos for guitar and piano. ‘Lesson Store’ has a bunch of free full courses, which take you from the basics of handling an instrument through to playing chords and melodies.

Once you’ve mastered all that, you can venture into the selection of tutorials from famous artists, who’ll teach you how to play their greatest hits — albeit for four quid a pop. (Sting needs a new gold car!)

Be a loop DJ

The Live Loops feature gives you a grid of loops to trigger with taps. To start, you select a genre, and then trigger canned loops by prodding them, while simultaneously pretending you’re a combination of Fatboy Slim, Skrillex and Carl Cox.

This system feels toy-like initially, but it’s far more than a throwaway plaything. Live Loops are handy for experimenting with song arrangement, and you can record into empty cells, or add new tracks for custom loops. You can record an entire live performance, too, making Live Loops a means of quickly creating a sketch for a new song that could later be worked on in the studio.

Even if you’ve a swanky new iPad Pro, its speakers won’t be suitable for making and mixing music. (Typically, small speakers de-emphasise bass, and make it hard to place instruments in the stereo mix.) So get some cans on your ears — we like the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0s , or the AKG K451s for something more affordable.

On the desktop, we also suggest using headphones when working on music. But do sometimes take a break and listen to your composition through a set of decent speakers (ideally not the ones welded to your computer). When doing final mixes, also ensure your output sounds good enough through the kind of headphones most people use daily (as in, the rubbish ones that come with their smartphones).

Understand iCloud

GarageBand for iOS and macOS are similar but not identical. Songs saved to iCloud are primarily designed to be accessible only on the same platform. This means if you save a track on your iPad, it’s designed to be played and edited on other iOS devices, and Mac compositions are designed to be sent to other Macs.

There is an exception, in that you can import iOS songs into macOS (File > iCloud), but this is one-way traffic – songs won’t go from Mac to iOS, because the Mac app has features and capabilities that aren’t available on an iPad or iPhone.

Get new sounds

On Mac, the quickest way to get a slew of new sounds is buying MainStage 3 (£28.99) , which bundles hundreds of instruments and loops.

On iOS, tap + to start a new song, and then select Sound Library. Tap any item to read more about it, listen to a preview, or download.

Note that additional sounds may not work across Mac and iOS devices. Bear that in mind if you, for example, compose on an iPad but arrange, mix and master on a Mac.

Intermediate level: Keyboards

Adjust note timing.

Improve the timing of live-played virtual instruments by using quantising to align notes to a grid.

In macOS, this option is found in Piano Roll > Notes within the Editor (E); on iOS, Quantisation is in the Mixer menu (sliders icon). Also, try temporarily slowing the song’s tempo while recording tricky bits.

Play patterns

Arpeggiators are excellent tools for musicians, playing chord patterns by sounding each note in sequence.

Access GarageBand’s arpeggiator through the ‘five dots arrow’ button, and then experiment with note and octave settings. The arpeggiator is especially good for quickly creating bass and rhythm tracks for electronic music.

Use virtual keyboards

If you lack a USB piano keyboard, there are virtual equivalents. On the Mac, Window > Show Musical Typing (Cmd+K) enables you to use your Mac’s keyboard for playing notes.

On iOS, a keyboard is a major part of the interface when you select a relevant instrument. Use the Keyboard button to toggle velocity sensitivity or choose a new key thickness. Tap the Scale menu to restrict available keys to those within a specific scale.

Save your synths

Built-in presets soon become overly familiar, but GarageBand enables you to adjust synth settings to create something unique.

Once you’ve finished tweaking your new synth, save your set-up to use again in future – in macOS use ‘Save…’ in the Library pane; in iOS, use ‘Save’ in the instrument selector. On iOS, Alchemy Synth’s a good bet for creating new sounds, due to its selection of dials and pads.

Intermediate level: Guitars

Unless you hate your ears (and everyone else’s), get your guitar in tune before recording.

On macOS, the tuner button is found in the main toolbar; on iOS, it appears when viewing an Amp track. Use the levels indicator to get your strings sounding perfect.

Be a knob twiddler

Amp presets in GarageBand aren’t fixed effects. Instead, they are digital recreations of real-world amps.

This means you can fiddle with dials to get the perfect sound for your current recording, adjusting gain, EQ, reverb, distortion, presence, and other settings.

Pedal to the metal

Tap the pedal button to see the effects set-up for your guitar track. Individual pedals can be fine-tuned and reordered.

You can also add new pedals. On macOS, just drag them; on iOS, tap an empty slot then add a pedal. You can add up to four on iOS, and more on macOS.

Test your levels

When you have a real guitar plugged into your Mac or iOS device, carefully test levels before any serious recording.

Play parts of the full range of your song, watch the indicators and, where relevant, adjust the input level accordingly. Avoid whisper-quiet input and unwanted distortion.

Intermediate level: Drums

Use smart drums.

The iOS Smart Drums interface is a grid on to which you drag instruments from a selected kit (or tap the dice to randomise everything). Drums positioned at the top are louder; those to the right have more complex patterns.

To keep your pattern, it must be recorded, whereupon it’s converted to editable MIDI data. Note that drums can be moved during recording, for example to make a snare more complex at the end of a bar.

Master the Beat Sequencer

For direct control over beat creation, use Beat Sequencer. This old-school step-based interface enables you to define precisely when drums are triggered, and provides nuance with velocity, note repeat, and ‘chance’ options.

If you need inspiration, tap the Patterns button and select from dozens of built-in presets. Again, there’s a random option if you fancy starting with something more chaotic.

Try live drumming

GarageBand lets you play virtual drums manually. On macOS, select a drum kit and use musical typing or a connected USB piano keyboard to trigger sounds. On iOS, create a Drum track using the Acoustic Drums option.

On iOS, the drums are velocity sensitive, and acoustic kits offer different sounds depending on where the drum is struck. For example, tap the edge of a snare for a rim shot.

Work with Apple’s Drummer

Drummer gets its own section in the iOS Tracks picker, and also exists as a track option on macOS. It’s a smart audio loop creation tool, based on recordings of real drummers.

To start, select a drummer and a style. Then turn on and off individual drums, and fiddle with the pads and sliders to refine what’s played. When happy with your loop, record it. (Drummer loops are rendered audio, note, not MIDI data.)

Expert level: Songwriting

Use copy and paste.

Whether recording guitars or tapping out keyboard lines, use GarageBand’s ‘Tracks’ view on iOS/the tracks area on macOS to copy and paste from your best performances or cover up errors.

Don’t imagine pros avoid this – plenty of songs that sound ‘live’ in fact use individual notes taken from dozens of performances.

Adjust notes

If you record a MIDI instrument (such as a synth, drum machine, or Smart Instrument), individual notes can be adjusted by moving or resizing them on the piano roll.

On iOS, enter Tracks view, tap an audio region and select Edit from the menu.

Arrange your song

Use GarageBand’s ‘arrange tools’ to create song sections (verse, chorus, and so on) that can be copy/pasted/reordered in their entirety.

On macOS, Track > Show Arrangement Track makes the feature visible. On iOS, ‘Song Sections’ are more limited (no section naming), and accessed via the + menu in Tracks view.

If you have lots of tracks, you might find your song becomes muddied. Use GarageBand’s track header tools to adjust the volume and panning of individual tracks, to boost clarity.

You can also mute and solo tracks, respectively, to temporarily disable some and focus on a few specific parts.

Expert level: Mix master

Add effects.

On iOS, use the ‘Mixer’ menu to tweak echo, reverb, treble, bass and compressor effects for a selected track.

On macOS, you get more options — open Smart Controls (B), and expand the Plug-ins menu. You can load and adjust up to four plug-ins for the instrument.

Load Audio Units

You can expand GarageBand with AU (Audio Unit) plug-ins. If a compatible one is installed on your Mac, click the Instrument slot in Plug-ins, and select it from the menu. Its settings can be adjusted in its pop-up window.

On iOS, create an External track and select Audio Unit Extensions. Choose an AU to load it. As of iOS 11, AUs can take over the entire play area, so you can access the likes of Model 15 ‘s custom keyboards.

Try Inter-App Audio

For those iOS audio apps you love that don’t yet have Audio Unit capabilities, there’s another option. When creating an External track, choose Inter-App Audio. This enables you to record third-party synths/audio apps directly into a GarageBand track, albeit with an end result that’s a rendered audio waveform, not editable MIDI data.

Install Audiobus

And for those apps that don’t support Inter-App Audio either, there’s the more widely supported (along with flexible and usable) Audiobus (£9.99).

Use the app to define input, effects and output chains (GarageBand as output if recording to it), fire up your other music app, and use Audiobus’s overlay menu to trigger recordings. Again, these are rendered as audio waveforms.

Level up with…

The JAM is a plug-and-play system to connect electric guitars or bass to a Mac or iOS device.

The original’s studio-quality, although ensure you get a Lightning cable in the box. For a bit more money, the JAM 96k further ramps up the quality, in terms of sound, build and recording resolution.

Buy the Apogee Jam (£118)

Although you can tap on your Mac’s keyboard or iPad’s screen to trigger sounds, a MIDI keyboard’s better.

The Xkey is small, light, responsive and portable, even if the short key travel initially feels a little strange. For iOS, you’ll also need Apple’s (inaccurately named) Lightning to USB Camera Adapter (£29).

Buy the CME Xkey (£77)

Spark Digital

This dinky microphone ably deals with vocals and acoustic instrument recordings, and has connectors for iOS (Lightning) and USB.

If the price tag’s too rich, consider Blue’s Yeti mics (from £99) instead, although you may need a powered USB hub (£20 or so) to get one working with an iPad.

Buy the Spark Digital (£169.99)

I’m a regular contributor to Stuff magazine and Stuff.tv, covering apps, games, Apple kit, Android, Lego, retro gaming and other interesting oddities. I also pen opinion pieces when the editor lets me, getting all serious about accessibility and predicting when sentient AI smart cookware will take over the world, in a terrifying mix of Bake Off and Terminator.

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GarageBand for iOS

The world is your stage. this is your instrument..

GarageBand for iOS makes it incredibly simple to play, record, and share your music, no matter where you are. Tap into a wide range of instruments from around the world. And with the ever-expanding Sound Library, you can browse and download from a massive collection of free sounds, loops, and samples created by some of the biggest producers in the world.

Play Make music. With or without an instrument.

The moment you launch GarageBand, you can start making music. Play stunningly realistic Touch Instruments, instantly build big beats, and create music like a DJ — all with just a few taps. The Sound Library lets you explore and download sound packs tailored to help you build your tracks with just the right elements for the style you want.

Live Loops. Create like a DJ.

Live Loops makes it fun and easy to create electronic music. Simply tap cells and columns in the grid to trigger musical loops, and then build your own original arrangements. You can even use Remix FX to add creative, DJ‑style transitions with Multi‑Touch gestures, or just by moving your iOS device.

If you can tap, you can play.

GarageBand comes with beautiful and highly expressive Touch Instruments that sound and respond just like the real thing. Play keyboards, guitars, and bass, as well as sounds designed for EDM and Hip Hop. Smart Instruments make you sound like a pro — even if you’ve never played a note. And you can explore the sounds of Asia with traditional Chinese and Japanese instruments, including the Guzheng, the Koto, and an array of Taiko drums.

• overview_organ
• overview_guitar
• overview_strings
• overview_bass

Build the perfect beat.

When it comes to how you make your beats, the choice is yours — from jamming live on virtual drum kits to instant drag‑and‑done Smart Drums. The Beat Sequencer lets you easily build rhythms using sounds and a workflow inspired by classic drum machines. And Drummer gives you access to a team of virtual session drummers, each playing a popular electronic or acoustic style with a signature kit.

Plug it in. Tear it up.

Plug in your guitar and choose from a van‑load of amps and stompbox effects that deliver the perfect feel — from dreamy soundscapes to stadium‑size rock. 1 Our bass amps let you hold down the bass line with clean or distorted rigs modeled after vintage and modern amplifiers.

The synth the pros use. Anywhere you go.

GarageBand includes Alchemy, one of the world’s most advanced synthesizers. Explore hundreds of Apple‑designed Patches, perfect for EDM, Hip Hop, Indie, Rock, and Pop music. Use the expressive Transform Pad to morph between sounds in real time, or just have fun using the simple Chord Strips that help anyone play like an expert.

Sound Library. Your all‑access pass to a world of sounds.

With the Sound Library, you’ve got instant access to an incredible and expanding collection of free loops and instruments from right inside the app. With Producer Packs, you can use royalty-free sounds in your songs that were created by some of the biggest hitmakers in music today. And Remix Sessions let you create your own versions of hit songs.

You can easily manage your library as it grows, and GarageBand will even notify you when new sound packs are released and ready for you to download.

Record A full recording studio. To go.

With its powerful and intuitive interface, GarageBand makes it easy to capture, adjust, and mix your performances into a finished composition. Build a complete song using any combination of Touch Instruments, audio recordings, and loops.

Make tracks. Up to 32 of them.

Work with up to an astounding 32 tracks with GarageBand for iOS. 2 With a compatible third‑party audio interface, you can even plug in the entire band and record everyone simultaneously on separate tracks. Take multiple passes to nail your performance using Multi‑Take Recording — just choose any Touch Instrument, tap Record, and play continuously over a looping song section. GarageBand automatically captures each one, and you simply choose your favorite.

Take total control of your mix.

Fine‑tune your tracks and record each tap, swipe, and twist of the knobs. Draw and edit volume automation for precise control over your mix. And let the Simple EQ and Compressor keep your tracks sounding crisp and clear. For even more detailed control, take advantage of 10 track‑mixing effects directly from Logic Pro, like the Visual EQ, Bitcrusher, Vocal Transformer, and more.

Plug into hundreds more sounds on the App Store.

Audio Unit Extensions let you use your favorite compatible third‑party instrument and effect plug‑ins right in your GarageBand song. Browse the App Store and download your selections from leading music app developers like Moog Music.

Visit the App Store

iCloud GarageBand everywhere. Tweak your tracks. On any device.

iCloud allows you to keep your GarageBand sessions up to date across all your iOS and iPadOS devices. Using iCloud Drive, you can import song sketches to your Mac and take them even further, then share your finished piece on any of your devices. You can also import a portable version of a Logic Pro project and add more tracks. When you bring the project back into Logic Pro, the original tracks are all there, along with the new ones you’ve added in GarageBand.

Share Release your song. Worldwide.

Your music deserves to be heard — everywhere. With GarageBand, you can easily share your tracks via email or to social media sites like SoundCloud. 3 You can even wirelessly share with someone near you using AirDrop. Or save them as custom ringtones so whenever somebody calls, your song rocks. And with built‑in support for iOS 16 and the Files app, you have even more project‑sharing options through third‑party developers.

GarageBand for Mac

Your personal music creation studio.

Learn more about GarageBand for Mac

The power of Logic Pro comes to iPad.

Logic Pro for iPad puts a complete professional music studio at your fingertips. Effortlessly open your GarageBand for iOS projects using Logic Pro for iPad and elevate your creativity with pro features and workflows.

Learn more about Logic Pro for iPad

GarageBand for iOS

Play, record, arrange, and mix — wherever you go.

Download GarageBand for iOS

Giant Freakin Robot

Time Travel Equation Solved By Astrophysicist

Posted: March 25, 2024 | Last updated: March 25, 2024

After a lifetime of pursuing the idea, Physics Professor Ronald Mallett at the University of Connecticut has potentially figured out the theoretical aspects of time travel. Professor Mallett believes that black holes, rotating light, and gravitational pulls may hold the key to exploring time, but it’s all theoretical for now. There are still a lot of hurdles and limitations to handle before time travel can have real, practical applications.

A Life Spent Thinking About Time Travel

Love and loss pushed Professor Mallett into an obsession with time and space. When he was 10 years old, his father passed away from a heart attack. It was his father who nourished his love of science, but H.G. Wells’ book The Time Machine pushed him towards a focus on time travel.

He was hooked from the very first paragraph of the book, “Scientific people know very well that Time is only a kind of Space. And why cannot we move in Time as we move about in the other dimensions of Space?”

That paragraph never left him, and the professor let that time travel question guide him through school and into the Professor Emeritus of Physics position at the University of Connecticut.

Einstein And Black Holes

As he grew up, Professor Mallett spent much of his time on Albert Einstein’s theories about black holes. While his interest in time travel only continued to grow, a potential solution never showed itself. At least, not until the professor ended up in a hospital with a heart condition.

There, lying in the hospital bed, inspiration hit him. Black holes and the gravitational fields they created were the answer to time travel. These gravitational fields had the potential to lead to time loops, which then theoretically could allow people and objects to travel back in time.

Black Holes Manipulating Gravity

While this idea offered an ability to manipulate time, the other problem was how to use these time loops for time travel.

Professor Mallett found this time travel solution much easier than the first problem. Strong and continuous beams of light, like a ring of lasers, with a particular rotation could be used to manipulate gravity and mimic the distorting effects of a black hole.

Though the details are rather complicated, the big time travel picture is a lot simpler to grasp. The professor offers a comparison to help people understand. “Let’s say you have a cup of coffee in front of you. Start stirring the coffee with the spoon. It started to spin, right? That’s what a spinning black hole does. In Einstein’s theory, space and time are related to each other. That’s why it’s called space-time. So when the black hole spins, it will actually cause time to shift.”

Much To Figure Out

Professor Mallett may now have a theory on time travel and a machine to use to make it possible, but that doesn’t mean it will be here in the next few decades.

There’s still a lot to figure out to make such travel practical, such as where the insane amount of energy such a machine would require could come from, and how big the machine would need to be.

There’s also a major constraint on the machine. According to his theories, time travel would only be possible to the very beginning of when the machine was first built. In this way, it’s more like a one-way message service. You can potentially go forward quite a distance, but going back in time is limited by the machine’s creation.

Theoretical Aspects Of Time Travel

The professor has made a huge leap in figuring out the theoretical aspects of time travel, but there’s a lot more to discover and quite a few hurdles and paradoxes to figure out before scientists practically start messing around in time.

Still, the theory is a step in the right direction and does suggest that people can push past what science currently considers possible.

Source: Earth.com

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The best garage bands of all time

Here are the garage bands from the ’60s to today that best harness rock & roll’s raw potential and unvarnished charm

Photograph: Courtesy Jini Delacchio

In the 1960s, an explosion of garage bands simultaneously popped up around the world with one mission: to play loud, raw, fiercely delivered rock & roll. Those formerly repressed teengagers started something called garage rock—a loosely defined genre, which is similar in that sense to the best classic rock songs , best pop songs or best country songs . Them and their descendents have been blessing the world with their music ever since.

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

Best garage bands of all time

1.  the sonics.

The Tacoma, Washington, crew’s catalog of simple, grungy tunes, sung wildly, makes them the definite garage rock band. Amazingly, they’re still going today.

2.  The Troggs

Originally called The Troglodytes, the British group had already switched to its shorter, catchier moniker by the time it released its definitive cover of the Wild Ones’ “Wild Thing” in 1966.

3.  Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs

Domingo "Sam the Sham" Samudio never did explain exactly what a “Wooly Bully” was, but don’t let it stop you from getting down to this dancefloor staple.

4.  Paul Revere & The Raiders

Revere & Co. were the best—though certainly not the only—band to don colonial-era garb.

5.  The Kingsmen

At this point, Richard Berry’s “Louie Louie” has been covered hundreds, probably thousands of times, and yet, it’s still this 1963 take, by some kinds from Portland, that’s the most well-known, right down to the guitar solo.

6.  13th Floor Elevators

Fronted by influential songman Roky Erickson, the 13th Floor Elevators were keeping Austin weird way back in 1965, with a debut album—The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators—that encouraged listeners to drop acid to expand their minds.

7.  The Kinks

The Davies Brothers went on to have a long recording career, but first made their mark with this opening salvo of power-pop gold.

8.  ? and the Mysterians

The driving-organ riff steered the band’s 1966 single, “96 Tears,” all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

9.  Them

You’ll recognize the voice here as a 19-year-old Van Morrison, who fronted the Irish garage band before striking out on his own.

10.  The Seeds

The Los Angeles band delivered garage rock with twisted psychedelic bent on its influential 1966 self-titled debut.

Listen to the best garage bands

In the mood for punk music, check out the best punk bands of all time.

• Punk and metal

From the genre’s old-school originators to their pop-punk progeny, these are the best punk bands of all time

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27 GarageBand Tips For Beginners That Will Make Way Better Music

*This article may contain links to affiliate products & services. We have reviewed these services to try and ensure the highest quality recommendations*

Written by Ramsey Brown.

GarageBand is Apple’s own fully equipped DAW that is preloaded on almost all Apple devices. This music creation software turns any iPad, PC, or iOS compatible device into a full-featured recording studio — so you can make music anywhere you go. 

Behind its intuitive and modern design, it includes the basics needed to record, mix, master, and share your music with others — making it a perfect app for beginner producers . It also comes with a complete sound library full of built-in sounds, loops, instruments, and presets for guitar and voice.

If you are just beginning to produce your own music, GarageBand is a great beginner DAW software for you to start with. In this article, we are going to share with you 27 GarageBand tips that will help you make way better music. 

So, if you want to take your music production skills to the next level — keep reading! 

27 GarageBand Tips For Beginners

After you’ve set your intentions to become the next best producer, and you’ve downloaded and installed GarageBand on your device, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty and begin learning how to make music on the software. These tips below will give beginners a head start on becoming a GarageBand pro: 

1. Read the User Help Manual

Yes I know, reading the user manual sounds boring, but take my word for it — if you take the time to read through this guide in the beginning stages, it will save you a ton of time and confusion down the road. 

The GarageBand User Help Guide provides a brief overview and introduction to the software and its features. This is a great go-to tool to have on hand whenever you get stuck on something in the application. 

2. Color Code Tracks

By default, each track type (audio, software instrument, drummer) has a standard color, which makes it easy to visually distinguish track types in a project. You can assign different colors to individual tracks, to help visually distinguish tracks with different parts or when using different instruments.

Assign colors to tracks GarageBand on Mac, select the track, then choose Track > Assign Track Color. The Color palette opens. Select the track color in the Color palette.

3. Flex Time

Flex Time simplifies the process of editing the timing of notes, beats, and other events in audio regions. You can compress or expand the time between specified events without the need for trimming, moving, nudging, or crossfading.

4. Loop Browser

On macOS and iOS, GarageBand has a loop browser, enabling you to create songs by dragging and dropping pre-made loops to tracks on the timeline. To open the loop browser, click/tap the loop icon in the toolbar. You can search for specific instruments or genres. Drag a loop to an empty area underneath any existing tracks to get started.

5. Groove Track Box

GarageBand can help with iffy timing with the Groove Track Box feature. Choose Track > Configure Track Header (or hit Alt+T and tick the Groove Track box), mouse over the left edge of your drum track, and click the yellow star to make it the ‘groove master’.

All other tracks now have checkboxes in their headers — tick the dodgy ones and they should now follow the timing of the drums more closely.

A patch contains the instrument, effects, and other settings that control the sound of a track. When you choose a patch, those settings are applied to the currently selected track. You can try a different sound for the track by choosing a different patch, as long as the patch is compatible with the track type.

You can choose a patch in the Library when you create a track, and choose a different patch at any time while you’re working. The Library always shows available patches for the currently selected track. You can search for patches by name in the Library.

7. Quick Undo & Redo Shortcuts

Quickly undo your last edit operation by choosing Edit > Undo, or press Command-Z.

Quickly redo your last edit operation by Choosing Edit > Redo, or press Shift-Command-Z.

8.  Remote Control Feature

If you have an iOS device, you can use Apple’s free Logic Remote iOS app to control GarageBand remotely. You can navigate and mix projects, record new tracks and even play software instruments from an iPhone or iPad connected to the same network as your computer. 

The Download Logic Remote option in the GarageBand menu will take you to the app’s iTunes Store page.

9. Media Browser

Using the Media Browser, you can find and import songs from your iTunes library and movies from your Movies folder into a GarageBand project. You can also import GarageBand projects into the current project.

10. Import Audio & MIDI Files

You can import audio files of the following file types into a GarageBand project: 

AAC (except protected AAC files)

Apple Lossless

Drag the audio file you want to import from the Finder to an audio track or to the empty area below the existing tracks in the Tracks area.

You can also import MIDI files into a GarageBand project. MIDI is a standard file format for synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments. To import, just drag the MIDI file you want to import from the Finder to a software instrument track or to the empty area below the existing tracks in the Tracks area.

The MIDI file appears on one or more software instrument tracks. You can choose the software instrument used to play the MIDI file in the Library.

11. Arranging Tracks

The Tracks area, located in the center of the GarageBand window, is where you arrange regions to build your project. The Tracks area shows a visual representation of time moving from left to right. 

At the top of the Tracks area, the ruler shows units of time in either musical format (bars and beats) or standard time format (minutes and seconds). You can position regions with the ruler; snap regions and other items to the grid to precisely align them with bars, beats, or other (time) divisions; and use alignment guides to align them with other items in the Tracks area.

12. Correcting Song Pitch

This tip is especially useful when you record audio regions that have the right “feel” and timing but aren’t perfectly in tune.

When you correct the tuning, all regions on the selected track (both your own recordings and loops) are adjusted. Adjusting the tuning can produce accurate results only for single-note (monophonic) audio regions, so be sure the track doesn’t include regions with chords or un-pitched sounds.

In the Tracks area, select the regions you want to correct.

Make sure the Track tab is selected in the Audio Editor inspector.

Drag the Pitch Correction slider to the right to increase the amount of tuning adjustment, or drag it left to decrease the amount of adjustment.

To restrict pitch correction to notes in the project key, select the Limit to Key checkbox.

13. Learn To Play Piano or Guitar

A great feature of GarageBand that many aren’t aware of is the built-in guitar and piano lessons. You can learn to play your guitar or keyboard by taking the guitar or piano lessons included with GarageBand. You can download additional lessons, including Artist Lessons with songs taught by the artists themselves. You choose and open lessons from the Project Chooser.

When you close a lesson, you return to the Project Chooser. GarageBand remembers where you stopped and starts the lesson from the same place the next time you open it. You can also slow down the speed of the lesson, change the mix of a lesson, and have GarageBand show you how you played.

14. AUSampler

GarageBand’s 'hidden' sampler, AUSampler, lets you drag and drop audio files into it to build new instruments. Create a Software Instrument track and click the Smart Controls button, then open the Plug-ins pane to the left of the control panel. You’ll find AUSampler (which can also load EXS24 files) in the popup plugin menu.

15. Microphone Connection

You can connect a microphone to your computer to record your voice, an instrument, or any other sound to an audio track in GarageBand. You can connect a microphone to an audio input port, USB port, or other port on your computer, or to an audio interface connected to your computer. You can also use your computer’s built-in microphone to record sound.

After you connect a microphone, you choose the input source for the track you want to record in and optionally turn on monitoring. Monitoring lets you hear yourself play so that you can hear the part you want to record as well as the rest of the project.

16. Electric Guitar Connection

You can connect an electric guitar or another electric instrument to your computer to play and record in an audio track, and use the included amps and pedals to shape your guitar sound. There are several ways to connect an electric instrument to your computer.

After you connect an electric guitar, you choose the input source for the track you want to record in, and optionally turn on monitoring. Monitoring lets you hear yourself play so that you can hear the part you want to record as well as the rest of the project.

17. Connect Electric Keyboard

You can connect a USB or MIDI music keyboard to your computer to play and record software instruments. All you need to do is connect the USB cable from the keyboard straight to your computer.

18. Set Key and Scale

Each project has a key, which defines the central note to which the other notes relate. By default, new projects are in the key of C major. You can choose a new key when you create a project, and change it later while you’re working. When you add Apple Loops to your project, they match the project key.

To set the project key and scale in the LCD, click the key, then choose a key from the pop-up menu.

19. Smart Controls

The Smart Controls panel provides quick and easy-to-navigate access to the parameters of the currently selected instrument or plugin that you’re most likely to need. The layout depends on the kind of instrument or effect you have loaded up, and you can use the buttons at the top of the panel to switch between the Smart Controls and the Channel EQ.

20. Create Your Own Loops

GarageBand is packed with loads of Apple Loops, but making your own is simplicity itself. Just record a part that you think would make a good loop, trim it to the right length and give it a suitable name. Then select File > Add Region to Loop Library. Your loop will then be accessible via the Loop Browser within any other project, and will follow the tempo like any other Apple Loop.

21. Use The Metronome

GarageBand includes a metronome, which plays a steady beat (like a “click track”) to help you play and record in time. You can turn the metronome on or off when you are recording or any time your project is playing. The metronome always plays at the project tempo.

You can also set the metronome to play a one-measure “count-in” before recording starts.

22. Use The Built-In Tuner

GarageBand features a built-in tuner, accessed via the button to the right of the LCD display in the transport bar. This examines the incoming audio signal, whether it’s from a connected mic or guitar input, and displays its pitch on a circular readout, so you can use it to check whether your instrument is in tune before you record it.

23. Get Quick Help

The Quick Help button, represented by a question mark in the top left corner of the transport bar, enables GarageBand’s ‘self-help’ mode, offering yellow text boxes that explain the function of the object currently under the mouse pointer. If you hover over the Quick Help button itself when enabled, a set of tips for the app’s main working areas are displayed.

24. Mix Louder

Make sure your mixes are loud enough to compete with commercial tracks by checking the Auto Normalize checkbox (Preferences > Advanced > Auto Normalize). This will ensure that your projects are exported at full loudness when you mix them down. A range of export options are available from the Share menu, including sharing to Soundcloud, iTunes, or bouncing to disc or CD.

25. Make Music On The Go

If you start a project on GarageBand for iOS, you can use the app’s Smart Touch instruments to quickly get down some ideas on the move, then import the song into GarageBand for OS X via the File > iCloud menu. This is a one-way deal, though - songs won’t go from Mac to iOS, because the Mac app has capabilities that just aren’t possible yet on an iPad or iPhone.

26. Cycle Area

You can use the cycle area to repeatedly play a particular part of a project. The cycle area can be used for composing, practicing a part before recording, recording multiple takes, and other purposes.

When Cycle mode is on, the cycle area is displayed as a yellow strip in the upper part of the ruler (or in the center, when the secondary ruler is visible). When Cycle mode is turned off, the cycle area is no longer visible. To turn cycle mode on or off, simply click the Cycle button in the control bar (or press C).

27) Keyboard Shortcuts

Improve your workflow with Garageband’s keyboard shortcuts. This is something you’ll want to familiarize yourself with as soon as possible. This way, you can concentrate on the creative side of things instead of spending time finding your way around the interface. 

The GarageBand Guide has put together an updated version of the GarageBand keyboard shortcut cheat sheet for you to download. You can download your free copy by clicking the button below and then downloading the file from Dropbox.

When your song is ready to go, it's time to start promoting it to potential fans! Omari has the  best organic promotion services  money can buy. With packages for Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, we will get your music the traffic and attention it deserves! Click below for more information.  

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1 response to "27 garageband tips for beginners that will make way better music".

I put 9 songs into garage band. I am trying to put them in a certain numeric order. I tried dragging but that didn’t work. Can you help!!??

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Is Time Travel Possible?

We all travel in time! We travel one year in time between birthdays, for example. And we are all traveling in time at approximately the same speed: 1 second per second.

We typically experience time at one second per second. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA's space telescopes also give us a way to look back in time. Telescopes help us see stars and galaxies that are very far away . It takes a long time for the light from faraway galaxies to reach us. So, when we look into the sky with a telescope, we are seeing what those stars and galaxies looked like a very long time ago.

However, when we think of the phrase "time travel," we are usually thinking of traveling faster than 1 second per second. That kind of time travel sounds like something you'd only see in movies or science fiction books. Could it be real? Science says yes!

This image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows galaxies that are very far away as they existed a very long time ago. Credit: NASA, ESA and R. Thompson (Univ. Arizona)

How do we know that time travel is possible?

More than 100 years ago, a famous scientist named Albert Einstein came up with an idea about how time works. He called it relativity. This theory says that time and space are linked together. Einstein also said our universe has a speed limit: nothing can travel faster than the speed of light (186,000 miles per second).

Einstein's theory of relativity says that space and time are linked together. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

What does this mean for time travel? Well, according to this theory, the faster you travel, the slower you experience time. Scientists have done some experiments to show that this is true.

For example, there was an experiment that used two clocks set to the exact same time. One clock stayed on Earth, while the other flew in an airplane (going in the same direction Earth rotates).

After the airplane flew around the world, scientists compared the two clocks. The clock on the fast-moving airplane was slightly behind the clock on the ground. So, the clock on the airplane was traveling slightly slower in time than 1 second per second.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Can we use time travel in everyday life?

We can't use a time machine to travel hundreds of years into the past or future. That kind of time travel only happens in books and movies. But the math of time travel does affect the things we use every day.

For example, we use GPS satellites to help us figure out how to get to new places. (Check out our video about how GPS satellites work .) NASA scientists also use a high-accuracy version of GPS to keep track of where satellites are in space. But did you know that GPS relies on time-travel calculations to help you get around town?

GPS satellites orbit around Earth very quickly at about 8,700 miles (14,000 kilometers) per hour. This slows down GPS satellite clocks by a small fraction of a second (similar to the airplane example above).

GPS satellites orbit around Earth at about 8,700 miles (14,000 kilometers) per hour. Credit: GPS.gov

However, the satellites are also orbiting Earth about 12,550 miles (20,200 km) above the surface. This actually speeds up GPS satellite clocks by a slighter larger fraction of a second.

Here's how: Einstein's theory also says that gravity curves space and time, causing the passage of time to slow down. High up where the satellites orbit, Earth's gravity is much weaker. This causes the clocks on GPS satellites to run faster than clocks on the ground.

The combined result is that the clocks on GPS satellites experience time at a rate slightly faster than 1 second per second. Luckily, scientists can use math to correct these differences in time.

If scientists didn't correct the GPS clocks, there would be big problems. GPS satellites wouldn't be able to correctly calculate their position or yours. The errors would add up to a few miles each day, which is a big deal. GPS maps might think your home is nowhere near where it actually is!

In Summary:

Yes, time travel is indeed a real thing. But it's not quite what you've probably seen in the movies. Under certain conditions, it is possible to experience time passing at a different rate than 1 second per second. And there are important reasons why we need to understand this real-world form of time travel.

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Jamstik Quick Tips for GarageBand - How To Set the Metronome in GarageBand

April 04, 2018

Setting the Metronome Tempo in GarageBand

When you record you’ll usually want a reference for tempo. The metronome (the triangular icon next to the volume slider in the top bar) provides an audible click for you to play to. If the icon is blue, it’s audible, if it’s white it’s not - clicking it switches it off or on.

The metronome has settings you can adjust for your needs. Open the Settings menu in GarageBand - aka “click the wrench icon” and select "Metronome and Count-In"

The Count-In switch enables the metronome to play one bar of click before the recording starts. If you turn the Count-In off recording starts as soon as you click the record button. 

Visual Count-in makes the count-in visible on the screen.

There are four sounds you can select for the metronome - Click, Woodblock, Hi-Hat, and Rimshot. You can also select “no sound” which might seem strange, but with Count-In and Visual Count-In turned on you’d get a visual count off and then you’re just into your track.

The Metronome Level adjusts the volume of the metronome.

Watch the video walkthrough below:

Continue with more GarageBand Quick Tips on the Jamstik Blog

• How to Connect Your Jamstik to GarageBand
• How to Select an Instrument in GarageBand
• How to use the Jamstik to Make Beats in GarageBand

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How To Have Multiple Time Signatures in GarageBand

Although this guide was written in 2018, no subsequent releases of GarageBand have included the ability to change time signatures midway through a project. MuseScore has been updated to version 4 but the procedure remains substantially the same.

Introduction

While most music compositions and arrangements you’re likely to work on will be written in just one time signature, you may well find yourself needing to handle two or more time signatures in the same piece of music.

It’s generally accepted that GarageBand, Apple’s free music creation software for the Mac, cannot do this for you.

GarageBand 10 will happily handle tempo and key transposition changes, as well as a host of other automation, but time signatures are not its bag.

The “Ignore It” Solution

One solution to this issue is to ignore the written time signature completely and simply compose and construct your music with the tempos and keys you require, keeping a mental note (and perhaps through naming and note taking) of where time signatures need to change.

A couple of issues immediately spring to mind with this approach:

1. Some Apple loops are designed to only work with particular time signatures – that is a 4/4 loop won’t work in 3/4. This isn’t a big problem if you don’t plan to use loops, or can otherwise work around it by only using loops for one time signature.

2. If you plan on using the musical notation feature to view your music, you may well run into problems as many of the bar/measure lines and note values will be out of place.

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The MIDI Solution

While there is not (yet) any way to directly change the time signature part way through a song, there is a workaround which uses MIDI files.

For this, you will need some software which is:

• capable of creating a musical structure with various time signature changes in it
• able to export standard MIDI files

Because I do a lot of score editing in its own right, I use the excellent (and free) MuseScore 3 . Not only can it produce top-grade printed music, but it’ll output straight to MIDI.

I’ll be using it for the first part of the tutorial, as it’s what I’m used to. If you use another software package, you’ll need to find out how to export the required MIDI file in your own format, and then skip to the GarageBand instructions further down.

Here we go.

In MuseScore:

Please note that these instructions were created with MuseScore 2. The procedure for creating this file in subsequent versions may alter slightly but is generally the same.

1. Create a blank manuscript (Apple-N). You can skip the score information on the first screen so click “Next”.

2. Create a treble clef document – it’s all that’s needed.

3. If you want to put in the initial key and tempo you can do so, but as GarageBand can change those, it may not be worth it. Either click one or click “Next”.

4. Enter the main time signature of your piece. I’d recommend using whatever the majority of your musical score is composed it.

In MuseScore, the top number can be anything from 1-63 and the bottom (note value) number 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64.

Enter the number of bars (measures) your piece has. Although you don’t have to create every bar in MuseScore, you at least need enough bars to accommodate all the time signature changes.

Click “Finish”

5. Here’s the manuscript you’ve created.

On the left-hand side of the window, you’ll see some Palettes. (If you don’t, make them visible from the “View” menu.)

Click open the Time Signatures palette.

Click the bar where you want the time signature to change, and then double-click the required time signature. Alternatively, drag and drop the required time signature to the required measure.

(Here I’ve got a 4/4 piece of music with 3/4 from bars 4 to 7 and 6/4 from bars 5 to 11).

If the time signature you want isn’t in the palette, you can create it from the master palette. Press Shift-T, click on Time Signatures, then add the time signature you require. Here I’m adding 7/4. Click on “Add”.

Now drag-and-drop this new time signature to where you want it. I’ve added 7/4 to bars 12-14.

Keep doing this until you have the structure required. Don’t forget to change back to the original time signature (if needed).

You don’t need to add any notes – just the bar structure is adequate.

6. Click “File” and “Export” and then select “Standard MIDI File (*.mid)” from the drop-down file type menu. Give the file a name.

Apple GarageBand 10 for Mac OS X launched for free

In GarageBand

7. Find the file, right click and select “Open with GarageBand”. (If this option isn’t available, you can open it directly in GarageBand from the file menu).

8. Your MIDI file should open in GarageBand. Look at the top timeline and you will see the time signatures and varying beat divisions exactly as created in the MIDI file.

You can now go ahead and create your music.

The only caveat is that (as far as I know) you can’t move time signatures around. You also can’t insert or delete blocks of time. So if you change your mind on the structure later, you’ll have to go back to your MIDI file creation software and redo the basic structure.

That said, if you already have a good idea of the structure of your song, this is a way of getting GarageBand to do what you want.

Was this helpful to you? We’d really like to know if this tutorial has helped you out in any way.

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how to extend track length in new garageband

so i downloaded the new garageband but i cant seem to extgend the track length past 32 bars, does anyone know how to do it

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2), 2011 15"" 8GB Corsair Memory

Posted on Oct 24, 2013 4:57 AM

Posted on Oct 24, 2013 5:04 AM

Drag the little triangle (end of song marker) at the top of the timeline:

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Oct 24, 2013 5:04 AM in response to fq360

TSA airport screenings hit an all-time high

If you were looking for a sign of weakness in the U.S. economy, you’re not going to find it at the airport.

The Transportation Security Administration reported this week that it screened a record 2.99 million passengers on Sunday — a new high that may not last long.

“We expect this summer to be our busiest ever and summer travel usually peaks over the Independence Day holiday,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement.

Pekoske added: “The traveling public is on the move, which is a sign of a healthy economy. We are ready, along with our airline and airport partners, to handle this boost in passenger volumes.”

The previous record was set last year on Nov. 25, the day after Thanksgiving.

Airlines for America, a trade group representing major U.S. airlines, has also forecast record summer travel, with passenger counts expected to total 271 million passengers, up 6.3% from last year. Daily flight counts are also expected to climb 5.6%.

In a new presentation on the state of the industry, the group said the record passenger volumes continued to be driven by "post-pandemic YOLOism" — or "you only live once" spending impulses — along with a shift toward hybrid work that has enabled travelers to log-in while on the move.

Older consumers, who the group says have put greater emphasis on experiences like travel, have especially helped buoy passenger volumes, it added, noting that Americans aged 65 and older now constitute the greatest share of spending among all age groups.

Demand remains strongest for international travel, which has outpaced domestic travel each month of 2024 so far. The most popular destinations include Latin American countries, as well as Spain and Italy.

Meanwhile, the price of air travel continues to drop. In the first five months of 2024, fares dropped nearly 9% from the same time last year after adjusting for inflation — and are down 17% compared to the same period pre-pandemic in 2019 after adjusting for inflation.

Rob Wile is a breaking business news reporter for NBC News Digital.

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Help! Qatar Airways Denied Us Boarding Because of a Broken Link.

A woman and her Chinese-born son were set to return to China for the first time since the pandemic, but their airline would not let them fly without filling out a health form they could not access.

By Seth Kugel

Dear Tripped Up,

I am a single American mother living in Jordan and working for the United Nations. In September 2019, I adopted my then 5-year-old son from China, and promised him we would return to visit his country every year. But the pandemic broke out. When China finally reopened to tourists in 2023, we got visas and booked a July flight to Beijing via Doha on Qatar Airways, paying about $1,400 total. My now 9-year-old had worked hard to maintain his language and was excited, but nervous. At that time, the Chinese government required passengers to fill out a “Health Declaration Form” in advance or upon arrival. The link on the Qatar Airways website was broken, but I confirmed online and with friends who had recently traveled to China that I could fill it out upon arrival. At the airport, Qatar Airways disagreed, and when I once again couldn’t get the form to work, we were denied boarding. My son collapsed on the airport floor, sobbing. I rebooked for the next day, and we flew to Beijing via Istanbul on Royal Jordanian and China Southern for $1,882. Neither airline requested to see the QR code showing my form had been approved: All passengers upon arrival were made to fill out new forms. Qatar Airways mostly refunded the tickets — we received $1,185 — but refused to admit it was wrong. Considering the more expensive last-minute flight and other costs (such as rebooking domestic flights and trains in China) we are out about $930. I believe the airline should provide a flight voucher that compensates us for that amount. Can you help? Elizabeth, Amman, Jordan

Dear Elizabeth,

Your run-in with the complex world of international travel documentation was especially devastating because of the emotional stakes this trip represented for your family. But confusion over documentation leads to denied boarding “thousands of times a day,” said Max Tremaine, the chief executive of Sherpa , a company that maintains a database of international entrance requirements for travelers.

Not to excuse Qatar Airways for what I will charitably call a vigorous over-enforcement of the rules, but those frontline airline workers facing long lines at check-in can have a difficult task, making snap judgments on whether travelers have sufficient documents or not.

Countries all have their own entry rules depending on the passports that travelers hold and where they are coming from, and airlines are fined when they mistakenly allow people to fly. The decision may be straightforward when their customers are an American family with valid passports headed direct from New York to London for a week’s vacation. But travel can be complicated — consider, say, when a Dutch banker is on his way to Bangladesh via Cairo or an Australian trapeze artist with a one-way ticket heads to a performance in Kyrgyzstan through Frankfurt.The pandemic only complicated this complicated system. In your situation, your itinerary had you going through Qatar Airways’ hub in Doha, meaning those behind you in line in Jordan were probably headed to dozens of countries, all with their own rules.

In its responses to your complaints, Qatar Airways cited information from Timatic, a system many international airlines use to track the ever-changing entry and departure rules. One email response read: “At the time of your travel, a QR code for China was mandatory before boarding the flight, and also as per Chinese regulations.”

When I contacted the airline, I got a similar answer in a statement from Craig Thomas, Qatar’s vice president for sales in the Americas. “Passengers traveling to China were required to complete an Online China Customs Health e-Declaration prior to boarding the aircraft,” he wrote, noting that local entry requirements are “often complicated” and that the airline is “committed to assisting our passengers in navigating any issues that may arise.”

But Qatar is incorrect about what Timatic was advising at the time. Timatic is run by the International Air Transport Association, a trade organization better known as I.A.T.A. The group’s assistant director who runs Timatic from the Netherlands, Mahir Sahin, sent me the actual information Qatar Airways’ staff would have been relying on in July 2023:

“Passengers must complete an ‘Exit/Entry Health Declaration Form’ and present a QR code before departure or upon arrival.”

The “or upon arrival” bit applied to your situation, as you discovered on your second itinerary. When I asked Qatar Airways about this apparent oversight on their part and asked if it would change their decision not to reimburse you with the requested credit, they did not respond.

But airlines often act extra carefully around such matters, as they are wary of those government fines if they fly passengers without proper documentation. Timatic holds no official status, said Mr. Sahin. The airline is ultimately responsible.

Mr. Sahin explained an agent’s thinking at the check-in counter: “The agent who is checking you in does not know whether everything that you enter will be accepted by the government.”

Airlines at times still resort to risk management,” he said, “making judgment calls on boarding a passenger, especially in cases where government rules and regulations leave room for interpretation.”

But there are precautions you and other travelers can take to reduce their risk.

International documentation requirements differ, so it is worth reading the country’s own policies as well as the U.S. State Department’s recommendations.

But the best strategy, said Mr. Sahin, is to use the same source that supplies the airline their information on entry requirements. Many international carriers provide online resources powered by data from Timatic (or other suppliers like Sherpa) that allow passengers to read what they read. (Qatar Airways’ Travel Requirements page uses Timatic data.)

You can also check the databases on your own, using this rather awkward but perfectly functional page for Timatic, and this more user-friendly but not necessarily as detailed one for Sherpa.

At the end of the day, though, as you discovered, there is still room for airline agents to interpret, and sometimes misinterpret, the rules. This is especially true when you are connecting through an airline’s hub to a third country and the agent may be unfamiliar with that destination’s immigration procedures.

Even that American family heading to London can theoretically be required to prove they’ve arranged accommodations, according to the British government . Timatic doesn’t mention that in its directives to airlines, and it is, for most travelers, unlikely to happen.

But when Timatic does mention a requirement, travelers should take it seriously even if they find conflicting information elsewhere.

I received an email from a California woman who was denied boarding by Avianca for a trip from Los Angeles via San Salvador and Bogotá, Colombia, to La Paz, Bolivia. In Los Angeles, an Avianca worker did not let her board, telling the traveler she needed passport photos and a copy of recent bank statements. She countered that there is no mention of this requirement on the State Department’s page on entry requirements for Bolivia . But that was the wrong place to look. If she had consulted Avianca’s Timatic-supplied page on travel requirements, she would have seen a requirement passengers must have a passport photo and be able to provide “proof of funds” upon arrival, and “these could be bank statements.”

She rebooked for the next day, got photos and dutifully printed out the bank statements. But you know how the story goes: Bolivian officials asked for neither.

If you need advice about a best-laid travel plan that went awry, send an email to [email protected] .

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram , Twitter and Facebook . And sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to receive expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation.

Seth Kugel is the columnist for “ Tripped Up ,” an advice column that helps readers navigate the often confusing world of travel. More about Seth Kugel

Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Ljubljana, Slovenia:  Stroll along the river, explore a contemporary art scene and admire panoramic views in this scenic Central European capital .

Cities With Great Beaches:  Already been to Miami, Honolulu and Sydney? These five other coastal destinations  are vibrant on land and on the water.

Southern France:  The Canal du Midi traverses the Occitanie region and gives cyclists of all skill levels  access to parts of France that are rich in lore .

Port Antonio, Jamaica:  The D.J. and music producer Diplo recommends spots in a city he loves  on Jamaica’s northeast coast. A dance party makes the cut.

New Mexico:  Visiting the vast and remote Gila Wilderness, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, is both inspiring and demanding .

• SI SWIMSUIT
• SI SPORTSBOOK

FSU Football Set to Travel Third-Most Miles in ACC This Season

Tommy mire | 5 hours ago.

• Florida State Seminoles
• Stanford Cardinal
• Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• SMU Mustangs

College football is right around the corner, with Florida State set to kick off the year with a Week ‘0’ matchup against Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland, on August 24. With three newcomers joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, travel will increase as the ACC expands westward, adding Cal, Stanford, and SMU to boost revenue.

So, which team in the ACC will travel the most this season? Bill Speros of bookies.com did the math , and it turns out the Cal Bears will be the most travel-savvy when all is said and done, with Stanford taking the No. 2 spot.

Although FSU and Georgia Tech will take to the skies for an 8,174-mile round trip to start the year, The Seminoles will still be cashing in their travel points, landing at No. 3. Cal travels a total of 20,660.7 miles across 26 time zones, Stanford is at 14,017.59 miles across 16 time zones, and FSU will total 13,028.14 miles across 14 time zones.

READ MORE: FSU Football's 2024 Schedule Ranked As One Of The Nation's Toughest By CFB Analyst

Florida State will face two of the new ACC teams out west, SMU and Cal. However, the Bears travel to Tallahassee, FL, on September 21, making the Seminoles’ trip to Texas their only irregular conference away game outside their usual geographic area, aside from the trip to Ireland. The furthest away game in the United States for FSU will be its November 9 trip to Notre Dame, totaling 1,840 miles traveled. SMU (1,666 miles) and Duke (1,279 miles) are the next two runners-up.

FSU fans are known for their strong travel support, as seen over the past two seasons. Both ‘home and home’ games against LSU appeared like true home games for Florida State, even though neither took place in their respective home stadiums.

Coming off an ACC title season and a playoff snub that left fans feeling bittersweet, it wouldn’t be surprising to see even more garnet and gold in opposing teams’ stands this year.

WATCH: Sneak-Peak Of FSU Football's Entrance To Doak Campbell Stadium In College Football 25

Stick with  NoleGameday  for more FREE coverage of Florida State football  throughout the offseason

Follow NoleGameday on and  Twitter ,  Facebook ,  Instagram ,  and TikTok

More Florida State News

•  Four-Star Wide Receiver CJ Wiley Chooses FSU Football Over Georgia Bulldogs

•  Lengthy Blue-Chip Wide Receiver Commits To Florida Gators Over FSU Football

•  Doak Campbell Stadium Ranked Among Top 10 Toughest Places to Play in College Football 25

• FSU Football Tight End Named Among 'Must-Watch' True Freshmen For 2024 Season

Tommy Mire joined NoleGameday in 2023 as a writer and editor. He initially worked as lead voice at SBNation's Tomahawk Nation and contributes to football, NFL and recruiting coverage. Connect with Tommy on Twitter at @TommyM3III

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Planning on traveling for the Fourth of July holiday? Here's how to avoid the rush

The Fourth of July is right around the corner, and the travel rush is already heating up

NEW YORK — The Fourth of July is right around the corner, and the travel rush is already heating up.

Millions of Americans are preparing to get out of town sometime in the coming holiday week. That will likely mean busy roads, as well as packed airports and train stations.

Motor club AAA projects that some 70.9 million travelers will head 50 miles (80 kilometers) or more from their homes over a nine-day Independence Day travel period — surpassing pre-pandemic numbers for the U.S. holiday. And the Transportation Security Administration expects to screen over 32 million individuals in airports from this Thursday through July 8, up 5.4% from last year’s numbers.

Are you traveling for the Fourth? Here’s a rundown of what you need to know.

When is the best time to hit the road for July Fourth?

Smooth sailing for travel around any holiday is never a given. But avoiding the most hectic times, when others are rushing out of town, is a good way to start.

If you’re traveling by car for the Fourth of July, it’s best to hit the road in the morning, according to transportation data and insights provider INRIX. Peak traffic congestion varies by location, INRIX data published by AAA shows, but the worst times to drive on, or leading up to, the holiday are generally between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Either way, be prepared for the roads to be jammed.

“Road trips over the holiday week could take up to 67% longer than normal,” Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX, said in a prepared statement.

July Fourth falls on a Thursday this year, and many travelers will likely take Friday July 5th off to extend their trip into a four-day weekend. Drivers in large metro areas can expect the biggest delays on Wednesday July 3 and Sunday July 7 — as travelers leave and return to town, Pishue added.

And if you’re renting a car ahead of July Fourth, the busiest pickup days will be Friday, Saturday and Wednesday before the holiday, AAA notes.

When will airports be busiest?

Airports will also likely be packed all week long — but the TSA expects most people will take to the skies on Friday.

It anticipates that it will screen more than 3 million individuals Friday. That would surpass the agency’s current record for most people screened on a single day, which reached just under 3 million last Sunday.

“We expect this summer to be our busiest ever,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said, adding that travel typical peaks around Independence Day.

Last year, the busiest day for Fourth of July air travel was also the Friday ahead of the holiday, TSA data shows. If past trends hold, travel will likely be higher on the days before and after the Fourth — particularly closer to the weekend. In 2023, for example, more than 2 million people were screened on the Fourth, which landed on a Tuesday last year, down from 2.88 million the Friday before.

What should I do if my flight is delayed or canceled?

Flights can be delayed or canceled for an array of reasons — from plane-specific mechanical problems to major storms impacting popular travel paths.

If your flight is canceled, airlines are required to provide refunds for customers, even if the cancellation is due to weather . Delays are trickier, because they typically have to meet certain criteria for relief, such as refunds or compensation — but carriers will often give customers to chance to switch to alternative flights, if available, at no cost.

In April, the Biden administration issued final rules that include requiring airlines to provide automatic cash refunds within a few days for canceled flights and “significant” delays. Those rules are set to take effect over the next two years, but the Department of Transportation has a site that lets consumers see the commitments each airline has made for refunds and covering other expenses when flights are canceled or significantly delayed.

Always check your itinerary before leaving home

It’s better to be stuck at home than locked in hourslong traffic or stranded in an airport terminal. Before heading out the door this holiday week, do yourself a favor and check the status of your travel plans.

Was your flight, train or bus ride delayed? Are there are traffic incidents set to disrupt your drive? And what about the weather? A quick look through your itinerary — such as trip updates on a carrier’s website — checking weather forecasts and monitoring traffic safety through services like the 511 hotline or your phone’s navigation apps can go a long way toward avoiding travel misery.

Here are a few more tips to keep in mind:

— Leave early: There are more people everywhere during a holiday week, so lines will be longer and roads will be busier. Give yourself more time to get to your destination or to make your way through airport security.

— Keep an eye on the weather — and not just for your destination: Look at the weather for your entire travel path. Even if it’s sunny skies both at home and the place you’re headed, it’s important to keep an eye out for any storms in between. You may need to do some rerouting.

— Be kind: A trip delay or cancellation can be really frustrating — but if you’re running into disruptions, chances are others are too. Customer service agents have a lot on their plate at this time of year, and it’s important to be patient and respectful as they try to help you.

GarageBand Tutorial for Complete Beginners

From finding your way around the sound browser, to using touch instruments and recording audio, in this GarageBand tutorial for complete beginners I share five tips to help you get started in GarageBand on iPad and iPhone

Topics covered in the video above:

Sound Browser : Learn how to navigate GarageBand for iOS’ Sound Browser and discover the different instrument and effect options available.

Touch Instruments : Identify the different sections and functions that make up a GarageBand touch instrument. I take a step by step run through of the features available in GarageBand’s Guitar Touch Instrument.

Recording Touch Instruments : I share how to properly capture your Touch Instrument performance.

Recording Audio : Learn where your iPad/iPhone’s built in microphone is located. Discover how best to record audio and how to add effects afterwards.

Using Loops : I show where you can find GarageBand for iOS’ Loop Browser and how to narrow your search criteria. Learn how to place loops in the tracks view.

Why you should use GarageBand on your iPad/iPhone

Way back in March 2011, Apple announced they would be releasing a version of their popular recording program – GarageBand – for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch operating system, iOS.

While seen by many at first as little more than a fun distraction, GarageBand for iOS and iPadOS has become an incredibly full featured and robust app, with a massive (and still growing) community of music makers and content creators.

I personally first got to grips with the app in early 2012 on my (then) shiny new iPhone 4s.

Fast forward to present day and there are millions of people who use GarageBand for iOS and iPadOS every day to write, compose and record everything from electronic dance music to doom fueled metal and everything in between.

A complete recording studio in your portable device, GarageBand for iOS/iPadOS is packed full of powerful music making features.

GarageBand’s HIDDEN features

Why did Apple hide these GarageBand features?

In this special GarageBand iOS tutorial video I share six hidden features. They are guaranteed to make your GarageBand production workflow easier…

First of all hello Patrick and thank you so much for all that you do and all that you share to people like me. New to GarageBand and music production in general I have a question. Sometimes I will use a 3rd party loop in a project but it doesn’t line up to the grid with the rest of my loops. Sometimes the loop may be longer and sometimes shorter. How can I time stretch in GarageBand so all loops will snap to grid on the same grid? I hope I’m using the correct terminology, thank you in advance.

• Pingback: 3 MUST HAVE iPad Music Production Apps - thegaragebandguide.com

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TSA breaks record for most individuals screened on a single day, readies for record-breaking Independence Day weekend travel volumes

WASHINGTON — As airline passengers prepare to take to the skies this Independence Day holiday, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is prepared for a sustained period of high passenger volumes. TSA expects to screen more than 32 million individuals from Thursday, June 27 through Monday, July 8, which is a 5.4% increase over 2023 Independence Day holiday travel volumes. On Sunday, June 23, TSA broke the record for most people screened on a single day, screening nearly 3 million (2.99 million) individuals . This summer’s record-breaking travel volumes reflect the role TSA and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have in securing the nation’s transportation systems, while ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce, which is vital to our country’s economic well-being.

TSA anticipates the peak travel day will be Friday, June 28, when the agency expects to screen more than 3 million individuals. TSA is staffed to meet its wait time standards, which are 10 minutes and under in TSA PreCheck lanes and 30 minutes and under in standard screening lanes. Seven of the top 10 busiest travel days ever have occurred over the past month.

“We expect this summer to be our busiest ever and summer travel usually peaks over the Independence Day holiday,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “Compared to last year, we have cut our attrition rates by almost half and increased our recruiting as a result of the TSA Compensation Plan that was funded in the budget passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden. The traveling public is on the move, which is a sign of a healthy economy. We are ready, along with our airline and airport partners, to handle this boost in passenger volumes.”

Airline passengers should be aware that security screening technologies may vary by airport. Although TSA follows strict standardized screening protocols, it is important for passengers to arrive early and listen to the guidance provided by Transportation Security Officers (TSOs).

Below are some frequently asked questions that provide an overview of the TSA technologies and procedures individuals may encounter during screening process.

Do I need to show a boarding pass to the TSA officer?

All airline passengers must have their acceptable ID and boarding pass ready at the security checkpoint entrance.

Do I need to take off my shoes?

TSA requires individuals in standard screening lanes to remove their shoes during the screening process. However, individuals 12 and under or 75 and older are always permitted to keep their shoes on during the security screening process.

Passengers with TSA PreCheck may leave their shoes on unless they alarm during screening. Most airports have dedicated TSA PreCheck lanes during some peak hours. Some airports have blended lanes where passengers with TSA PreCheck are screened in standard lanes, but they will receive a card indicating they have TSA PreCheck to carry with them during screening, and will be screened as a TSA PreCheck passenger.

Can family members go through the TSA PreCheck lane with me?

Teenagers aged 13-17 may accompany TSA PreCheck enrolled parents or guardians through screening when traveling on the same reservation and when the TSA PreCheck indicator appears on the teen’s boarding pass. Children 12 and under may accompany an enrolled parent or guardian in the TSA PreCheck lanes without restriction. This benefit is another reason to join the nearly 20 million people who have enrolled in TSA PreCheck. For customer flexibility, there are three TSA PreCheck enrollment providers from which passengers may choose: Telos, CLEAR and IDEMIA. For more information on any of the enrollment provider options and TSA PreCheck, visit www.tsa.gov/precheck .

Other advice from TSA

With more than 430 federalized, commercial airports nationwide, 685 security checkpoints and 2,412 security screening lanes, it may be challenging to know what to expect at any airport. Here are some additional tips to help ensure an efficient screening experience:

• Pack smart. Always start packing with a bag that is empty to ensure there are no prohibited items present during security screening. Place electronics larger than a cell phone and travel size liquids at the top of your carry-on so they can be easily accessible if they must be removed. Remember that all liquids must be 3.4 ounces (100 ml) or less if they are in your carry-on bag.
• Arrive at the airport two hours before scheduled boarding time. Allow ample time to park,  navigate to the terminal, check luggage with the airline if needed and proceed through the checkpoint. Most flights board 30-45 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time.
• Review guidelines for traveling with children. Airlines may request proof of age documentation during check-in for children 12 and under traveling unaccompanied. Proof of age documentation must also be provided for children two and under planning to sit on an adult passenger’s lap. A birth certificate is an acceptable proof of age.
• Get assistance prior to traveling. Do you have a question about an item and whether or not it is allowed through security screening? Download the MyTSA app and use the “What Can I Bring?” feature to determine whether an item is allowed or prohibited in carry-on luggage. You may also snap a picture of an item and send it to @AskTSA on X (formerly Twitter) or Facebook Messenger for real-time assistance. Passengers may text their question to TSA by texting “Travel” to AskTSA (275-872). Passengers who need additional assistance through security screening may request a TSA  Passenger Support Specialist (PSS). A PSS is a TSO who has received specialized training, including how to effectively assist and communicate with individuals with disabilities, medical conditions or those who need additional screening assistance. Individuals should request passenger assistance at least 72 hours in advance by contacting  our TSA Cares passenger support line  at (855) 787-2227. Live assistance for both the TCC and TSA Cares is available weekdays, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET, or weekends and holidays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.
• Double-check your luggage tags. Many bags look alike, so passengers should tag every piece of checked luggage with their name and address. We also recommended they include additional addresses inside each bag in the event the outside tag falls off. When retrieving checked luggage at baggage claim, it is important that individuals check the tags to ensure they have picked up the correct bag.
• Do you carry a firearm? Prepare, pack and declare. Passengers may travel with a firearm , but it must be secured as the passenger’s checked baggage; packed unloaded; locked in a hard-sided case and declared to the airline when checking in at the airline ticket counter. Firearms are prohibited at security checkpoints, in the secure area of an airport and in the passenger cabin of an aircraft, even if a passenger has a concealed carry permit or is in a constitutional carry jurisdiction. TSA does not confiscate or seize firearms. If a passenger brings a firearm to the security checkpoint on their person or in their carry-on luggage, the TSO will contact local law enforcement to safely unload and take possession of the firearm. Law enforcement may also arrest or cite the passenger, depending on local law. TSA may impose a civil penalty up to almost $15,000, and for the first offense, passengers who bring a firearm to a security checkpoint will lose TSA PreCheck® eligibility for five years. Second violations will result in permanent disqualification from the program and additional civil penalties.
• Do you have TSA PreCheck? Make sure your Known Traveler Number (KTN) is in your airline reservation. TSA PreCheck passengers do not need to remove shoes, belts, 3-1-1 liquids, laptops, food items and light jackets at the TSA checkpoint. TSA’s wait time standards for TSA PreCheck lanes are under 10 minutes whereas as standard lanes are under 30 minutes. If you are not yet enrolled in TSA PreCheck, you may enroll via one of TSA’s authorized enrollment providers starting as low as $77.95 for a five-year membership. Most new enrollees receive their KTN within three to five days. Members may renew membership online up to six months prior to expiration for another five-year term starting as low as $68.95. Visit TSA PreCheck at www.tsa.gov/precheck for more information, and to begin your enrollment.
• Respect frontline aviation workers. Violence and unruly behavior in airports and onboard aircraft are not acceptable and will result in significant delays at security checkpoints. TSOs, along with all frontline airport and airline employees and local law enforcement, are working together to ensure safe and secure travel. Assaulting a TSA employee is a federal offense and will result in penalties and/or arrest.