How to Make a Podcast with Mac's Garageband

Making a podcast is easier than you think with Garageband for Mac OS X. With one simple program you can record, edit, and publish your podcast and share it with your friends and family. If you have ever thought about starting your own podcast, you should see how easy it is to do with Garageband. This article will walk you through the simply process...

The newest version Garageband 8 comes standard on new Apple computers with the Leopard operating system as part of the iLife suite of applications. You can use older versions of the program, but version 8 includes new features that make the process even easier. Unfortunately, there is no PC version of Garageband. You will have to have a Mac to use Garageband.

To start, just open up Garageband and click on "Create New Podcast Episode." Type a name for your file and where you want to save it. You will see several tracks including, podcast track, male voice, female voice, and jingles. Click the circle icon next to your gender to arm the track. It should turn read. Then just click the circle record button in the directions menu to begin recording.

You will want to have a script or at least an outline ready, but you can always go back and re-record things if you need to. If you have a new MacBook or iMac, you can use the built-in microphone for recording. If you have an older Mac that does not have a built-in microphone, you can pick one up pretty inexpensively. Do not buy the standard computer microphones if you can avoid it, however. If you go to a store like Best Buy that has computers and audio equipment, get a standard recording microphone. You can probably find one a little cheaper and you will find a better selection. Just make sure you get one that can connect to computers. With luck, you will be able to find a decent microphone for about $10.

While you are recording, thy to keep background noise to a minimum. Also, try to record as much as you can in one take. It is OK if you have to start and stop over or repeat a sentence here and there. It is better to keep recording and edit out what you do not need than to record only one version with mistakes. You could always go back and edit that original track, but you may find it difficult to exactly reproduce the background noise and tonality of the original recording.

When you are done, just press the record button again to record. If you got what you wanted in one take, that is all there is to it. Most people will need to edit their track, however. You can do this by highlighting the sections of the track that you want to cut out in the bottom clip editor. Just delete whatever you want to get rid of. You can rearrange the clips as needed by dragging them in the position you want them in the mixing area. This is also where you can add any of Gargeband's selection of royalty free jingles. You can even associated a picture with the podcast. Although the podcast will be an audio file, people will be able to see your pictures in iTunes when they play it.

Once you have arranged everything the way you want it, just press play to listen to what you have. If you like what you hear, you can export your podcast directly to iTune or iWeb or you can save it anywhere you your hard drive or to a CD.