How to Remix a Song Using GarageBand in Mac OS

It is remarkable to see how professional consumer level technology has come in the past decade. The Apple application GarageBand allows you to slice, dice and modify any audio track to make it sound as twisted as you want. GarageBand comes preinstalled on all new Macs and can help you make some really distinct remixes of your favorite songs.

This is a very basic tutorial on how to get started remixing songs in GarageBand, but once you're comfortable with the interface there's no end to how creative you can get with your music tracks. And nobody will know it wasn't done in a studio.

What You'll Need

Apple computer running the Mac operating system

Garage Band software

Digital music files

Creating Your GarageBand Project

Launch the Garage Band application. Once it's done initializing go to File > New to create a new project. Give it a name and make any adjustments to the tempo, key or time signature here.

Click the View/Hide Media Browser button on the lower right hand side of the screen. It looks like two overlapping film frames with musical notes over it. The button will turn blue when it is selected.

Locate the song you want to remix from the Media Browser column on the right. Click and drag the file into the center column that says Drag Apple Loops Here. The track will appear as an orange bar once the song is imported.

Press Control + Option + G and click on the music track. It will turn purple.

Click the View/Hide the Track Editor button on the lower left. The button has a pair of scissors on it. The track editor will appear and this is where you can begin to manipulate your music track.

Changing Tempo and Pitch

Check the Follow Tempo and Pitch box if you want to change the vocal pitch or tempo. To change the tempo, click on the musical note at the bottom of the screen--it looks like a blue digital display. Select Project. You can then click on Tempo and be able to adjust the beats per minute by moving the slider up and down. Pitch can be adjusted by using the pitch slider but only if the track was written in GarageBand. You can't change the pitch of an imported audio file.

Autotune and Sound Effects

Give your track a trendy autotune sound effect by clicking the Limit to Key box and adjusting the Automatic Tuning slider.

Experiment with filters and effects by pressing Command + I. By selecting Effects a list of filters will appear that can totally change the feel of your music track.

Tip
If you hear a clicking sound through your track it's because the metronome is turned on. You can turn it off by clicking Control > Metronome.

References: Apple Support for GarageBand