5 Part Unit How to Record Music in Garage Band for Students

Garageband is awesome and my Middle School Students love this 5-week course for writing and recording their own original music in our Mac computer lab during technology class. Its amazing to hear their creativity come out as they write melodies and play digital keyboards of many different instruments. Your students will learn from the guidance, questions, and screen recordings of my students making their own (fun, simple, and catchy) song and learning! There are quite a few laughs involved here to keep things going too!

Students can make instrumental songs, or record with lyrics if microphones are available, to the teacher's discretion. USB instruments are also optional, but not mandatory. Videos are present for lessons 1-3, 4 and 5 are in text form as your specific results will be based on class creations and not my video guidance.

What? Using GarageBand, you will create an original song composition, and mix your own final audio file.

Why? I think we can make beautiful music together! Actually, on your own in tech class. Composing is a wonderful hobby and might even enhance your career. GarageBand, once a simple tool for creating digital piano sounds is now a fully-functional DAQ (Digital Audio Workstation).

When? In class over a 5-week Unit. Video instruction guide included for a pause-as-needed beginner’s guide to making music in GarageBand!

Overview

Week 1: Getting Started

The digital audio workstation, musical typing, adding and removing tracks, explore instruments

Week 2: Drop that beat!

How to use drummers, BPM,

Week 3: Instrumentation

Week 4: Melody, Lyrics/Vocals

Week 5: Final Mixing in Audacity, Export

Student Presentations to the Class

Descriptions

Week 1 - GarageBand is one of the best classroom resources for technology, creativity, music, and computer science in the classroom. This is a 9 minute guide, with room to pause and play, to explore how Garageband works. It is an overview of setting up a session, and using musical typing using a variety of instruments.

This is a 5 part series for Computer Science or Music Class as a set of standalone lessons.

Visit Hauger History for more great resources.