An earlier post about PocketMac Ringtone Studio for iPhone reminded me of how I put together ringtones for my iPhone. I just fire up GarageBand and iTunes, do a little quick magic, and out come the ringtones I want.
This doesn't work with protected files such as those you've purchased from the iTunes Store -- hell, Apple wants you to spend $0.99 for the tune and another $0.99 to turn it into a ringtone. The method described here works very well turning those CD snippets that you've ripped into iTunes into ringtones. Follow along after the break for the step-by-step.
Today Apple posted the schedule for Apple Camp. Apple Camp is held at Apple retail stores for kids 8-12 to go learn about creative things like: making presentations with Keynote, taking and managing photos with iPhoto, creating music with GarageBand, and making movies with iMovie.
Each sessions lasts about 3 hours and is available at all Apple retail locations. Kids attending will receive a DVD or CD with their creations on it, field guide, t-shirt, and will be able to get other giveaways. Best of all, Apple Camp is free though registration is required.
A couple of years ago, Trent Reznor released fully editable GarageBand versions of a few Nine Inch Nails songs. Others have followed suit (like Burger King), and now Radiohead joins their number.
They've made all five tracks (or "stems") of the song "Nude" available in iTunes for $0.99 each [iTunes link]. The tracks are in DRM-free iTunes Plus format, so you can pretty much manipulate them however you'd like.
Purchase all five before the end of this week and receive an access code for the full GarageBand file. Once you've finished your remix, you can upload it here. It definitely sounds like fun, especially for Radiohead fans (like me).
Podcasters, wannabe music stars, and GarageBand dabblers of all ages -- it's that time again for Apple has released an update to your beloved application (bumping it to version 4.1.2). It goes without saying that this wouldn't be an Apple consumer-software update without a simple one-sentence release note (Aperture 2.0.1's release notes are somewhat more substantial), so if you're wondering what's been fixed: "This update improves overall stability and addresses issues with the automation of software instrument parameters, FireWire and USB based audio devices and Magic GarageBand."
The update is available through Software Update or through Apple's Download Site, weighing in at just over 19MB. Rock on!
Just last night we were chatting about ringtones on the Talkcast, and I mentioned that I was so happy with my iPhone that I hadn't taken steps to change either the ringtone or the wallpaper yet-- that Xylophone ringtone is probably the best ringtone I've ever heard.
Until now, anyway. Matt Devost used that GarageBand tip posted by Apple to turn none other than the CTU ringtone from tv series 24 into an easy-to-install, completely (mostly-- who owns this ringtone? did Fox make it up?) legit iPhone ringtone. Yes, you too can have your iPhone sound just like the phones at Jack Bauer's place of employment.
And this also illustrates just how easy it is to make these things now. Matt says he just put this together in GarageBand, and then followed Apple's doc, and all I did was drag it from my Desktop into my iTunes ringtones folder. Super simple. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I hear my phone ringing. Must be the President wanting to know how the hostage situation is going.
When I posted about Mac apps in real life a while back, the number one request I heard in the comments was for Quicksilver. And it wasn't very surprising-- who wouldn't love to implement Quicksilver's genius and simplicity in some way for the real world?
And now, Matt McInerney's done it-- he's created this video (from what looks like a bunch of iSight stills-- weird effect and even weirder music) in which, with just a snap, he can Quicksilver up anything on his mind. There's still a few bugs, though-- Garageband pulls up a guitar pick instead of an actual guitar (or a whole garage band), and I don't know what version of Cashbox he's using, but mine never actually gives me money.
Yet another minor Apple product announcement that made it under our radar was a new Jam Pack for GarageBand: Voices. No, it isn't samples of Britney Spears, John Mayer and Adam Duritz - it's a collection of over 1,500 new instruments that fall under the categories of Drum and Percussion Instruments, Choral Ensembles, and Soloists. The focus, of course, is on filling up your tool belt with samples of professional instrumental soloists and choirs covering a wide variety of genres and styles.
If you want more details on the pack, iCompositions has rummaged through and detailed exactly what you get in this new Jam Pack. Strangely, you get quite a bit more than what Apple advertises - the pack actually contains 1701 loops - and it takes up nearly half the specified hard drive space as well; instead of taking up 3 GB, all those loops only took over a mere 1.7 GB.
As with most other Jam Packs, this new Voices pack is available in the Apple Store for the standard Jam Pack price of $99.00.
As you may have seen, Apple released iLife '08 (so long, 2007!) earlier today. This post will examine GarageBand '08.
Most interesting to me is Magic GarageBand. It's a quick way to set up a rhythm section (drums, bass and guitar) to play a simple chord progression while you play on top. Work out new riffs, a solo or compose a new song. Select the style (jazz, rock, etc.) for your "backing band" to play. That's pretty cool.
Arrangements let you identify your parts, like chorus, verse, bridge and coda. While I'd like to make an actual chart, I guess that's what Pro Tools is for. Still, this is handy for at-a-glance organization.
Multi-track recording will save every take, so you can quickly revert to a previous recording. That's pretty handy.
There's also a new visual EQ and several new Jam Packs, but let's talk about automation. Change the tempo or volume of any song or instrument at any point. Best of all, GarageBand will remember your changes and reproduce them at another point in the song with a click. Very cool.
We're eager to get our mits on GarageBand '08. Let's jam!
A few tipsters have dropped us notes (thanks!) that on Apple's Developer Tools page, there's a new tool. Along with Xcode and Dashcode, there's a new, very pretty app called Xray. The flavor text itself says the app takes "interface cues from timeline editors such as GarageBand," so what we're looking at here seems to be a realtime application tester and analyzer.
The three windows in the screenshot show stats on "Network Traffic," "CPU Load," and "Reads/Writes," and Apple also says devs will be able to track user events and even the OpenGL video driver. Looks like it will bring all the new tracking tools and analysis junk (technical term) together in a browsable, graphical interface, which means an easier time for devs, which means better apps for all of us. Groovy!
If you've ever wanted to jump into Garage Band and create your own musical compositions but you weren't sure where to start, let TUAW point to you to this fabulous collection of Apple tutorial videos. They'll walk you through Garage Band's somewhat daunting interface and teach you the basics you need to know.
Videos show you how to create your first songs and capture your instrumentals as well as use Garage Band for more general audio such as editing podcasts and scoring movies. There are over two dozen videos, all made to Apple's exacting standard, to get you going.
Let's say you've made a few podcasts that you're proud of...mostly. There's always room for improvement, right? If you use GarageBand as your main podcasting tool, check out these tutorials at MacProVideo. Tips include using the right EQ settings for your voice, volume management and getting the most out of your remote Skype and other over-the-net sessions.
It's $29.50US for nearly two hours of video (you can view two demo videos at the website). Check it out, and bring your podcasts to the next level.
It's rare that a rival in the marketplace tosses anything but a canned compliment your way, so it's always refreshing to highlight such a kind gesture. In what is likely a mixup at Redmond or simply the work of a covert Apple guy behind enemy lines, a Microsoft product page about having more fun at home recommends GarageBand for advanced audio editing (scroll to the bottom). Of course, the entry also cites iLife '05, but they even work in a plug for the ever-useful Jam Packs as well.
Now, who wants to place bets as to how soon Apple will recommend Microsoft Expression for 'advanced' web design?
Podcasting is all the rage nowadays with the kids. It is easy to create a podcast, but it isn't easy to create a great podcast. Luckily, Apple has a free online seminar that will give you some tips and tricks to make your podcast sing (get it?).
Joe Cipriano gives you some pointers on how to make your voice sound best, Paul Garay shares his Garageband secrets, and Pete Alcorn spills the beans on how to leverage the iTunes Podcast directory to make your podcast super popular (popularity levels may vary).
The FretLight plugin for GarageBand is one of those Mac releases that will get a small number of Mac users very excited. This plugin allows you to use a FretLight guitar, which lights up showing you what to play interactively, with GarageBand to make teaching the guitar a snap.
iToner is Ambrosia's application that makes it easy to put free ringtones on your iPhone. Because really -- paying for ringtones is ridiculous.
Today Apple posted the schedule for Apple Camp. Apple Camp is held at Apple retail stores for kids 8-12 to go learn about creative things like: making presentations with Keynote, taking and managing photos with iPhoto, creating music with GarageBand, and making movies with iMovie. 
A couple of years ago, Trent Reznor released fully editable GarageBand versions of a few Nine Inch Nails songs. Others have followed suit (like Burger King), and now Radiohead joins their number.
Podcasters, wannabe music stars, and GarageBand dabblers of all ages -- it's that time again for Apple has released an update to your beloved application (bumping it to version 4.1.2). It goes without saying that this wouldn't be an Apple consumer-software update without a simple one-sentence release note (Aperture 2.0.1's release notes are somewhat more substantial), so if you're wondering what's been fixed:
Just last night we were chatting about ringtones on the Talkcast, and I mentioned that I was so happy with my iPhone that I hadn't taken steps to change either the ringtone or the wallpaper yet-- that Xylophone ringtone is probably the best ringtone I've ever heard.
Yet another minor Apple product announcement that made it under our radar was a new Jam Pack for GarageBand: Voices. No, it isn't samples of Britney Spears, John Mayer and Adam Duritz - it's a collection of over 1,500 new instruments that fall under the categories of Drum and Percussion Instruments, Choral Ensembles, and Soloists. The focus, of course, is on filling up your tool belt with samples of professional instrumental soloists and choirs covering a wide variety of genres and styles.
As you may have seen, Apple released iLife '08 (so long, 2007!) earlier today. This post will examine GarageBand '08.
If you've ever wanted to jump into Garage Band and create your own musical compositions but you weren't sure where to start, let TUAW point to you to this fabulous collection of Apple tutorial videos. They'll walk you through Garage Band's somewhat daunting interface and teach you the basics you need to know.
Let's say you've made a few podcasts that you're proud of...mostly. There's always room for improvement, right? If you use GarageBand as your main podcasting tool, check out these tutorials at MacProVideo. Tips include using the right EQ settings for your voice, volume management and getting the most out of your remote Skype and other over-the-net sessions. 
Podcasting is all the rage nowadays with the kids. It is easy to create a podcast, but it isn't easy to create a great podcast. Luckily, Apple has a free online seminar that will give you some tips and tricks to make your podcast sing (get it?).
