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Creating a Podcast in GarageBand

Editing in GarageBand

1. Getting Started

Open up a new “Empty Project.” GarageBand will force you to choose an initial track, so choose “Voice.”

2. Setting Up Interface

At the top of the window, you’ll see a display that looks like this. Click on the note/metronome icon at left, and select “Time” instead of the default “Beats & Project.” This will give you precise control over the placement of your individual blocks of audio—regions, in GarageBand’s parlance—rather than forcing them to snap to a grid of musical beats. (Note: You’ll have to do this every time you open GarageBand!)

If you want, in the future, you can record voice tracks directly into GarageBand, using your computer’s built in microphone, or one that you connect via the audio jack or a USB port. That’s what the default “Audio 1” track is for. GarageBand abhors a vacuum, however, and if you delete this track, it will make you add a new one. So for now we’ll leave the track where it is.

3. Adding Audio Files

To add audio files, simply drag them from Finder into GarageBand. You can add audio clips to an existing track, or drag them below your current tracks to add a new track. You can keep each audio file in a separate track, or you can name your tracks based on the type of content they’ll contain. I recommend the latter. You can create tracks that consist of: Voice Over, Interviews, Cutaways, and Music. This keeps the workspace clean and organized, but you can also easily imagine situations in which you’ll want to keep individual interviews completely separate, or layer them on top of each other, etc.

4. Changing Track Volume

Changing the volume of individual tracks is the trickiest part of editing in GarageBand—you have to use the “automation” function, which simulates the real time movement of mixing board sliders. First, turn it on by clicking the button I’ve highlighted here, at the top of the track listing:

Clicking this icon will highlight the same icon on each of your tracks. It also creates a dropdown menu, which we’ll leave on “Volume” for now (you can use automation to control other aspects of your sound and music, such as reverb effects). Find the yellow line that appears on each track: this line controls the volume. You can add “control points” by holding command and clicking anywhere on that line. By manipulating these control points, you can raise and lower the level of each track as your podcast unfolds. Here’s a track that goes up and down in volume:

Changing the volume of tracks allows you to "fade out" audio rather than stopping it all at once. Fading in and out is useful when working with intro music or transition music. Podcasts often begin with some amount of music, which slowly fades out as the presenters begin talking; people also often separate different sections of their podcasts by fading a bit of music in and out. There are many templates for how to use transition music and what the share of music/voice should look like, but here is one visualization that may be helpful:

Of course, in GarageBand, each audio source (music, voice) will live in its own separate track.

5. Sharing your Finished Product

While you should always save your work frequently, be aware that GarageBand project files aren’t actually audio – they’re just representations of which clips go where, and you can’t listen to them outside of the program. So, when you’re finished editing, you’ll go to the Share menu and choose Export Song to Disc. Name your podcast and choose an audio format: AAC or AIFF for full quality, and MP3 for slightly lower quality but more manageable file size. You can share your audio on sites like SoundCloud, services like iTunes, or create an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed of your own, so listeners can find and subscribe to your podcast.

Credits:

Created with an image by ConvertKit - "It's important to us to support creators, so when using this photo please give photo credit to Keith Pitts at keithmelissa.com; Instagram @keithmpitts. The creator featured can be found on Twitter @ItsAustinSaylor "

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