Jun 14, 2010 Hi all. With a few in our family wanting to learn piano, Garageband is obviously a selling point for us in choosing a mac. How good are the piano lessons in Garageband? What sort of proficiency do they get you up to? Enough to do scales and theoretically continue teaching yourself? Sep 26, 2019 GarageBand comes with 40 free basic guitar and piano lessons you can download; to get started with these, click Learn to Play in the New Project window.
Have you been itching to learn to play an instrument since you were a kid? On your Mac, GarageBand sends you on your way to your first gig by teaching you guitar or piano. Start by clicking Learn to Play from GarageBand’s opening screen and choose Guitar Lessons or Piano Lessons. You also find an Artist Lessons option, but skip that for the moment.
You have to visit the Lesson Store to download the Basic Lessons that you get as part of iLife.
Connect a USB or MIDI-compatible keyboard or guitar, depending on your choice of lessons.
In each full-screen lesson, an instructor demonstrates his or her craft. Lessons start simple and become more challenging as you progress.
Lessons include a video glossary and a mixer (to change how you hear the teacher, instruments in GarageBand, or your own instrument). You also find a setup button that leads to options that differ depending on the instrument you’re using. If you’re learning guitar, you also see a separate tuner button.
A How Did I Play? feature answers that very question with gentle visual feedback. You can check a progress bar that gives you a numeric score; GarageBand keeps a history of your progress. It’s like having a music teacher inside your Mac.
If you want your music teacher to be a real headliner, check out the Lessons Store and click Artist Lessons. Sting teaches you to play “Roxanne,” and Norah Jones explains techniques in “Thinking About You.” Each artist lesson costs $4.99. You can sample an excerpt from these lessons and other artist lessons before purchasing them.
New in GarageBand 10.3.4
![Garageband mac piano lessons for beginners Garageband mac piano lessons for beginners](/uploads/1/2/6/0/126035087/469869026.jpg)
- Smart Controls now work as expected on Mac computers that don't support Metal.
Previous versions
GarageBand 10.3.3
New Features/Enhancements
- The Loop Browser now allows you to filter by loop type.
Stability/Reliability
- GarageBand no longer quits unexpectedly when the Intro to Guitar lesson is opened a second time in the same Learn to Play session.
Editing
- The keys on the keyboard in the Piano Roll are now the expected size.
General
- Open System-based windows in GarageBand now immediately change between Light and Dark mode when the mode is changed in the System Settings.
- The input level meter now works in the Learn to Play setup window.
GarageBand 10.3.2
Performance
- GarageBand no longer hangs when opening the Sound Library, the Note Pad, the Loop Browser, or the Media Browser when the Smart Controls are open.
Sound Library
- When opening GarageBand on a Mac in which the sound library has been moved using Logic Pro X or MainStage, and the external drive containing the library is not connected, GarageBand now shows a dialog indicating the drive must be connected to access to sounds.
- It is now possible to reinstall the Sound Library in GarageBand after moving the library in Logic Pro X or MainStage, and then disconnecting the external drive that contains the library.
- Impulse Response files for Chinese and Japanese traditional instruments are now correctly found when a GarageBand for iOS project is opened on macOS.
Learn to Play
- The Tuning Hint window now opens in Learn to Play lessons that feature non-standard tunings.
- Chords now display in the correct positions in the Chord Trainer.
- The Chord Trainer again provides visual feedback when correct and incorrect chords are played.
General
Apple Garageband Lessons
- GarageBand now supports drag and drop from Voice Memos.
- The Smart Controls Inspector now displays correctly in newly created projects.
- The LCD display now immediately updates to reflect undo or redo of key signature change.
- The GarageBand window now remains visible after exiting full screen mode.
- It is now possible to position the end of song marker with greater precision.
GarageBand for macOS 10.3.1
- Resolves an issue where third-party Audio Units and the PlatinumVerb plug-in could not be accessed.
GarageBand for macOS 10.3
New features and enhancements
- Two new Drummers play roots- and jazz-influenced brush styles.
- Over 20 free downloadable Artist Lessons show you how to play hit songs on piano and guitar, taught by the artist who made them famous.
- Includes 1,000 new electronic and urban loops covering Reggaeton, Future Bass, and Chill Rap.
- Includes 400 animal, transportation, and voice sound effects. Learn how to download the new sounds.
- Play and record using traditional instruments from China mainland and Japan with the Guzheng, Koto, and Taiko drums.
- Add classic sounds to your song with 5 Vintage Mellotron patches.
- Updates compatibility with GarageBand for iOS.
Stability and reliability
- GarageBand no longer quits unexpectedly when loading certain patches created in Logic Pro X.
Editing
- MIDI Pan data can now be edited in GarageBand.
- The Help Tag for the Marquee tool now shows the total length of the current selection as well as its start and end positions.
- Step editing of automation is now possible in the Piano Roll editor by pressing Command-Option.
Accessibility
- VoiceOver now announces the type of track that is selected in the New Track dialog.
- VoiceOver now speaks the names of tracks when interacting with regions in the tracks area.
Plug-ins
- The size of plug-in windows no longer sometimes changes unexpectedly when switching to presets that contain a different number of controls.
Garageband Learn Piano
Flex
- Enabling 'Follow Tempo & Pitch' in the Region editor now also enables Flex in the Track Editor if it is not already active.
General
Garageband Mac Piano Lessons For Beginners
- GarageBand no longer unexpectedly sustains notes when using Musical Typing.
- Metronome volume and tone can be adjusted in the GarageBand Preferences.
- The GarageBand LCD again displays times down to milliseconds.
- Master Echo and Master Reverb bypass settings are now saved in GarageBand projects.
- Performing Undo after changing the key of a project now correctly returns Apple Loops to the original key.
- Software Instrument tracks now respond properly to MIDI input after Track Lock is disabled.
- It is now possible to record audio during playback.