Media Production Studio - Getting Started

To get started recording electronic music, you should select an easy to use DAW with a range of virtual instruments and plugins to experiment with. In the Media Production Studio, GarageBand and FL Studio are a great way to get started with production and beatmaking. See the instructions below to. get started working with electronic instruments in GarageBand.

Step 1: Getting Started

Setting Your Project Template

1. Double click the “GarageBand” shortcut from the desktop to launch the program
2. Navigate to File > New > Empty Project. Click “Choose” from the bottom right.
3. From the track type list, select “Software Instrument

Step 2: Choose Your Playing Method

To control the electronic instruments in GarageBand, you can use the Arturia Keylab 88 MIDI controller or the computer’s keyboard and mouse. The Keylab is the default device, but if you would like to use the computer’s keyboard and mouse, Navigate to Window > Show Musical Typing. This will reveal the musical typing controller.

Step 3: Recording

1. Select the software instrument track you want to record to.
2. Set the metronome and count-in to hear a steady beat while recording.
3. Click the Record button in the control bar (or press R) to start recording.
4. Use the Arturia KeyLab, Musical Typing window, or onscreen keyboard to play some notes. The recording appears as a new MIDI region on the track as you record. When you are finished, click the stop button to finish recording.
   
5. You can repeat steps 1-4 to record as many tracks as you need.

Step 4: Finishing Up

If working from the Studio computer, save project and audio files to a flash drive or OneDrive. When ready to edit, open GarageBand and and click the "Open Existing Project" button from the bottom left and load your previous project.