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User profile for user: lucylouisie
lucylouisie Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

want help speeding up a track on garageband

Need help speeding up a track. I have an audition song I need to be at 1 min. and I need to speed it up just a bit to fit it all in. Can't figure it out, any help would be great!

iMac

Posted on Dec 1, 2012 6:57 PM

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4 replies
User profile for user: EdgarRothermich
EdgarRothermich
User level: Level 5
4,986 points

Dec 1, 2012 11:06 PM in response to HangTime

Mr HangTime,

I checked the tip on your website and I'm not sure if that is correct.


  • An imported audio file turns into an orange Audio Region. Turning on "Follow Tempo & Pitch" will analyze the audio file to create the (invisible) Transient Marker. However this enables only Tempo changes of the Audio Region BUT NOT Pitch changes. The Pitch slider is still grayed out.
  • Turning an orange Audio Region into a purple Audio Region will activate the Pitch Slider (not grayed out anymore) but you still can set any Pitch offset. So the turning purple thing seems to be more a cosmetic change which could lead to confusion.
  • The only way to utilize Pitch changes on an imported audio file is to turn it into an Apple Loop (Edit > Add to Loop Library) and then grab it from the Loop Browser. Now it is a blue Apple Loop Region with all its advantages, including Pitch changes.


Can you confirm that, or do you have different behavior on your system?



Lucylouisie, here are the steps to shorten your audition song :

  • Import the audio file into a new Project with an Audio Track (lets have the Tempo at 120bpm). The Audio Region is orange
  • Double click on the Audio Region to open the Track Editor and there, select the checkbox "Follow Tempo & Pitch". GarageBand will analyze the audio file and create (invisible) Transient Markers which make the following magic possible. Remember, the Pitch slider is grayed out and applying a Pitch offset to the (orange) audio region is not possible even if the checkbox is labeled "Follow Tempo & Pitch"
  • Let's assume your audio region is 1min and 10sec long. You can see that on the Time Ruler (you have to set it to display Absolute Time to show the time and not the bar:beat).
  • Now set the LCD Display to "Project" and click on the Tempo which opens a vertical Tempo Slider.
  • This is the important part: When moving the Tempo slider up, the Audio Region's length stays the same on the Track Lane but the Time Ruler will stretch to the right. Adjust the slider so the 1min mark on the Time Ruler aligns with the end of your Audio Region.
  • What happened: you speeded up the playback Tempo of your Project and with it the playback Tempo of your Audio Region (remember, "Follow Tempo") so it lasts exactly 1min instead of 1min 10 sec.



User uploaded file

It sounds more complicated than it actually is. Just play around with it and always keep the relationship between playback tempo and Region length in mind. The procedure I just described also helps you to visualize the concept to better wrap your head around that it.(Just for fun, switch the TIme Ruler, to display Musical time, bar:beats and see what is fixed and what is chaining now).

On a side note, when chaining the playback speed of an audio file, there are two scenarios:

  • Scenario A - The change in length changes also the pitch. This is the traditional way with tape machines or using a vinyl record on a turn table).
  • Scenario B - The change in length does not affect the pitch which requires additional pitch compensation. GarageBand uses this method and that is what you want in your case: Playing back your audio clip to make it shorter without ending up with a mickey mouse effect of your audio file by transposing it (pitch change).



Hope that helps



Edgar Rothermich


http://DingDingMusic.com/Manuals/

'I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.'

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User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
194,647 points

Dec 2, 2012 2:02 AM in response to EdgarRothermich

Edgar: I agree with the procedure for Tempo changes, but for pitch changes I do not always turn the audio file into a loop:

The only way to utilize Pitch changes on an imported audio file is to turn it into an Apple Loop (Edit > Add to Loop Library) and then grab it from the Loop Browser. Now it is a blue Apple Loop Region with all its advantages, including Pitch changes.

And this will clutter up your Loop Library. 😁 If I do not want to use it as a loop, i.e. if it is a very long clip, I prefer to change the pitch of an imported audio file with an "AuPitch" Audio Unit effect added to the track.


Cheers

Léonie

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want help speeding up a track on garageband

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