Songwriting with GarageBand

Jim Dalrymple’s efforts to create his first record album on a Mac continue, with a glimpse into the songwriting process. When it comes to composing music, GarageBand takes on a leading role.

Adding some magic to GarageBand songwriting

Stuck on how to achieve that perfect sound for your song? Try GarageBand’s Magic GarageBand feature, which is also a great way for beginners to get started with music-creation software.

Excerpt: Take Control of iWeb

Even if you include fancy graphics or podcasts on your Web site, the text is the heart of your site and is worthy of your attention. In this excerpt from Take Control of iWeb: iLife ’08 Edition, Steve Sande covers a grab bag of techniques related to working with text on your Web project.

Digital Video: Make iMovie ’08 work your way

Despite iMovie ’08’s seemingly missing features, the program has hidden depth. It can still perform some of its predecessor’s tricks—just not in obvious ways. And a subsequent update, version 7.1, adds other enhancements. Here’s how to get the most out of the software.

Possibly restore older iPhoto themes in iPhoto '08

Upon trying to create a book in iPhoto '08, I noticed a lot of the old themes were not available. Browsing around, I found the theme folder for iPhoto in the top-level Library folder, in Application Support » iPhoto » Themes. Inside that folder were many themes not available through iPhoto itself, but that were available in older versions. As one example, BabyBoy-Hardcover.IPBookTheme isn't available in the list of book themes pop-up menu, but it is in that folder. I can't guarantee how safe/legal the following process is, but I was able to enable the old themes by editing a parameter in that theme's Contents/Resources folder. I opened Contents » Resources » Implementation.plist in a text editor (or Property List Editor) and changed the Hidden parameter from yes to no. After saving my changes and restarting iPhoto, the old theme was available in iPhoto. [robg adds: I used BBEdit and ran a multi-file search to find the hidden th...

Excerpt: Learn GarageBand tips and tricks

It’s no secret that GarageBand is entry-level music editing software. But at the same time, GarageBand can perform feats that aren’t immediately obvious. In this excerpt from Take Control of Recording with GarageBand, Jeff Tolbert shares some tips and tricks for the music-creation software.