alubin - Posted - 01/06/2014:  11:34:57

Hey, any GarageBand experts out there? I've been driving myself crazy trying to figure out how to correct one wrong note in a real instrument track in GarageBand '11. I recorded a live mandolin track for a song I'm doing and the rest of the track is fine but there's one note I messed up. I'd like to either pitch-shift the note, re-record the right note, or at least drop the volume out at that one point as a last resort. However, GB doesn't seem to be very cooperative.

When I go to the track editor and try to highlight the section in question, it does this flex-time edit thing that seems to change the timing but does nothing for pitch. I can't figure out how to do what I need to do in the track editor. There doesn't seem to be a way to turn this flex time edit feature off, which is also kind of frustrating. When I try to use the yellow-bar loop to be able to re-record the note in the main editing window up top, I can't get it to highlight a section small enough. And using the track volume to drop out the note sounds weird, since it clips the notes on either side of it.

I know I shouldn't be that worried about one note, but it's getting to me. This track is going out to family and friends as part of holiday/thank you card, so I want it to be really good. Plus, I'd like to learn how to do this kind of editing for future recordings, since I'm sure I'll be playing plenty of wrong notes in the future too! Thanks in advance for your help.

pickNgrin - Posted - 01/08/2014:  05:29:33

I don't know about shifting the pitch in Garageband, but you can drop the volume by selecting Track Volume and adding control points near the bad note. You can make it momentarily drop the volume around the bad note. I have done this before and it works ok. 

Trying to re-record the note probably won't work too well... you will probably hear a glitch where you patch the new note in. 

You could try exporting the track into Audacity and pitch shift it there by selecting the area around the note. But again, you will probably hear a glitch. I've never tried it.

Edited by - pickNgrin on 01/08/2014 05:33:19

alubin - Posted - 01/08/2014:  22:55:18

Yeah, I tried dropping the volume but I could never get the control points quite right. I just wound up re-recording the mandolin part and it worked out OK. I guess there's not really a way to edit a single region in GarageBand, or if there is, I can't figure it out.

J.Albert - Posted - 01/10/2014:  17:09:03

You could always record a second track of the mandolin (doesn't have to be the entire song, just "enough" on either side of the bad note), then do a "cut and splice" from the second track to the first....

sunburst - Posted - 01/10/2014:  17:17:00

quote:

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Originally posted by Fishrrman

You could always record a second track of the mandolin (doesn't have to be the entire song, just "enough" on either side of the bad note), then do a "cut and splice" from the second track to the first....

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Yep, listen to the track (headphones) and play along with yourself, recording on a second track. EQ and so forth to get both tracks to sound as near the same as you can, clip out the bad note, then clip off the ends of the "repair" track. Listen to both tracks and adjust if needed, then "combine tracks" and that should do it. If you're adding any effects, do that after all the editing and it can sound seamless.

Edited by - sunburst on 01/10/2014 17:17:57