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Aspiring musicians were pleased to discover that a new version of GarageBand is also on deck for the updated iLife ’11 package, complete with Groove Matching technology and a host of refreshed features.
Apple Product Marketing executive Xander Soren was introduced by CEO Steve Jobs at the company’s “Back to the Mac” media event, taking the stage Wednesday to unveil the new features of GarageBand ’11, the third part of the updated iLife ’11 to be demoed by Apple executives this morning.
GarageBand ’11 will make any band sound better by using Groove Matching technology to keep all of the individual instruments together in time. Soren compared it to “an automatic spell checker for bad rhythm,” which an awful lot of garage bands could certainly take advantage of (at least the ones we’ve experienced, anyway).
Flex Time allows your performance to get even tighter by allowing you to quickly change the timing of your recording to get that perfect rhythm. “Something sound a little off?” the GarageBand product details asks. “Use Flex Time to fix timing mistakes on the fly. Just click and drag any part of a waveform to change the timing of a note or a beat.”
GarageBand ’11 also introduces seven new guitar amps, bringing the total to 12. The new amps are modeled after “the most revered gear in the world” -- from clean sounds to heavy distortion and everything in-between. Five new stompbox effects have also been added, now giving you 15 such effects to choose from.
If you’re interested in learning to play piano or guitar, GarageBand ’11 has you covered, with 22 new genre-based lessons for a total of 40 in all. Pick up the basics of piano, guitar or both with video demonstrations, synchronized notation and instrument animations that make lessons fun and easy to follow.
Finally, Apple’s new “How Did I Play?” feature lets GarageBand act as judge and jury when it comes to critiquing your latest creation. GarageBand now listens in real time and tells you how you’re doing, showing how well you’ve played with colored notes, a progress bar and a performance meter. Can you take criticism from your software? If so, this feature is for you.
GarageBand ’11 is part of the new iLife ’11 suite, available today for only $49 for a single-user edition or $79 for a family pack.
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