I have an M-Audio Keystation 49e keyboard, which I thought I should be able to just plug in to start writing and editing music notation. I can’t seem to make it work. I have GarageBand, which the salesperson said was all I needed. What am I not doing right?

Many Mac apps will let you record, edit, and print music notation. Some of the more popular ones include GarageBand, Sibelius, Finale, and Overture. In GarageBand ’08, you’ll need to take four basic steps to begin working with music notation. First, create a new instrument track by pulling down from the Track menu to New Track and selecting Software Instrument Track.

Second, show the editor by pulling down from the Control menu to Show Editor. Third, display the musical notation view by clicking on the little musical note icon in the lower-left corner of the editor while your instrument track is selected.

And finally, click the red Record button in order to start (and stop) recording whatever you play on your keyboard. You’ll probably want to refer to the GarageBand ’08 Getting Started Manual for more detailed instructions, which you can access by selecting Getting Started PDF from the Help menu. Chapter 6 of the PDF covers all the details you’ll need to know about creating software instrument tracks (including troubleshooting steps if your keyboard doesn’t seem to be working), and Chapter 7 covers working with the notation view.

This is how GarageBand ’08 will look when it is ready to start recording from your keyboard. In this example, you’re about to start recording a grand piano track.