Using Garritan libraries in GarageBand.

Garritan instruments are used in GarageBand by opening the ARIA Player plug-in. Once your tracks are set up, add keyswitches and MIDI messages to bring realism to the performance of your music, and fine tune the sound of Garritan instruments. Garritan libraries use both keyswitches and MIDI messages to change instrument techniques, articulations, and effects.

This article will walk you through setting up GarageBand to recognize the ARIA Player, selecting Garritan instruments for your tracks, assigning channels, and adding MIDI messages to affect playback.

Setting up the ARIA player in GarageBand

To find the ARIA player plug-in:

Installing your Garritan library will make the ARIA player available in Garage Band automatically.

Setting up tracks

Garage Band allows you to set up three kinds of tracks, Software Instruments, Real Instruments and Electric Guitar. Garritan sounds will be available to you when you use Software Instrument tracks. You will need to select the ARIA player for each track in your project.

ClosedTo set up tracks using Garritan sounds:
  1. From the Track menu, choose New Track.

  1. Choose Software Instrument and click Create.
  2. Double-click the track’s header to reveal the Track Info pane, or select a track and then click the Track Info button in the lower right corner of the screen.
  3. Under the Edit tab, next to Sound Generator, choose Aria Player from the popup menu.

  1. To load an instrument or adjust an effect in the Aria Player, click the large rectangular button next to where Aria Player was selected. The ARIA Player opens.
  2. Click empty on slot 1 and load an instrument.
  3. Repeat as needed for any additional tracks.
ClosedTo change sounds in the ARIA player

Once you've assigned the ARIA player to a track and selected a sound, you can easily change to a different sound.

  1. Double-click the track’s header to reveal the Track Info pane. Or, select a track and then click the Track Info button in the lower right corner of the screen.
  2. Click the large rectangular button next to where Aria Player was selected. The ARIA Player opens.
  3. Click the word "empty" on slot 1 and load an instrument sound.

Controlling Playback

Use MIDI messages and keyswitches to make your music more expressive and realistic. In Garritan libraries, Keyswitch instruments are identified by a KS in the name. The keyswitch is created by adding a specifically designated note found below the instrument's range into the instrument track.

To see how these features work, we will use a track with Violin 1 KS from GPO4 and the Mod Wheel to add a crescendo.

ClosedTo set up tracks using Garritan sounds:

Keyswitching is a feature that allows you to change the articulation and technique of an instrument. By triggering a key located on the keyboard below the playable range of an instrument, you can move between different playing styles without having to load multiple patches.

In the ARIA player, keyswitches are displayed on the keyboard in pink, and the selected keyswitch is yellow. Keyswitches can either be entered while you're recording, or by adding notes to the MIDI region.

  1. Select a track and click the Track Editor button in the lower left corner of the screen to reveal the Track Editor. Ensure that the Piano Roll view is selected.
  2. In the Track Editor pane, ensure that Notes is selected under the View popup menu.

  1. Draw a MIDI note on the Piano Roll on F1. To draw on the Piano Roll, COMMAND+Click where you would like the note to occur.

When playback reaches this point in the track, the keyswitch note will trigger a change to a muted trumpet sound. Refer to the section on Keyswitches in your Garritan manual to find out what keyswitch patches are available in your library and how to use them.

ClosedTo add a crescendo with the Mod Wheel:

GarageBand has the ability to show and edit controller data for pitch bend, modulation wheel, or sustain pedal.

  1. In the Track Editor pane (Piano Roll), under the View popup menu, choose either pitch bend, modulation wheel, or sustain pedal.

  1. On the Piano Roll, draw (command + click) where you would like the crescendo to start. Click again to add an end point for the crescendo.

Each Garritan library includes a wide variety of instrument effects that can be added by using MIDI controllers. Refer to your Garritan manual for a full list of MIDI controls for the instruments in your library.

 

GarageBand Setup

Adding Instruments

Controlling Playback

 

User Manual Home

7007 Winchester Circle, Suite 140

Boulder, CO 80301