I thought Magic Garage Band was a cute toy, until I used it... It is extremely useful! (and fun...) Very nice tool.
I wouldn't be surprised if most folks never used it much, so thanks for pointing it out! Maybe a few more converts out there???

maineguy: I thought exactly the same thing. Cute toy, but not something I'd really use. As you can see, it came in handy for me.

It's also worth noting (as I do in my book) that you can add any of the loops used in the Magic GarageBand songs to your loop library. Do that, and you can use them in songs you create from scratch.

It's also fun to build up more-complex tunes by copying and pasting loops from Magic GB tunes. For example, build one blues with a harmonica solo, then copy the harmonica solo regions. Then close that tune and build a new blues with a guitar solo (for example), add new verses, then paste the harmonica solo. Just like that, you've got a tune with multiple solos.

Garageband is a spectacular program for the price, that is unquestionable. I use it frequently and with great success.

But as a professional musician and music educator, I am here to tell you Magic Garageband is garbage. Don't get me wrong, if you aren't really a musician but like to noodle around and have fun, that's great. The problem is, many who have no musicianship allow things like this to delude them into thinking they do. The end result is YET ANOTHER reduction in the musical understanding and musical standards of the average non-musician in our culture.

I teach close to a hundred talented musicians at the college level every year. I am indescribably relieved that they are almost more offended than I am by concepts such as Magic Garageband. I've never had a student who would even DREAM of using loops, except to fool around. But then, they can actually play.

If this sounds overly harsh, I do not mean it to. Here's an anecdote that might help you see it from my perspective; I once had a would-be student express interest in becoming a guitar performance major. When questioned on his background, he responded "I'm really good at Guitar Hero."

He was shown the door so fast I think his head fairly spun.

Bottom line; if Magic Garageband is fun for you, then use it. But keep it real. It's a toy, nothing more. If you REALLY want to contribute something worthwhile to the grand and glorious art of music, take lessons, learn theory, expand your listening. All stuff like this does is dumb people down and blind them to how gifted at something they might actually be if they got off their butts and really worked for it the old fashioned way.

I agree with a previous poster that it's fun to build up complex tunes; but if you can't do it with your brain and fingers, you can't do it at all. So if it really interests you, you should get out there and learn how!

Glad to see this article, and others like it. How about a book on creating music with Garageband and other tools on our Macs? As a singer-songwriter/musician, I too am not afraid to use pre-programmed "loops" or patterns on my various keyboards and build upon them- sort of like sampling, though the bulk of creating is related to my vocal and guitar overdubs. Like you said, I can't get the band to come over every time I want to experiment or create something. Just one more thing- you mean "their songs..." : )

@macmusicmaker,

I used to be a professional musician, and I've had years of musical training in several instruments. Garage Band, and Magic Garage Band in particular, is a great tool to help keep your chops up. I don't have the time to be involved in any sort of regular musical group anymore, but I can sit down and quickly put together a jam session thanks to Garage Band (and it'd be even easier if Apple would set it up as I mentioned n my previous post).

I understand your frustration about your Guitar Hero anecdote, but I don't think Garage Band is really comparable in any way.

As I mentioned in my original post, it's not Garageband itself I have a problem with. I agree, the software at large is not at all comparable to my Guitar Hero anecdote. Actually, many of the sounds in Garageband are amazingly better than those on some of my multi-thousand dollar synths. This is particularly true with respect to the orchestral sounds in the Symphony Orchestra jampack.

The reason my students wouldn't dream of using loops is because they can play what they want for themselves. And if they can't, they learn how to. It's not a question of the musicianship of those who actually recorded the loops. Agreed, they are created by talented professionals. How do you think those talented professionals got to be talented professionals? It sure wasn't from using loops. They dedicated themselves to hard work, and that is what I demand from my students. And they, happily, are more than willing and able to oblige. If you can't call your drummer at 3:00AM (and agreed, you probably shouldn't!), play the drums yourself! Not on a live drumset, but by playing the drum sounds in Garageband directly on the keyboard. Not a drummer? Don't really have to be. You mentioned you have been playing for many years. I'm not sure what instrument you play (sorry if you mentioned that in a previous post, I didn't catch it). Whatever the instrument, years of experience should have you in a place where you can lay down a solid drum track, even if you do it one layer at a time.

Again, the point is, this magic thingy is really meant for people who can't play or write but would like to have some sort of tactile experience with making music. This, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. But every time some new technological advance in music gets taken out of context, the result is a measurable reduction in awareness and standards among the lay populace. And touting Magic Garageband as some legitimate means to write and perform music is very out of context.

Question: if it turned out some day you needed open heart surgery, who would you rather have operate on you?

A doctor who used shortcuts that were so incredibly short they practically yanked all the sweat and brainpower out of learning to operate? Someone who really had no gift for medicine but liked to perform "virtual surgery" on a computer?

Or, a doctor who attended years of medical school, demonstrated a supreme gift for medical knowledge and intuition, and had years of high-level professional experience in the operating room?

Maybe music isn't as serious as all that to some people, but it sure is to me, and to many other musicians I know.

Lastly, a quote. "To make a mistake is human and forgivable. To play without passion is not." --- Ludwig Van Beethoven

If anyone ever discovers something less passionate than "magic music maker," please do offer me warning.