Review: GarageBand Music Lessons "09

Nine free lessons to get you started

Garageband includes 9 basic guitar lessons and as many piano lessons that are completely free. However, only one of each is included on the iLife DVD and you will need to download the rest from the Internet (each occupying about 500 MB). You can also acquire lessons from artists in which they teach you their own techniques and to play a song from their repertoire. Of these, in the Spanish version of iLife there are only 4 lessons (of the total of 9 in the US) and, in this case, they are subtitled instead of dubbed.

The lessons include an area with the teacher’s video in high quality, an intermediate part in which the traditional notation or tablatures are located and a view of the neck of the guitar or the keyboard of the piano; and a lower area in which there is a bar that divides the different sections of the lesson together with controls for playback, speed, volume, etc.

The system is very complete, you can customize the view to include tablature, chords, tablature and standard notation, only the view of the neck and the teacher. As mentioned, you can modify the playback speed to slow it down, activate loop playback to practice a part over and over again, and modify the volumes of the teacher’s voice or instrument, accompaniment, or whatever instrument you’re on. tapping.

The lessons are basic but very exhaustive, very oriented to those who start from scratch (and they are also dubbed into Spanish, something that is not usual on DVD or lessons on the Internet). For my taste they are somewhat slow, but if you take into account that they are intended for those who have no idea, it is understandable that they have preferred that no one is left behind.

Satisfaction guaranteed

Another positive aspect is that the lessons teach you to play a song that sounds pretty good with just a few notes and chords. This means that with what you have learned the satisfaction is very great.

The included 9 guitar lessons take you from “zero” until you know the basic chords, basic picking techniques, the string stretches “bends” and a blues scale to improvise in blues and rock. Depending on what teacher or how often you practice, it could be said that the lessons correspond to what you would learn in a period of between two or three weeks to two months with a teacher.

For my taste there are a lot of exercises and explanations that a good teacher would give, especially in the aspect dedicated to the solo guitar (this could be solved with a class dedicated to exercises and pure solo guitar technique). However, hats must be removed as to how the lessons keep no one left behind and how you can get the most enjoyment out of very few lessons. Thus, although no one is going to become a guitarist with a lot of technique or knowledge with these lessons, what is certain is that they will not be lost and that they will enjoy from day one.

As for the piano lessons, in addition to the basic technique, they also teach how to read and interpret the traditional notation and go from “zero” until you can play a simple blues. As with the guitar, there is a lack of exercises to awaken coordination and agility in the fingers, but undoubtedly Apple has preferred to keep it simple and fun so that the greatest number of fans are encouraged to continue learning.

Conclusion: Apple hits the spot again

The inclusion of this didactic system is undoubtedly Apple’s greatest success in this new version of GarageBand and the implementation is simply masterful. Since the days of cassette tapes or VHS video, there have been countless musicians and publishers who have created audio or video courses for those who cannot afford or do not want to teach with a teacher. However, the platform that Apple has created for the lessons is magnificent in terms of possibilities and more effective than any video course. If Apple is able to not close it and there is a wide range of lessons, courses or methods from third parties or artists, GarageBand can become one of the best educational resources to learn music that have been known and only surpassed by a good teacher real.