Apple's GarageBand

My nine year-old daughter came home from school yesterday, all excited to clean the garage?

From the moment she wakes up until the time she goes to sleep she is humming Hilary Duff tunes. Now, she wants to turn our Garage into a music studio with the electric keyboard that has been collecting dust for years. (Fortunately, the piano upstairs gets used every day.). She wants to find the Singing Machine karaoke player we bought for her birthday. And there is not a day that goes by that she doesn't ask to turn one of our Macs into her very own. Sounds like the next thing she will be asking for is one of Apple Computer's new GarageBand Jam Packs.

Today, Apple introduced two new Jam Packs for its GarageBand music creation software, giving musicians and aspiring musicians alike all of the loops and software instruments they need to create music in the genre of their choice.

Jam Pack 2: Remix Tools makes it easy to produce compelling dance, hip-hop and electronica tracks.

Jam Pack 3: Rhythm Section offers songwriters a complete backing band to help build a professional sounding foundation for their rock, alternative and country music.

Jam Pack 1: Instruments, Loops, & Effects

"GarageBand and the original Jam Pack made it possible for anyone, regardless of their musical background, to easily create great sounding music on their Mac," said Rob Schoeben, Apple's vice president of Applications Marketing.

"With these two new Jam Packs, musicians and aspiring musicians can delve deeper into their favorite genre. GarageBand just got better."

Jam Pack 2: Remix Tools

Jam Pack 2: Remix Tools offers more than 2,000 additional loops, 20 new beat kits (Techno, R&B, House, Trance), new synth and sound effect instruments and classic drum machines from Roland (TR-808, TR-909, TR-606, CR-78), turning the Mac into an easy-to-use, all-in-one dance and urban music production tool.

Jam Pack 3: Rhythm Section

Jam Pack 3: Rhythm Section includes an additional 2,000 loops and over 50 new instruments to make GarageBand an even more powerful music creation tool. New drums (Jazz Brushes, Indie Rock, Warehouse Kit), basses (Motown, Liverpool, Progressive Rock, Unplugged) and guitars (Dobro Slide, Bluegrass Banjo, Bluesy Acoustic, Heavy Metal Electric) are a sample of the professional-quality software instruments that come with Rhythm Section.

"With GarageBand I have an amazing backing band even when I'm writing songs at home," said Ed Robertson, guitarist and vocalist for the Barenaked Ladies. "The instruments and loops in the new Jam Pack 3: Rhythm Section sound incredibly realistic and natural-even acoustic and folk instruments, which are typically difficult to recreate on a computer."

"I've listened to all of the sound modules and libraries out there for dance music and the quality of Remix Tools is the best I've ever heard," said Chris Cox, Grammy nominated dance remix producer for artists Madonna, Britney Spears, Cher, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera. "I can literally use these loops and instruments to cut a record today. It's almost scary to know that everyone will have access to so many great sounds."

GarageBand, part of Apple's award-winning iLife '04 suite of digital lifestyle applications, allows both novice and seasoned musicians to easily play, record and create amazing music using a remarkably simple interface.

With GarageBand, recorded performances, digital audio and looping tracks can easily be arranged and edited like building blocks to create a song. Songs made with GarageBand can be imported into iTunes and used within movie or slideshow projects created with iMovie, iPhoto and iDVD.

Apple offers a complete line of integrated music creation tools that addresses the needs of consumers, students, educators, creative pros and professional musicians alike.

For consumers, GarageBand turns the Mac into a high-quality musical instrument and complete recording studio.

Logic Pro 7

Logic Pro 7 is Apple's professional music creation and audio production software line for musicians and audio engineers.

Logic Express 7

Logic Express 7 is a streamlined version of Logic, providing a basic set of professional tools for students, educators and advanced hobbyists.

GarageBand Jam Packs, including the new Remix Tools and Rhythm Section packs, provide additional professional quality loops and instruments for GarageBand, Logic Express 7 and Logic Pro 7 for $99.

Projects created with GarageBand can be easily imported into Logic Express 7 and Logic Pro 7, providing an easy upgrade path for music hobbyists who are ready to graduate to a more advanced audio production tool. Additionally, everything learned in Logic Express 7 is directly transferable to Logic Pro 7.

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, the new Jam Packs are available now through the Apple Store.

Or you can go to straight to: Apple.com

Take the junk out of your garage and "jam pack" it with Apple's iLife products.

Meanwhile, I'm hoping for the new G5 for my birthday next week. I'm way behind on all the latest iMovies I want to create: Last summer's wedding in Sweden, this summer in Maine, our upcoming fifteenth anniversary, etc., etc.

Thank you Apple for your innovative music and home movie-making tools. And thank you Hilary Duff for being such a positive inspiration. This household is rockin' all the way down to, and now especially in, the garage.

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful and song-filled iLife living!

~ Jennifer King