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TrackPak™ Tech HelpClick here for TrackPak TipsClick here for Press Release
Frequently asked questions1. Can I use the loops or projects right off the disc?2. What's the difference between the "Loops" and the "Full Tracks"? 3. Do I have to copy everything to my hard drive at once? 4. Do I have to install all the loops at once? 5. Are the loops and tracks copyrighted? 6. Can I use the loops and tracks in a commercial project? 7. How can I make my own loops from the Full Tracks? 8. How do I add the Loops to my own project? 9. How do I add the Full Tracks to my own project? 10. Why are some instruments or parts not included as loops? 11. What kind of files are the loops and tracks? 12. How do I know what key a song is in? 13. How do I know the tempo of a song? 14. Why can't I change the tempo or key of the Full Tracks? 15. I want to play along with the song. How can I mute a track or instrument? 16. In the "Loops" projects, why can't I adjust the volume for some tracks? FAQs:1. Can I use the loops or projects right off the disc? No — you will run into problems if you try to do it that way. You must first copy the files to your hard drive, and use the files that you copied. You don't need to copy everything at once -- just what you want to use now. Top 2. What's the difference between the "Loops" and the "Full Tracks"? There are several differences. Basically, the loops were edited from the full tracks, and then converted into "Apple Loops." Apple Loops are audio files that are formatted for GarageBand to use as loops -- that is, they can be made to repeat seamlessly on the timeline. Apple Loops also contain information for GarageBand to use: the tempo, key, number of beats, and information to help you organize and search through the loops browser, such as musical style, instrument, and the "feel" of the music. In terms of file size, the full tracks (and the full tracks projects) are much bigger. This is because the full tracks are each one track of the whole song, while loops are just snippets of the full tracks. For example, a song might contain a guitar track. The Full Track version of that track will be the whole part, from start to finish. A Loop, on the other hand, is just one piece of that track (generally between one and eight measures long) that was edited from it. There may have been several loops cut from that same track — for example, one for the verse, one for the chorus, one for the bridge, etc. Top 3. Do I have to copy everything to my hard drive at once? No, you only need to copy what you want to use. This will save you space on your hard drive. For example, if all you want to do is use the "Loops" project for a particular song, then that project is all you need to copy. Top 4. Do I have to install all the loops at once? No, you only need to install the loops that you want to use. Top 5. Are the loops and tracks copyrighted? Yes, all the loops and tracks are protected under US and international copyright law. You may use them for personal use, but not distribute or copy them without separate permission from the copyright owner. Please note that Hal Leonard is not the copyright owner. For information on who owns a copyright for a song, see the copyright notice for the song in the TrackPak book that came with your product. Top 6. Can I use the loops and tracks in a commercial project? No, you may not use them in a commercial project without license from the copyright owner or the organization, such as BMI or ASCAP, that licenses the use of the song. Top 7. How can I make my own loops from the Full Tracks? You will need to be able to edit them with an audio editing program, and then convert them to Apple Loops using a free program called SoundTrack Loop Utility. To download this utility, visit Apple's Developer Connection and click on "AppleLoops SDK 1.1 SDK". Top 8. How do I add the Loops to my own project? First, copy the loops you wish to use to your own computer. Then drag the files to GarageBand's loop browser. To open the loop browser in GarageBand, click on the icon that looks like an eye. Drag the files to the area at the far right of the loop browser. You can then find the loops listed in the loop browser by instrument. For example, to find the guitar loops, click on the guitar button in the loop browser and scroll down to find the name of the loop. The name of a loop always starts with an abbreviated version of the song title. Tip: To locate loops easily, check the "Favorite" box on the loop in the loop browser. You can then find the loops by clicking "Favorites" in the loop browser. Top 9. How do I add the Full Tracks to my own project? First open or create a project of your own. Copy the tracks you want to use to your computer, and then drag each track into the timeline of your project. Full Tracks are not Apple Loops, so they can't be installed into the loop browser. Top 10. Why are some instruments or parts not included as loops? It would not have been practical to make every single part of the song into a loop because of the space it would require on the disc. Also, some parts don't work as loops. For example, a part that never repeats, or that fades out, does not lend itself to looping. Guitar solos tend to fall into this category. Top 11. What kind of files are the loops and tracks? The loops and tracks are aiff files. The loops are aiff files known as Apple Loops, which are formatted for use in GarageBand. They contain information for GarageBand on tempo, key, instrument, style, mood, and other identifying information to help organize them. Top 12. How do I know what key a song is in? The key of each song is listed with the song in the accompanying book. You can also find the basic key (such as G or A, but not major or minor) by double-clicking a track in the project and looking under the "Master Track" tab. Top 13. How do I know the tempo of a song? The tempo of each song (in beats per minute) is listed with the song in the accompanying book. You can also see the tempo shown in the GarageBand project window. Top 14. Why can't I change the tempo or key of the Full Tracks? Since the Full Tracks are not Apple Loops, changing the tempo or key has no effect on the sound of the tracks. Changing the tempo will, however, change the measures as they are displayed in the GarageBand project window. Top 15. I want to play along with the song. How can I mute a track or instrument? You can mute one or more tracks by clicking the "mute" button on the track(s). The mute button is below the track title. It has an icon that looks like a speaker. You can also "solo" a track -- that is, listen to only that track while muting the others -- by clicking the "solo" button. The solo button is below the track title, next to the mute button. It has an icon that looks like a pair of headphones. You can solo more than one track. Top 16. In the "Loops" projects, why can't I adjust the volume for some tracks? The volume control doesn't work on tracks where volume changes have been automated. Basically this means that the track has been mixed with changes in the volume in different places in the song. To access this, click the track volume display button (the downward arrow next to the mute and solo buttons, beneath the track title). You'll see a checked box that says "Track volume." You'll also see the changes in volume displayed below the track, with "automation points" at each spot in the track where the volume changes. Uncheck the box to turn off the volume automation, or make your own adjustments to the levels by moving or adding automation points. Top Tips for using TrackPak:· Make sure GarageBand is installed on your computer. (GarageBand is not included with this product.)· When you open your TrackPak disc: click on the blue icon of a song to see the two projects and two folders inside. · One project is called "Loops," and the other is called "Full Tracks". The same is true for the two folders. · Before using any of the loops, tracks or projects, be sure to copy them to your computer first. Don't try to use them directly off the disc. You don't need to copy everything at once -- just what you want to use now. Loops: The "Loops" project is a version of the song made entirely from loops. Generally, not every instrument or every part of the song is included in this version, unlike the "Full Tracks" version. To open a project (after copying it to your computer), double click its GarageBand icon. If GarageBand is already open, you can simply open it from GarageBand as well. The "Apple Loops" folder contains all the loops that were used in the project. To use the "Loops" project, you don't need to install any of the loops -- they are archived within the project. You only need to install them if you want to use them in a project of your own creation. To install a loop or loops (after copying them to your computer), drag the files to GarageBand's loop browser. To open the loop browser in GarageBand, click on the icon that looks like an eye. Drag the files to the area at the far right of the loop browser. Full Tracks: The "Full Tracks" are the actual audio tracks used in the full recorded version of the song. They are nearly identical to what the recording engineer used in the studio when the song was recorded and mixed. The Full Tracks contain every instrument and every part of the song. However, they are not "Apple Loops," and so they cannot be "looped." If you'd like to make them into loops, see FAQ #7 To open a "Full Tracks" project (after copying it to your computer), double click its GarageBand icon. If GarageBand is already open, you can simply open it from GarageBand as well. To use a "Full Tracks" project, you don't need to drag any of the tracks into the project -- they are archived within the project already. The "Full Tracks" folder contains audio files -- one for each track in the song. To use these tracks (after copying them to your computer), drag them directly into the timeline of your GarageBand projects. Since the Full Tracks are not loops, they cannot be installed into the loop browser. Top |