Apple GarageBand Jam Pack User Manual Instrument Tips

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Tips for Using GarageBand
Jam Pack 1 Instruments

The GarageBand Jam Pack 1 package contains over 100 Software Instrument presets you can use
in your songs. In addition to synthesizer instruments, Jam Pack 1 includes Software Instruments
in the following categories:

Drum kits, including dance, electronic, pop, and jazz kits

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Guitars, including 12-string, acoustic, and electric guitars
Basses, including electric basses and an upright bass

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Symphonic string section
Wind instruments, including flutes, saxophones, and horn sections

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Mixed classical choir

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Classical piano
Vibraphone, with and without rotating resonators

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This document describes some of the instruments included in Jam Pack 1, and lists controller
information for each of the instruments.

Drum Kits

Jam Pack 1 includes several new drum kits featuring both classic and contemporary drum
sounds. In addition, you can modify the sound of each drum kit in real time using keyboard
controllers, including the modulation (mod) wheel and pitch bend wheel. The following table
lists controller information for the drum kits.

Drum Kit Controller Info

Electro Kit

RnB Kit

Tribal Kit

Raising the mod wheel adds vibrato.
Moving the pitch bend wheel raises or lowers the pitch of many drum
sounds (up to 3 octaves higher or lower), so you can change their pitch over
time.
You can shorten or lengthen the length of most drum sounds using the
Release slider in the Generator editor window. Drag the slider left to create
short, tight, punchy sounds, used in certain styles of music.
When using the hi-hat drum sounds (notes F#1 and A#1 in most drum kits),
playing one note will stop the sound of the previously played note, like
closing a hi-hat with a foot pedal.

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Organization of Drum Kit Sounds

The sounds in the Jam Pack 1 drum kits are organized across the keyboard in the following
general order:

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Notes below C0: Miscellaneous sounds relevant to the genre.
Notes C0 to C1: Alternate drum kit sounds.

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Notes C1 to B2: Standard drum kit sounds, including kick drum, snare, hi-hats, ride cymbals,
crash cymbals, and toms.
Notes C3 to A#3: Basic Latin percussion, including bongo, congas, timbales and agogo.

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Notes B3 to D#5: More Latin and other exotic percussion, including triangle, wood block,
claves, guiro, and cuica.

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Notes above D#5: Sound effects and other miscellaneous sounds.

c0 c1 c2 c3 c4 c5

Note: On most smaller music keyboards, you can access higher and lower octaves using the

keyboard’s octave up and octave down controls. See the instructions that came with your
keyboard.

Drum Kit Effects

Most Jam Pack 1 drum kits include optional effects commonly applied to drum tracks in the kit’s
genre. When you select the track with one of the drum kits, these effects appear in the Details
area of the Track Info window, but are turned off. You can turn them on by clicking the checkbox
next to each effect.

Guitars

Jam Pack 1 features both acoustic and electric guitars, including a 12-string acoustic guitar, with a
special instrument that plays major and minor chords.

Instrument Description Controller Info

12 String Acoustic Folk-style 12-string guitar

12 String Chords Each note plays a complete major or

minor chord, with adjacent octaves
playing up and down strums.

Muted Electric Guitar Rock electric guitar playing short,

stopped notes

Roundback Acoustic Guitar Contemporary acoustic guitar good

for rock ballads, folk-rock, and other
“unplugged” music

Mod wheel adds vibrato.
Higher velocities increase loudness
and attack.

Mod wheel adds vibrato.
Higher velocities increase loudness
and attack.
Notes E0 through D#2 play major
chords. Notes E2 through D#4 play
minor chords.

Higher velocities increase loudness
and attack.

Mod wheel adds vibrato.
Highest velocity adds slide up to
note.

2 Tips for Using GarageBand Jam Pack 1 Instruments