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Using GarageBand to Record a Speech

STEP 1:  Make sure you're in a VERY quiet space. Open GarageBand from your Applications folder.

STEP 2: Select "New Project" and "Voice." Click "Choose."

STEP 3: Name your project. Usually, you'll name it with your first and last name, a dash, and the project name. Click "Create."

STEP 4: Now you're in your workspace. Two tracks have shown up for you: "Male Basic" and "Female Basic tracks. Click on whichever applies to you - that's the one you'll use. Notice (for future projects) that you can add tracks or delete them. This is how musicians who use GarageBand add in multiple instruments (on multiple tracks) and layer them. Keeping each instrument on a separate track means they can shift it around in the song, change its volume, etc. Pretty cool! But we won't use that right now, because we're just recording our speaking voice.

STEP 5: Use the "record" button (the red dot at the bottom) to begin recording your voice. Say your speech. GENTLY (because otherwise you'll hear it on your recording!) press the spacebar to stop recording. You'll notice a purple bar showing up as you record -- that's your voice! You may have to delete this bar and re-record several times to get it JUST how you want it.

STEP 6: Once you're satisfied with your speech, click "Export Song to Disk" in the "Share" menu. 

STEP 7: A window will pop up with several options. Change the "Compress Using" option to MP3 encoding. Then click "Export."

STEP 8: A window will pop up to allow you to name the file you're exporting. We already named it at the beginning, so all we need to do is make sure "Hide Extension" at the bottom is unchecked and click "Save." If it asks if you want to replace the file, click "Yes." If you're worried you won't be able to find your file (it automatically saves in the GarageBand folder), click "Desktop" on the left to save it to your desktop. 

STEP 9:  Email your file to Julie!