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Step 1
Quantizing a track lines up the midi notes with the time signature of musical notation. In order for this effect to work, play your midi instrument in time with the GarageBand metronome or a strong beat. Make sure the metronome of your project is set to the tempo you are recording at.
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Step 2
To set the Metronome, first close all the sliding windows on your project screen. To see the metronome, the GarageBand window should look the same as when a project first opens, with no sliding windows or editor windows open. When these are closed, a default 120 Tempo can be read in blue letters at the Center Bottom of the screen to the left of the master volume slider.
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Step 3
Click on the 120 or other number above the text that says tempo to adjust the tempo with a slider.
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Step 4
Now record your MIDI performance with a software instrument.
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Step 5
Select the MIDI performance by clicking on it. When the performance is selected, it becomes a bright color instead of a pale color.
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Step 6
Double click on the performance to open the Track Editor sliding window. Or, click on the icon of the Scissor on the bottom left of the screen.
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Step 7
With your performance selected you'll see a button next to the MIDI editing window that says Align to 1/4, or some other fraction. The fraction denotes the note length of the alignment. 1/4 means that all the notes you just played will be aligned to the nearest quarter note time interval.
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Step 8
The only way to change the interval of time is to find the very, very small white diagonal ruler at the top right corner of the Track Editor sliding window. This incredibly tiny icon is very difficult to see for the first time.
Clicking on it allows you to change the Align to fraction. -
Step 9
Align your notes to 1/8 or 1/16 if you have okay keyboard skills. Quantize to I/4 if your skills are less developed.
Select the individual notes you wish to quantize, or all the notes, by dragging over them in the Editor, turning them green. You can use that tiny ruler to quantize some notes to a different interval than others. Or, you can quantize the whole track at once.
