HOW TO Create your first podcast in GarageBand

1 Create a project

With your mic connected, open GarageBand and make sure it appears in the Input Settings menu. Then doubleclick on the Voice template to open a new project. It has four channels but you may not need them all yet.

2 Check your signal

You will need to wear headphones or mute your Mac’s speakers while recording to avoid feedback. For now, you can ≈-click on the other audio tracks to delete them. You should see signal showing on the track’s level meter.

3 Record your voice

By pressing Record, you can now record your voice by speaking into the microphone. If you find that it’s too quiet or too loud, try changing the level on the microphone, the interface or the audio track inside GarageBand.

4 Edit the recording

With some of your vocal track recorded, you can edit it by moving the playhead to the cut point and pressing ⌘+t. You will be able to drag and drop chopped clips anywhere including on to new audio tracks.

5 Add more tracks

Use the ‘+’ button to add a new audio track and record more dialogue, or add two or more tracks to record multiple mics. Use the mute controls on existing tracks to silence anything you don’t want to hear while recording.

6 Create an arrangement

Use this edit technique to arrange your voice tracks so that all participants are heard. Use the level controls on the audio tracks to change volumes so they match. You can switch to loudspeakers when you’ve finished recording.

7 Add some music

To add a jingle to your podcast that fades out as you start speaking, import a music track, select it, then click the Show Automation button. Ensure Volume is selected in the drop-down and a yellow line will appear along the track’s length.

8 Fade out music intro

Click the yellow Volume line to place a control point where you want the music to start to fade. Add a second ‘end’ point where you want the fade to stop. Drag the ‘end’ point all the way down. The music will fade between the two points.

9 Tweak and export

For each track, go to its Effects tab and make tweaks. Try using an Equaliser (EQ) to shape the sound. When you’re done editing and mixing, choose Share > Export Song To Disk. Then choose either compressed MP3 of full-quality AIFF.