Pros and Cons of GarageBand '09 and Audacity
GarageBand '09
HELP SUPPORT:
- GarageBand help application is
very user friendly and easy to
search through a wide variety of
topics; provides video tutorials
- Online support through Apple's
website
- 122 page PDF manual available
online (tour on how to get started
and use GarageBand '09; includes
step-by-step tutorials)
- Online tutorials and video tutorials
readily available through online
searches
INTERFACE:
- GarageBand '09 has a very easy
interface to navigate
- Interface is easy to use for Mac
users who are familiar with
dragging and dropping
- Tracks are easily able to be
copied, deleted, looped,
split, dragged and inserted into
different tracks
- Audio clips are easily imported and
exported
- Tracks can be split and copied and
entire sections of track can be
rearranged
- Comes with built-in loops and
sound effects
- Much more user friendly and
appealing to the eye
APPLICATIONS:
- Great for working with loops and wanting to mix your own music; Apple advertises it as "your own recording studio." (GarageBand '09, 2009)
- Can record for one hour
AVAILABILITY:
- GarageBand '09 is only available when iLife '09 is purchased and can only be used on a Mac
- iLife '09 can be brought from Apple for $79.00
Audacity
HELP SUPPORT:
- Audacity's help application is not
as visually pleasing or easy to
navigate as GarageBand '09, but
users are able to search through
a wide variety of topics
- Online support through
Audacity's website
- Vibrant user community
- Through Audacity's Wiki Home
Page, users can read
step-by-step tutorials
- Online tutorials and video tutorials
readily available through online
searches
INTERFACE:
- Audacity's interface is similar to
Windows and is easy to navigate
for familiar users
- Tracks are able to be copied,
deleted, looped, and split
- Tracks are not easily dragged and
dropped; instead each track has
to be individually moved up or
down
- Audio clips are easily imported
and exported
- Sample rate and bit are able to be
changed
- Effects are easy to find and insert
into individual tracks
- Overall very easy to navigate for a
novice user
APPLICATIONS:
- Great for working with audio and
podcasts
- Can record for longer periods;
time depends on the amount of
disk space a computer has
AVAILABILITY:
- Audacity is a free open-source
software
- Available for Mac OS X, Microsoft
Windows, GNU/Linux, and other
operating systems
(Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder, 2009; GarageBand '09, 2009; GarageBand, 2008)
My Recommendation:
After creating a soundscape in both Audacity and GarageBand '09 I have likes and dislikes of both programs. I like the interface and easy workability of GarageBand '09, but I like the familiarities of Audacity. I am a PC user and Audacity was easy to navigate for a novice user of both programs. Trying to complete the same soundscape project in GarageBand '09 was frustrating because I am not use to working on a Mac and the certain features like "drag and drop" instead of "import audio" drove me crazy! I loved how easy the tracks could be rearranged in GarageBand '09 and before experimenting with GarageBand '09, that was my biggest compliant with creating my soundscape with Audacity.
Overall, I preferred and would recommend using Audacity for a soundscape project because it was easy to add and change effects to individual tracks as well as splice tracks together. Audacity seemed to have many more effects that could be applied to tracks and adjusting the effects were easy. With GarageBand '09 the effects were difficult to adjust and there were not as many options. Additionally, Audacity allowed me to easily zoom in on my project and easily delete sections of track I did not want. I was able to loop sounds and then use effects to change the loops so they sounded unique. GarageBand '09 did not allow me to zoom in as much as Audacity and it was difficult to pinpoint small sections of tracks I wanted to rearrange. I think both programs have their strengths and weaknesses but overall, I know I will use Audacity again for creating a soundscape or similar project.
