Six students from the Advanced Media Arts Honors class attended a GarageBand workshop at the Garden State Apple Store. GarageBand is a music creation studio right inside your Mac – with a complete sound library that includes software instruments, presets for guitar and voice, and virtual session drummers. Ian Bruinooge, Mark-Alex Gassler, Joe Ulrich, Kaylee Seiders, Chris Di Bella, and Tyler Mooney attended the program along with Media Arts teacher Mr. John DiLonardo.

Di Lonardo reported that when they arrived, the students “broke into two groups, filmed using the iPad, prepared the video and audio mix, and learned about built in software capabilities and advanced techniques.”

A Clarion reporter asked the students a few questions about their experience.

What have you learned from the workshop? 

A majority of the students responded with the fact that they “were taught how to compose our own music using a computer instead of instruments,” said Joe Ulrich. Others like Kaylee Seiders claimed to have learned “how to use special features in GarageBand such as how to make my own songs and sounds using the software.” Mark-Alex Gassler said that he learned “A great deal from the workshop, a big majority of it being GarageBand and finding the best shots that go with the music of my choosing.”

How do you think GarageBand will benefit you in the future? 

Ian Bruinooge believes that the program will definitely help him and his classmates for a video project that they are doing right now.

Senior, Chris Di Bella said, “It will allow me to create the exact sound that I am looking for.”

What do you think of the trip?

Most of the students replied that GarageBand was really fun, enjoyable, helpful, and easy. Mark-Alex Gassler reported “It was very fun; the instructors were especially helpful answering any questions we had or needed answered.” Mr. Di Lonardo thought that “[it was] a great, free, workshop offered to schools and technology classrooms.”