Technology

How to Edit a Podcast in GarageBand

Apple's GarageBand is a multi-track audio recording program that allows you to create and record your own music

Keaton Robbins | August 30, 2022

A woman typing on her laptop computer editing a podcast

Recording and editing your own podcast using Apple’s GarageBand software is easy. In this post, you’ll learn the basics of recording a podcast in GarageBand, just like I did when I started recording podcasts, how to organize your podcast sessions, simplify your editing, and improve your audio mixes.

Here’s an overview of our 10 tips for editing a podcast in GarageBand from first-hand experience:

In this article

  1. How to Edit a Podcast in GarageBand: Recording Your Audio
  2. 1. Open GarageBand
  3. 2. Select Your Audio Input
  4. 3. Set Up Your Workspace
  5. 4. Create Different Audio Tracks
  6. 5. Adjust Your Audio Levels
  7. Editing Audio in GarageBand
  8. 6. Use the Solo Feature
  9. 7. Split Your Tracks
  10. 8. Add Music and Balance the Volume
  11. 9. Set Up a File Structure and Stick With It
  12. 10. Export Your Podcast
  13. Work With Creative Talent to Enhance Your Podcast
1.Open GarageBand
2.Select your audio input
3.Set up your workspace
4.Create different audio tracks
5.Adjust your audio levels
6.Use the Solo feature
7.Split your tracks
8.Add music and balance the volume
9.Set up a file structure and stick with it
10.Export your podcast

Although this post includes specific instructions for how to edit a podcast, the same concepts also apply for editing music, voice over recordings, or audio for other multimedia productions, ranging from TV programs to explainer videos.

Let’s get started!

How to Edit a Podcast in GarageBand: Recording Your Audio

1. Open GarageBand

Upon opening GarageBand, you will have the option to select Empty Project. Once you have selected Empty Project, click Choose down at the bottom-right of the window.

2. Select Your Audio Input

In this step, select the Microphone option, and then down at the bottom of the window, ensure that Input 1 is selected. This will ensure that the audio that is coming in is Mono—meaning that both the left and right side of your microphone or headphones will be pulling in the exact same audio at the same time.

There is also an option to select which microphone is set up. In the diagram above, the default audio set up reads Built-in Microphone. However, by clicking on the right-facing arrow, you will see a drop-down menu that allows you to choose the source of your audio.

Once you have chosen your desired audio input source, click Create on the bottom right.

You will be taken to GarageBand’s main window. If you make a sound, you should see the movement of audio being picked up, made evident by the volume bars shrinking and expanding as you speak.

Green indicates that you are in the correct volume range. It’s okay if it dips into the orange space a bit, but you do not want the volume bar to reach all the way to the end and turn red. This is called clipping, and means that a listener playing back the recorded audio will hear distortion. You can adjust your levels by using the controls at the bottom of the page.

3. Set Up Your Workspace

When you are ready to record, you will notice that there are compressor controls down at the bottom of the screen. You don’t have to worry about any of these, as these are primarily for musicians who are recording and mixing music.

The most important element to have a handle on when you’re recording a podcast is time. At the top, you will notice that GarageBand displays both time and beat. You can set up your workspace so that you are only seeing the time.

4. Create Different Audio Tracks

When you create a new project, you’ll notice that by default there is only one track. This track is automatically labeled Audio 1.

You can add multiple tracks to house different components of your podcast. For example, Audio 1 may simply include the track for your intro music, Audio 2 may be the primary speaker’s vocal recording, Audio 3 can be designated for the guest speaker, etc.

You can add new audio tracks by clicking the + symbol on the top left corner.

5. Adjust Your Audio Levels

With GarageBand, you can separately adjust the audio levels of each track. This is helpful if the recorded audio on one of the tracks was a bit quieter than the others.

For instance, if a guest you interviewed for your podcast was a quiet speaker, you may only want to increase the audio levels for their particular track. You can do this by clicking and dragging the level on the individual track to the right (to increase the volume), or to the left (to decrease the volume). Each track has its own volume levels that can be individually adjusted.

Editing Audio in GarageBand

6. Use the Solo Feature

Solo the specific track you’re editing by clicking the Solo button, which mutes every other track except the one you are chosen. By using the Solo feature, you can listen closely and catch unwanted breaths, sniffles, or coughs that you may have otherwise missed while editing voice over with music and sound effects also audible.

You can solo an individual track by clicking the Solo button (headphones) to listen to the individual track by itself:

You can also mute any tracks you don’t want to hear by clicking the Mute button (speaker) of each track:

7. Split Your Tracks

Once you record your audio, the recorded audio will appear as a series of tracks in GarageBand. If you want to make edits to the tracks, you can split the tracks and only keep the specific portions that you want.

To split a track, click the playhead (the line that moves as you are playing your audio), and drag it to the position on the timeline where you would like to split your track.

Then, right-click on the position where the playhead is situated, or open the Edit dropdown and select Split Regions at Playhead. You will then be able to click and drag an excerpt of the track to another point in the timeline, or simply delete it.

8. Add Music and Balance the Volume

When you add a new audio track, you may find that it is louder at certain points than you want it to be.

You can adjust the volume level at different points in the track by first selecting the track you want to edit by highlighting it on your timeline,  opening the Mix dropdown, and selecting Show Automation.

You should then see a faded yellow line within your track. Click on the yellow line at the position where you would like to begin fading, and a dot will appear. Adding a second dot to indicate when you want the audio to complete the fade-out will then allow you to drag the volume up or down to an appropriate level.

You can do this with all of your tracks until you are satisfied with all of the volume levels.

9. Set Up a File Structure and Stick With It

Make sure to properly name your folders, subfolders, and GarageBand session files. By keeping a consistent file naming scheme, particularly for podcasts, you will be able to quickly locate all related documents, session notes, and audio files sent in by contributors.

10. Export Your Podcast

Your final step is to export your audio from GarageBand by opening the Share dropdown. From there, you will have the option to share your podcast to your Music library or SoundCloud, send it by email, or export it to a disk.

Work With Creative Talent to Enhance Your Podcast

By following these simple steps, you’ll hopefully come out with higher-quality audio and save a lot of time setting up new podcasting sessions.

For a handy tutorial that covers all the tips we’ve discussed, check out this video:

If you’re in need of a professional voice actor to serve as your podcast host or record your podcast intro script, or if you’re in search of a skilled audio editor or musician to compose original music for your podcast, Voices has you covered. On our audio services marketplace, you can find and hire a from our pool of creative talent made up of experts in voice acting, audio production, music, and more.

Looking to launch a podcast and need the right voice talent for it? Check out our nearly 2,000 voice talent who specialize in podcasting today!

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Comments

  • Avatar for subcorpus
    subcorpus
    January 5, 2008, 6:04 pm

    Would have been better if I stumbled on your article a bit earlier …
    I spent a lot of time few weeks back learning GarageBand to make a simple podcast …
    hehe …
    good article … appreciated …

    Reply
  • Avatar for Rich Lawrence
    Rich Lawrence
    January 5, 2008, 10:00 pm

    Cool! Thanks for these tips! I made the move from Adobe Audition to Garage Band and these are be really helpful for my podcast as well as my broadcasting work. Thanks again!

    Reply
  • Avatar for Adam
    Adam
    January 5, 2008, 11:18 pm

    Have any tips or an article on how to record a podcast with remote guests (Via Skype, Phone, etc)?

    Reply
  • Avatar for Jeremy
    Jeremy
    February 28, 2008, 12:14 pm

    Why is there a podcast time limit? So frustrating that there’s only just over an hour to work with. Does anyone know a way around this or if there will be an update eliminating this soon?

    Reply
  • Avatar for Kristy
    Kristy
    March 5, 2008, 6:43 pm

    Hey there, I am really new at doing this. I am trying to record a series of meditations. I successfully imported my own music and recorded my voice but it sounds like the inside of my computer is being recorded. Any suggestions?

    Reply
  • Avatar for theo
    theo
    November 7, 2008, 11:40 pm

    I am still confused as to how to edit coughs, unwanted sounds etc once recorded without gettting rid of the entire track. Please help! thanks

    Reply
  • Avatar for IHYP
    IHYP
    February 27, 2009, 3:50 pm

    It’s a real shame Garageband won’t let you scrub audio when you’re editing!

    Reply
  • Avatar for Anderson, D
    Anderson, D
    August 3, 2009, 11:51 pm

    Much, much thanks. The program could use better documentation. Your 10 tips should be included.

    Reply
  • Avatar for peggy
    peggy
    October 13, 2009, 7:17 pm

    Is there a way to cut the file at the end of the podcast?

    I’m asking because I saved a file, which was just seven minutes, but the program included the entire hour. Then, the file was too large to be uploaded onto my WordPress blog.

    is there a way to put an endpoint on the file so I can make it smaller?

    Thanks for these very good tips.

    Reply
  • Avatar for Joseph Francke
    Joseph Francke
    April 15, 2010, 2:02 pm

    I’m trying to record some voiceovers using Garageband 2008’s Podcast program on a MacBook running OSX 10.5.8.

    I can’t hear any sound in previewing loops or otherwise, despite having all the volume sliders at or close to the maximum level. I can’t find a Garageband Help entry that addresses this problem. I know it’s a Garageband issue and not the machine or OS because I get normal sound levels from audio product from the Internet, for example.

    What am I missing?

    Reply
  • Avatar for Margea
    Margea
    July 21, 2010, 3:48 am

    I am giving a personal inquiry project presentation and I chose Garage Band Podcast as my topic. Are there any other sources that I might try? Your instructions were excellent.

    Reply
  • Avatar for Jen
    Jen
    November 19, 2013, 10:17 pm

    Hey- Thanks for this great piece! After recording podcast #3 today with a different range of vocals due to interviews, background noise, and uploaded files from the teleseminar, I was able to balance the sound.
    Much appreciated!
    Jen

    Reply