Want to learn from the best? GarageBand’s Artist Lessons are now free

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GarageBand
Meet your next tutor.
Photo: Apple

Ever wanted to know would it be like to learn to play a musical instrument from A-list artists such as Sarah McLachlan, Sting, John Fogerty and Fall Out Boy? Want to find out for free?

Thanks to the 10.3 update of Apple’s GarageBand software, you can now do exactly that. And that’s just one of the big updates!

Apple has been offering its “Artist Lessons” feature going all the way back to GarageBand ’09. It offers guides from a variety of well-known artists, leading you through the basics to play some of their hit songs, courtesy of special tutorials.

In total, there are eight piano-based Artist Lessons and 15 for guitar. These were previously available as $4.99 in-app purchases, although Apple has now reduced the cost to zero — essentially giving iOS and Mac users $115 of free premium content.

And that’s not all!

GarageBand 10.3 also boasts 1,000 new electronic and urban loops for Reggaeton, Future Bass and Chill Rap music. On top of this, you also get two new Drummers for Roots and Jazz-influenced brush styles, plus 400 animal, machine, and voice sound effects. There’s additionally the ability to play and record using traditional instruments from China and Japan, courtesy of the Guzheng, Koto, and Taiko drums.

Finally, there’s the option to add classic sounds to your song with five Vintage Mellotron patches, and updated compatibility with GarageBand for iOS, plus the usual stability improvements and bug fixes.

In all, it’s a pretty darn great package from Apple, and well worth a download if you’re not already using it. GarageBand is available from the Mac App Store for downloading right now.

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