How to Reduce White Noise With GarageBand

When you purchase a Macintosh computer such as a MacBook or iMac, you may receive GarageBand. GarageBand, part of the iLife software package bundled with new Macs, is a program that allows you to record mix and render your own songs. It’s a mini-studio installed into your computer that allows you to record music that sounds as thought it is professionally recorded. To obtain this, you need the ability to filter out ambient noise often called “white noise.” GarageBand has pre-installed software that can help you with this.

Highlight the track you want to filter by clicking the track name.

Click the icon that looks like a lower case “I” in the bottom right corner of the program. This brings up the effects and editing parameters for the track.

Click “Real Instrument” if you want to filter just the track you highlighted or click on “Master Track” of you want to filter all of the tracks for the song at the same time.

Click “Details” located on the bottom left of the "Track Info” page. This brings up a list of effects you can use to filter the white noise.

Place a checkmark next to “Compressor” to activate the drop-down menu.

Click any of the compressor settings listed and then play the track. You can change the drop-down setting as the track plays until you find the compressor setting that sounds the best to you.