GarageBand 10.3

Apple has released GarageBand 10.3 (the first update in about a year), making all Artist Lessons free to download—previously, each lesson cost $4.99 as an in-app purchase. Originally released in 2009, the 15 guitar and 8 piano lessons feature artists such as Sting, Norah Jones, Sarah McLachlan, and Rush.

The music-making app also adds two new Drummers that play roots- and jazz-influenced brush styles; 1000 new electronic and urban loops covering Reggaeton, Future Bass, and Chill Rap; 400 animal, transportation, and voice sound effects; and classic sounds from 5 Vintage Mellotron patches. You’ll also be able to play and record using traditional instruments from China and Japan with the Guzheng, Koto, and Taiko drums.

The update also resolves a crash that occurred when loading certain patches created in Logic Pro X, updates compatibility with GarageBand for iOS, enables MIDI Pan data editing, stops unexpectedly sustaining notes when using Musical Typing, brings back support for displaying milliseconds in the GarageBand LCD, and improves VoiceOver accessibility. GarageBand 10.3 now requires a minimum of macOS 10.12 Sierra. (Free from the Mac App Store, free update, 1.01 GB, release notes, macOS 10.12+)