Garageband is a popular DAW (digital audio workstation) music software program developed by Apple and made available through the Mac and iOS app stores. Given its popularity many people want to know if you can get Garageband for windows and that will be discussed throughout this article.
How much does Garageband cost?
Garageband is released free of charge making it a very popular program for people wanting to try and record music. Given it is available on mac computers, ipads and iPhones, there are millions of Garageband users throughout the world.
Can I get Garageband for my Windows PC?
Unfortunately, no you cannot get a Windows version of Garageband. Whether you are running Windows 10, or Windows 7, or another version of Windows, Apple does not make a version of Garageband for Windows computers. It only makes Garageband available through their app stores for use on Apple devices.
Running Garageband on Windows using a ‘Virtual Machine’
Though Garageband is not availble for Windows, there is a way to get Garageband to work on a Windows PC. It is not simple, and takes a lot of computer skill, and possibly even some money, but it is possible.
What is a Virtual Machine?
A virtual machine is like setting up a seperate computer, inside your existing computer. It is a strange concept to get your head around, but virtual machines make it possible to use Mac programs on Windows computers, or use Windows programs on a Mac computer.
For example, i use Mac computers, but there is an eLearning program caled Articulate Storyline 3 that I use. However this is not made for use on Mac computers, so I set up a virtual machine on my Mac computer. If i want to access this Windows program, i start up my Mac computer and then select a special program (the Virtual Machine), which then opens up Windows, on my Mac computer.
I know it sounds confusing, but essentially a virtual machine allows you to use a Windows on a Mac, and OSx on a Windows computer, and all the programs that come with it.
How does the virtual machine open Garageband?
By creating ‘virtual Mac computer, on your windows computer, you then install OSx (the Mac operating system), then you install Garageband, on the OSx inside the irtual machine.
Does Garageband work ok on a virtual machine?
It definitely is possible for Garageband to work ok on Windows (using a virtual machine), but it is going to be more vulnerable to performance issues. Virtual machines are impressive in what they acheive, but they are always going ‘against the grain’ so to speak, so performance issues are to be expected especially as the number of tracks on your song increases, and it requires more and more cmputer resources to process and play.
Are Virtual Machine’s for Windows free?
It might be possible to get a free trial of a Virtual Machine software (there are multiple) but in general they are paid software. This covers the cost of developing the software as well as support for users.
If you are extremely detyermined to us Garageband then it might be worth considering purchasing a Mac computer, but if you are tied to Windows it will come at a cost in terms of time and effort and maybe money, but it is possible to make it work if you really want to.
