GarageBand Keyboard Shortcuts

GarageBand keyboard shortcut reference covering 105 bindings for Mac. Commonly searched bindings include Start playback, Stop playback, and Start or stop playback. 105 of 105 shortcuts are verified against official GarageBand documentation, each with a linked source when available. Search by action name, filter by category, look up what a key combination does, print a cheat sheet, or practice with flashcards.

Official GarageBand documentation

Editing

Action	Mac	Verified	Source
Undo	`Cmd+Z`	Yes	Source
Redo	`Shift+Cmd+Z`	Yes	Source
Cut	`Cmd+X`	Yes	Source
Copy	`Cmd+C`	Yes	Source
Paste	`Cmd+V`	Yes	Source
Delete	`Delete`	Yes	Source
Select all	`Cmd+A`	Yes	Source
Deselect all	`Shift+D`	Yes	Source
Horizontal zoom out	`Cmd+Left`	Yes	Source
Horizontal zoom in	`Cmd+Right`	Yes	Source
Scroll Up	`Fn+Up`	Yes	Source
Scroll Down	`Fn+Down`	Yes	Source
Scroll Left	`Fn+Left`	Yes	Source
Scroll Right	`Fn+Right`	Yes	Source
Show/Hide Automation lanes and parameters	`A`	Yes	Source
Delete all automation on the selected track	`Ctrl+Shift+Cmd+Delete`	Yes	Source
Select the previous region on the selected track or event in the Editor	`Left`	Yes	Source
Select the next region on the selected track or event in the Editor	`Right`	Yes	Source
Loop the selected regions on or off	`L`	Yes	Source
Quantize selected events	`Q`	Yes	Source
Paste and replace the current selection	`Shift+Cmd+V`	Yes	Source
Join regions or notes	`Cmd+J`	Yes	Source
Split the selected region or event at the playhead position	`Cmd+T`	Yes	Source
Cut the selected Arrangement Marker into sections	`Option+Cmd+Delete`	Yes	Source
Add selected region to the Apple Loops Library	`Ctrl+Shift+O`	Yes	Source
Rename the selected regions	`Shift+N`	Yes	Source

GarageBand User Guide

Action	Mac	Verified	Source
Preview the selected audio (Audio Editor only)	`Option+Space`	Yes	Source
Transpose selected notes up one semitone (Piano Roll and Score Editors only)	`Option+Up`	Yes	Source
Transpose selected notes down one semitone (Piano Roll and Score Editors only)	`Option+Down`	Yes	Source
Transpose selected notes up one octave (Piano Roll and Score Editors only)	`Option+Shift+Up`	Yes	Source
Transpose selected notes down one octave (Piano Roll and Score Editors only)	`Option+Shift+Down`	Yes	Source
Print MIDI region as notation (Score Editor only)	`Cmd+P`	Yes	Source
Turn Flex on/off (Audio Editor only)	`Cmd+F`	Yes	Source

Modes

Action	Mac	Verified	Source
Solo/Unsolo the selected track	`S`	Yes	Source
Turn off all soloed tracks or recall all previously soloed tracks	`Option+S`	Yes	Source
Mute/Unmute the selected track	`M`	Yes	Source
Turn off Mute on all tracks	`Ctrl+Shift+M`	Yes	Source
Turn Monitoring for the selected audio track on/off	`Ctrl+I`	Yes	Source
Turn Record Enable for the selected audio track on/off	`Ctrl+R`	Yes	Source
Turn Cycle mode on/off	`C`	Yes	Source
Turn the metronome click on/off	`K`	Yes	Source
Turn count-in on/off	`Shift+K`	Yes	Source
Show/Hide yellow alignment guides	`Option+Cmd+G`	Yes	Source
Turn Snap to Grid on/off	`Cmd+G`	Yes	Source
Turn Catch Playhead on/off	`	Yes	Source

Projects

Action	Mac	Verified	Source
Create a new project	`Cmd+N`	Yes	Source
Open an existing project	`Cmd+O`	Yes	Source
Save the current project	`Cmd+S`	Yes	Source
Save the current project as	`Shift+Cmd+S`	Yes	Source
Close the current project	`Cmd+W`	Yes	Source
Quit GarageBand	`Cmd+Q`	Yes	Source

Tracks

Action	Mac	Verified	Source
Create a new track	`Option+Cmd+N`	Yes	Source
Create a new audio track	`Option+Cmd+A`	Yes	Source
Create a new software instrument track	`Option+Cmd+S`	Yes	Source
Create duplicate of the currently selected track	`Cmd+D`	Yes	Source
Delete the selected track	`Cmd+Delete`	Yes	Source
Show/Hide the master track	`Shift+Cmd+M`	Yes	Source
Select the next higher track (tracks area) or Apple Loops (Loop Browser)	`Up`	Yes	Source
Select the next lower track (tracks area) or Apple Loop (Loop Browser)	`Down`	Yes	Source
Rename the selected track	`Shift+Enter`	Yes	Source
Configure the track header	`Option+T`	Yes	Source
Next Patch (Library), Effect, or Instrument setting (plug-ins)	`]`	Yes	Source
Previous Patch (Library), Effect, or Instrument setting (plug-ins)	`[`	Yes	Source
Import audio file on selected track	`Shift+Cmd+I`	Yes	Source
Import a movie to the movie track	`Option+Cmd+O`	Yes	Source

Transports

Action	Mac	Verified	Source
Start playback	`Enter`	Yes	Source
Stop playback	`0`	Yes	Source
Start or stop playback	`Space`	Yes	Source
Start playback from selection	`Shift+Space`	Yes	Source
Start or stop audio file preview in the Audio Editor or Loop Browser	`Option+Space`	Yes	Source
Start and stop recording	`R`	Yes	Source
Start and stop recording	`*`	Yes	Source
Move the playhead back one bar	`,`	Yes	Source
Move the playhead forward one bar	`.`	Yes	Source
Move the cycle range forward by one cycle length	`Shift+Cmd+.`	Yes	Source
Move the cycle range backward by one cycle length	`Shift+Cmd+,`	Yes	Source
Move the playhead to the left locator	`Ctrl+Shift+,`	Yes	Source
Move the playhead to the right locator	`Ctrl+Shift+.`	Yes	Source
Go to the beginning	`Enter`	Yes	Source
Go to the end of the last region	`Option+Enter`	Yes	Source
Go to the beginning of the selection	`Fn+Left`	Yes	Source
Move locators forward by cycle length	`Shift+Cmd+.`	Yes	Source
Move locators backwards by cycle length	`Shift+Cmd+,`	Yes	Source
Move right locator to the right by cycle length	`Option+Shift+Cmd+.`	Yes	Source
Move left locator to the right by half cycle length	`Option+Shift+Cmd+,`	Yes	Source

Windows

Action	Mac	Verified	Source
Show/Hide the Library	`Y`	Yes	Source
Turn Quick Help on/off	`Shift+/`	Yes	Source
Show detailed Help (if available in Quick Help description)	`Cmd+/`	Yes	Source
Show/Hide the Smart Controls window	`B`	Yes	Source
Show/Hide the Editor pane	`E`	Yes	Source
Show/Hide the Piano Roll Editor	`P`	Yes	Source
Show/Hide the Score Editor	`N`	Yes	Source
Show/Hide the note pad	`Option+Cmd+P`	Yes	Source
Show/Hide the Loop Browser	`O`	Yes	Source
Change focus to next area in GarageBand window	`Tab`	Yes	Source
Change focus to previous area in GarageBand window	`Shift+Tab`	Yes	Source
Open the Color palette	`Option+C`	Yes	Source
Open GarageBand settings	`Cmd+,`	Yes	Source
Show/Hide the Musical Typing window	`Cmd+K`	Yes	Source
Enter/Exit Full Screen mode	`Ctrl+Cmd+F`	Yes	Source
Hide GarageBand	`Cmd+H`	Yes	Source
Hide other applications	`Option+Cmd+H`	Yes	Source
Minimize the GarageBand window	`Cmd+M`	Yes	Source
Minimize all other application windows	`Option+Cmd+M`	Yes	Source
Switch the GarageBand window between two sizes	`Ctrl+Cmd+M`	Yes	Source

← All apps on Shortcut Atlas