"Learn to Play" workaround for PowerPC Macs

The new "Learn to Play" downloadable lessons in GarageBand are only supported by Apple on Intel-based Macs. When PowerPC users go to the lessons or the lesson store, they are presented with a message that states an intel-mac is required. Despite this, non-intel users can get lessons to run.

The lessons are located in this directory:

/Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/GarageBand/Learn To Play/

Users on PowerPC Macs should be able to open the lesson files directly by double-clicking them, and they should play normally. It appears that the lessons run fine when users do this, though some with older PowerPC computers have noted the need to free up as much RAM and other resources as possible to ensure smooth play.

In order to get new lessons, Apple's built-in store accesses the web at the following URL:

http://store.apple.com/us/lessons/home

By navigating to the aforementioned URL, users can access the available free downloads. To do this, open the URL in Safari and click the "Basic Lessons" button. Then select the desired free lesson and GarageBand should open. A message will prompt for download confirmation, and the download should start. Users will not see a progress bar or other indication of the download, but it should happen as long as GarageBand is open. Check Activity Monitor's network section to see that the download is actually going.

Unfortunately, lessons for purchase will require the GarageBand interface, so for now the purchasing is restricted to Intel users; however, if PowerPC users have access to an Intel mac, they should be able to download the files to it and transfer them to the PowerPC machine.

Because Apple does not officially support lessons on PowerPC Macs, users may run into unexpected troubles.