In this post I’ll give a brief overview of how to record music. Recording music in a studio can be quite expensive and these days bands get paid little to nothing to entertain weekend crowds the world over so there is no chance that the “gig money” will pay for the studio time. So whats the solution?
With advancements in technology and computers, bands can now record professional quality albums at home.
under the Creative Commons License
So Where do I start?
Equipment
Depending on what type of artist you are or the type of artist you want to record, this will determine the equipment you need to get started.
Computer
Since we are talking about digital recording we will need a computer that is is equipped with enough processing power to record music. Most computers these days will cope quite well but talk to the sales consultant about the best fit for your needs.
Software
We will need music recording software. I personally use presonus Studio One as it is every bit as powerful as something like Pro-Tools (which is expensive) and much more user friendly in my opinion. There are so many music recording software programs out there I couldn’t list them all but some of the more common programs are:
- Logic
- Pro Tools
- Garage Band (MAC only)
- Presonus Studio One
- Cubase
There are trial versions of these programs available and most have the same basic structure and concepts but some are easier to figure out than others. I will write an article on understanding the layouts of sound recording software at a future date.
Computer interface
A computer interface device. Some computers will allow you to plug directly into the sound card but I don’t believe you’ll get as good a result. Don’t worry computer interface is a fancy name for something that takes the input from your instrument and converts it into something the computer understands. I like the Presonus gear as the interfaces and the Studio One recording software are easy to use and understand. Below is one example of many interfaces available today.
Microphone(s)
A microphone, although not technically required for recording instruments with direct inputs (e.g Electric Guitar), I would recommend a condenser microphone such as a shure sm-57 as a good all rounder to record instruments and vocals at a introductory level.
Ok so I have the equipment.. Now what?
Concepts of how to record music digitally
Track Recording
This involves yep you guessed it recording the instruments, vocals etc. Each instrument is recorded on to its own “track” (the sound file containing the instrument information) each track can then be adjusted to fit in with the other tracks in a process called….
Mixing
Once you have your tracks recorded they are then “mixed”. Mixing cannot be covered in one paragraph but it is basically where the tracks are blended together to give the song the desired feel by the artist/s. In the mixing process the tracks are placed left and right in the stereo picture or PAN, the volume is adjusted, effects are added, unused frequencies are removed or cleaned and the general sound of the song is created.
Mastering
The final stage of the process. Mastering is where the final polish is added. The mixed track is generally imported one way or another into a Mastering program where an overall EQ might be added and some compression(covered later) and a limiter (covered later) imposed. Mastering finishes shaping the sound and feel of the music.