“What?” I hear you ask. Yeah, you probably already have a home music studio. Do you have a computer made in the last 10 years? Does it have a sound card? Do you have access to the internet? If you answered “yes” to all those questions, then yup…you possess a home music studio in your home.
Most people have some form of microphone these days, whether for VOIP chat, on-line gaming, making quick videos on your computer of yourself singing European pop songs;), video blogging, etc. However, if you don’t have a mic yet, I recommend you pick up a $30 USB micropohone, like this:Nady USB-24M USB microphone Standard and you’ll definitely be on your way.
The next question becomes: “What kind of music do you plan to record?” That will determine much about how you approach things. For example, if you play electronic music and plan to use lots of midi, there will be more gear and software needed than someone who simply plans to record themselves playing a guitar and singing. I’m going to briefly describe that latter scenario.
If you have always wanted to record your music, but just didn’t know where to start and didn’t want to spend the money on a professional recording studio, what I’m about to say should please you. In this day and age, it is possible for a total newbie to start doing multi-track recording (“layering” tracks, like guitar on one track, then singing along with that to put your voice on another track, etc. ad nauseum) with the tools I described above. Simply download the open-source home recording software called “Audacity,” plug your mic into your computer, and you are ready to rock. I poo you not.
Yeah, you’ll have to learn to use Audacity, but the web is filled with free tutorials for that. Home Brew Audio has some of the best ones (if I do say so myself;)). But the point is that it doesn’t take long to learn the basics in Audacity. Once you do that, you can do things like record a song with you (and or your band/buddies) playing rhythm guitar on one track, lead guitar on another track, piano on a 3rd track, flute on a 4th track, lead vocal on a 5th track, harmony vocals on tracks 6-15, etc. And you can do it a track at a time, which is awesome. That means you can all the above yourself if you are so inclined. The magic of multi-track recording is amazing for a musician.
Anyway, now you know. You almost certainly already have a home music studio in your possession. Cool huh?
Learn more at www.homebrewaudio.com
Archives for August 2010
How to Use Your Home Recording Software
I know so many musicians that own home recording software, but don’t know how to use it. Most of these folks got the software with every intention of recording and selling their own CD, but became intimidated by the software’s seeming complexity and either gave up or put the project “on hold” until they get the time or inclination to learn the program. Shyaa.
So why in the world is home recording software so hard to learn? I don’t think it’s a plot or anything, but the fact is that many of the folks I refer to are really smart folks. But when they think about trying to learn complex software to do something they’ve never done before…well, that would intimidate anybody. How can you learn the software if you don’t know much about WHAT you want the software to do?
Imagine if someone told you that you had to design a sky-scraper using some specific CAD software if you had never done any design of any kind. It wouldn’t just be a matter of learning how to use the software. You don’t even know how to do what the software is designed to help you do! I think THAT is what would-be home recording enthusiasts are up against. It isn’t the software so much as it is the knowledge of how to record in the first place.
So what is the solution? I think the answer is to somehow teach the basics of audio recording without bothering with complicated (and sometimes quite expensive) software. This knowledge would have to be such that it didn’t matter what tool (program, tape machine, etc.) you were using, the concepts would be the same. For example, if you knew you needed to get some nails through two pieces of wood, it wouldn’t take long before someone could easily teach you that you needed to pound on the nail to make it happen. It doesn’t HAVE to be a hammer, really, does it? Any heavy hand-held object could do the trick. It just so happens that a hammer is usually the best tool for the job; but that’s actually secondary.
OK, so I lost some folks with that metaphor didn’t I? Sorry about that. I am just trying to highlight the critical concept that if you basically know what needs to happen and how, it doesn’t matter that much what tool you use to make it happen. If you can find some lessons or tutorials out there to teach you the concepts of home recording irrespective of the software you can use to do it, THAT would be worth something.
With that in mind, Home Brew Audio set out to teach the basic concepts and skills of audio recording from home in such a way that the focus is on the skills and concepts, NOT on the software. The early lessons are taught using the free open-source software called Audacity, not because it is fabulous software, but because it is available to just about everyone. But lessons are taught with other home recording software programs as well, so the task of learning any given program later will be much easier.
So if you really want to learn to use your home recording software, find some lessons that teach you home recording concepts first. Home Brew Audio is one such website. But however you do it, your learning curve for any recording software will be greatly flattened afterward.
Home Recording Tips
I could (actually have:)) write a book on the technical things you can do to set up a home recording studio for the lowest cost and produce the best audio quality. But if I could only tell you one thing to get you started in home recording, it would be this: It is way easier and way cheaper than you probably imagined. I know a lot of people with a lot of talent who want or need to record audio. But the ones who have never done it before, or have limited experience, all think it is just too expensive and too difficult. I mean, like 100 percent of them!
My goal with Home Brew Audio is to provide the information and resources needed for folks to start a PC recording studio, and then show them how to use it. The price of admission is between 0 and 5 dollars. Yup, you heard (read?) right. 5 bucks…and that’s just for some sort of microphone if you don’t already have one. If you DO have a mic, your starting cost is “free.” The reason for this is the free/open source software called Audacity, which is a pretty amazing program that does both audio editing and multitrack recording.
If you have already begun recording from home, Home Brew Audio provides video tutorials and articles to keep you moving forward. There should be something for all levels of knowledge in the home recording arena.
For those who are at the beginning of the home recording learning curve, however, the most important home recording tip I can offer is to get started NOW. There really isn’t any reason not to because as I said earlier, it is way easier and way less expensive than you thought.
See ya around campus!
Ken Theriot
After Audacity Download Reaper Home Recording Software
Home Brew Audio starts you out learning home recording on free recording software called Audacity. The first several video tutorial teach you how to use Audacity to learn the basic audio recording techniques. But though we teach you the basics on Audacity, many of you (especially musicians) will want to move on to something more powerful and capable, such as a program called Reaper.
Reaper focuses on the multitrack recording aspect of audio, allowing you lots of capability for over-dubbing, mixing MIDI tracks with audio tracks, editing the midi tracks, and applying tons of cool effects on any or all of the tracks in your project. There is a bit of a learning curve with Reaper, but the good news is that their manual is VERY details and helpful, and their user forum is extremely active and filled with really helpful people.
Last but not least, Reaper’s “fair pricing” scheme is downright unheard of. You start with the 30-day trial, like usual. But after the 30 days are up, you’re on your honor to buy the license! And there are two licenses to pick from, both of which give you identical capability. The “personal use license is only $60. If you don’t make more than $20,000 a year using Reaper, that’s the one for you. The professional license is $220. Let me say that again. If you don’t finish testing Reaper after 30 days, you can keep using the trial…for as long as you want, though you will be reminded that Reaper is not free, and that you should purchase a license. Once you decide to buy a license, it’s up to you to be honest about which one is appropriate for you.
So here is the order in your home recording training plan. Download the free home recording software called Audacity. If you’re a musician, or just have the need for more capability, download Reaper and use it for 30 days. You will have spent no money on recording software at all. If you’re just starting out, you can buy Reaper for $60. It’s a really sound plan right? Nod your head;). Now you know.
Happy recording!
How to Turn Your PC into a Recording Studio with Free Home Recording Software
If you’ve ever dreamed of having a recording studio, but you still think it’s either too expensive or too hard to learn, then today may bring you a dream-come-true. If you say “home recording software” to anyone someone, the response you’re likely to get back (if any) is Pro Tools, which is probably the industry standard in home recording software. But it won’t run on your computer without some sort of hardware companion in the form of a special sound card or another audio interface of some kind. You’re going to be spending over $100 for any kind of Pro Tools set-up.
But what if I told you that there was software out there free of charge? It can do more than you need it to for learning all the basics of audio recording for the cost of….nothing! It’s not shareware, and it’s not a 30-day trial. It’s open-source software called Audacity, and you can download it right now. Audacity is both a multi-track and audio editing program.
So let’s take inventory to see if you already have a home recording studio. Do you have a computer built in the last 10 years? Do you have an internet connection? Do you have any sort of microphone? If you answered “yes” to all those questions, congratulations. You have a pc home recording studio. If you don’t have the microphone, don’t worry. For starting out all you need (in fact I highly recommend it) is a plastic pc mic that can be had from any store that sells electronics (Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples, Target, Walmart…you get the idea) for around $5.00. So at the most, a majority of you will be able to set up a home recording studio for $5.00 or less. Sweet, huh?
But now you may be wondering about how hard it will be to learn how to put stuff together and how to use it. You may think it’ll be hard to learn. But it turns out it isn’t…not if it’s done right. Many websites have tutorials on how to use Audacity. At Home Brew Audio, you’ll find step-by-step instruction videos that take you from absolute beginner to making your first recording all in about 30 minutes. That recording will be your voice, with music behind it, introducing a podcast. Follow-on video lessons teach you how to do some basic editing, multitrack recording, and basic audio effects, all with Audacity.
So what are you waiting for? It isn’t every day you get to make a dream come true for $5.00 and 30 minutes of your time:).