Recording Your Own Music: Understanding the Basics

For many musicians, technological advances in music software development have created a veritable golden age of home recording. Access to quality recording materials has never been more widespread. There is an abundance of tutorials online via sites like YouTube has made the process of creating professional-sounding recordings into a straightforward and easy process for musicians at all levels of their careers.

But figuring out how to make your songs sound their best can still feel like a confusing process at first. Here are just a few pointers to ensure that your musical output sounds as good as possible.

Choose What Kind of Recording Methods You’ll Use

At the moment, most musicians who record at home tend to use “DAW” programs to capture ideas and hone songs into professional-sounding musical works. (DAW stands for “Digital Audio Workstation.”) In terms of pricing, these programs can range from free (Apple’s popular GarageBand program) to moderately priced (Reaper) to relatively expensive (Apple Logic and Ableton Live) to very expensive (ProTools).

Fortunately, many inexpensive DAWs are based on their more expensive counterparts. GarageBand is essentially a “light” version of Apple’s professional Logic program in all but name; Ableton also has inexpensive entry-level software that will appeal to budget-conscious musicians.

Decide What Kind of Instrumentation You’ll Use

How you’ll proceed to the next stage of the recording process will largely depend on the kind of instrumentation that you’ll be using in your songwriting process. Composers of electronic music will often find great synthesis plug-ins included with their programs; both free and budget versions of “software synths” also exist to help electronic musicians craft intriguing sounds.

For musicians who enjoy using live instrumentation in genres ranging from indie rock to country music to metal, there are also many inexpensive options for recording top-notch songs. Many great companies currently sell high-quality microphones that plug directly into computers rather than into the expensive preamps used by top studios. These microphones are easy to use and make recording new music a breeze.

Creating Professional Mixes

Perhaps the biggest hurdle that home-recording enthusiasts run into lies in the “mixing” of recordings. In general, an acoustic guitar or vocal performance recorded directly into a DAW can sound good without mixing. Still, most home-recording enthusiasts will want to use tools such as compressors or EQs to finesse their mixes. Basic versions of these tools are often included with DAWs; more expensive mixing products that replicate professional studios’ sounds also exist for musicians to use.

Finding your way around an EQ or a compressor can take a bit of practice, it is true, but the results of a well-mixed song can take a recording to a professional level of quality.

Even on a budget, a good microphone, recording interface, DAW, and selection of quality mixing plug-ins can produce professional-sounding recordings for a fraction of what it would cost to record music in a professional studio. Most listeners would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the two.

Originally published: https://colemurphyharris.com/recording-your-own-music-understanding-the-basics/