Recording audio is easy. Recording audio well is a completely different matter. You might be lucky enough to get access to a recording studio with the services of a professional sound engineer, but more likely you have, or want to build, a home recording studio ans will need to experiment to learn how to record music. Setting up a home recording studio can be expensive, although using a professional recording studio to record all your tracks is likely to be a lot more expensive!
Even pc recording can be expensive, so make sure you think about how you want to work before you specify your system and spend a lot of money!
To set up your studio, or to work in a professional studio, means learning about music tech, and how to use it. Scared? Don't be! You've come to the right place.
Doing your own audio engineering has both benefits, and drawbacks, but for many musicians the gains far out-weigh the costs. If you can, keep it simple. Try not to learn it all at once. Unless of course you are currently studying music technology! Focusing on the creative aspects of recording and production is difficult enough without using a complex system you don't know how to use.
Many musicians start learning about music tech using a midi keyboard or synthesizer with a midi sequencer, but modern music technology is far more accessible than it used to be. It\s easier to use without knowing how it all works than it once was. Editing music is an artform in itself, however there are many Desktop Audio Workstations (DAWs) and audio editing programs, with inline user communities to help you understand how to use them.
Try and build on skills you already have. If you can afford it, consider a stand alone integrated system like a hard disk recorder. They're not for everyone, but most of the music tech needed for recording, mixing and production is already there and connected up ready to use. Make sure you try gear out, and get a demo, before you buy.
Try and use communities and contacts to find out new ways of doing things. Learning about recording is partly about information and understanding, partly about experimenting yourself, and partly about learning from others who already have experience. After all, if you can shortcut the process of identifying the best recording setup for recording piano, you can focus on broader issues, such as creating your sound.
So, we've collected lots of useful audio technology related content together in one place!
Have a browse through our list of articles, and our categorised selection of links. If you are not sure of a term, try looking it up in our Music Tech Glossary.
If you have experience and are interested in contributing an article to Songstuff, please contact us with details of the proposed article.
We have a growing library of Recording and Technology Articles written by a mixture of in-house writers and contribuors working in various aspects of the music business. So far subjects cover EQ, compressors, reverb, noise gates and more...
The Songstuff Recording and Technology Links are extensive and categorized. There are various categories dedicated to specific topics including software, midi, midi and microphones and midi links.
By Mike Glavin
Songstuff "DSP. A musicians viewpoint.", an introduction to DSP.
Read more of DSP...
By Ken Lanyon (Slider)
Phasing occurs when signals from multiple microphones directed at a single source are re-combined. This article introduces phasing and it's implications in a recording studio.
Read more of Phase Relationships...
By John Moxey
MIDI Message Format - This article describes the structure and contents of midi messages according to the MIDI Specification.
Read more of Midi Message Format...
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Last modified Wednesday, April 16, 2008