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Features
Digital Home Recording
An amateurâs guide to making professional-sounding music.
By David MacNeill
Creating great-sounding music in a computer-equipped home
studio has been possible for almost two decades, but the recent
release of Apple's GarageBand application for Mac OS X has cranked
up the buzz from a whisper to a scream. Windows users have access
to some similarly powerful music composition and recording tools,
such as Digidesign's Pro Tools Free, and Sony's Acid and Sound Forge.
Regardless of your chosen personal computing platform, you can now
create music with astonishing ease, even if you can't play an instrument
or carry a tune in a bucket.
Just so you know where I'm coming from, my personal experience is
biased heavily towards Mac-based tools, which I have been using
in my home studio since late 1980s. I am a former professional pop-rock
guitarist and currently a part-time acoustic singer/songwriter.
I was already well into the process of upgrading my home studio
recording components to 24-bit digital when GarageBand was released,
so it was easy for me to incorporate this wonderful new tool to
my rig. Throughout this article, I'll refer frequently to GarageBand.
Except where noted, Windows users can do all of the same things
using similar software on just about any PC made in the last year
or two.
For the purposes of this article, I'll assume that you are not a
musician but that you have an interest in creating music either
for soundtracks to home video productions or just for the pure fun
of doing it. I'll also assume you have a solid familiarity with
your computer. If you do play an instrument or sing, all the better.
I'll also give you some creative tips if you decide to try your
hand at writing songs. If nothing else, GarageBand and tools like
it are the greatest thing to happen to songwriters since the drum
machine, allowing you to accompany yourself with an ease and quality
of sound that would have cost you a million bucks not too many years
ago.
Ten terms to know
Here's a crash course in digital audio recording terminology. Don't
worry if it all sounds like geekspeak at this point. Enlightenment
will come later, once you begin using the tools.
Digital audio interface: The component that takes audio from
real instruments and voices from the analog world to the digital
one in your computer. Desktop computers can have this functionality
installed in the form of a PCI card, while laptop users will need
to use an external box or a digital mixer with a built-in digital
audio interface using USB or FireWire to communicate with your computer.
Sample rate: Audio recording, such as the sound of your voice
into a microphone, is converted from analog vibrations into digital
streams at a consistent sample rate. It's analogous to getting a
digicam with more megapixels. The higher the rate, the more the
digital version resembles the original sound. All audio CDs are
recorded at 44.1 kilohertz, and GarageBand tops out at this 44.1Khz
as well. Professional audio recording software, such as my personal
favorite Digital Performer, currently can sample at up to 192Khz.
Bit depth: Each of those samples has a depth of accuracy
it can capture. DAT recorders top out at 16-bits, as does GarageBand.
Professionals now consider 24-bit to be the standard, but 16-bit
is plenty good enough for home projects.
Loop: GarageBand uses
prerecorded samples of professional musicians playing their instruments,
called Apple Loops. These are basic building blocks of a musical
composition that you can plug together like Legos to form something
unique. Most of the time you'll use loops to create any repetitive
pattern in your songs, such as drums, percussion, background keyboard
or guitar rhythm patterns, and bass lines.
Track: Each individual part, such as a vocal performance,
a guitar solo, or a drum loop sequence you assembled, that runs
from the beginning to the end of the song, is a track. The number
or tracks you can record is limited by your software, but you should
be able to achieve 16-32 tracks on even modest equipment.
MIDI: Musical Instrument Digital Interface. This is the protocol
you'll use to play your keyboard parts into your software using
a MIDI keyboard. If you have an electronic keyboard that you've
purchased in the last decade, it probably has a MIDI connector or
a USB port for sending MIDI data directly into your computer. If
you have no keyboard, you can buy the very nice M-Audio 49e from
Apple for $99. The thing to keep in mind about MIDI is that it's
like a old player piano. The software will capture your performance
but not the actual sound of your instrument, like holes in a piano
roll. These can then be edited and altered any way you like in your
software, then routed back to either the keyboard you played it
on originally, or into any software instruments you have.
DAW: Digital Audio Workstation. The generic term for software
you use to capture, edit, and mix your music. DAWs capture both
digital audio and MIDI data, then play back the audio in sync with
the MIDI in a process called sequencing. GarageBand, Logic, Digital
Performer, Pro Tools, and many more on both platforms, are DAWs.
Waveform: When you record audio to your DAW, you get a file
that show on your timeline as a stream of symmetrical waves. These
shapes define the amplitude (volume) and pitch of the notes at any
given point in the stream. You can alter these like graphics to
remove bad notes, background noises, and so on. You can also use
your DAW's digital effects processors to alter them, adding reverberation,
doubling, echo, and much more.
Overdub: After you record some tracks, either using MIDI
instruments, audio recording. or loop sequences, you can go back
to the beginning and record more tracks to your heart's content.
This is called overdubbing.
Punch in/punch out: The process of re-recording only a portion
of an existing track, usually to improve the performance when only
one tiny little section is not up to par. If you're working alone,
you'll want an inexpensive footswitch to control the recording as
you play.
Essential tools
Audio Monitoring System: Though your computer probably has
external speakers and perhaps even a subwoofer, you will quickly
find out that it lacks the volume, range, and fidelity of even the
cheapest studio monitors. This is not the place for you to economize!
Your speakers are where your music will ultimately be mixed and
played back for all to hear, so don't skimp. If you are on a budget,
here's a trick I currently use that can save you some bucks: use
the power amp and speakers from an unused home stereo system. As
long as the "receiver" or separate power amp has standard stereo
RCA inputs and at least 100 watts of juice, you're in business.
Run a 1/8 mini-stereo jack from your computer's headphone port to
your amp's stereo inputs. CAUTION: Even a modest home stereo or
powered monitor pair has loads of volume, so be sure you turn everything
off before you hook up your computer or mixer's audio cable to it.
Turn all volume controls down and mute your computer's startup sound,
too. If you forget to do this, you could blow your speaker cones,
your eardrums, and your lease in one titanic blast when you start
up. When you get your tax return, go shopping for a nice pair of
Mackie or JBL bi-amplified studio monitors. You'll never regret
investing in good speakers.
Digital audio interface and/or mixer: Unless you intend to
create purely instrumental music using software instruments with
a MIDI keyboard, you will need to buy a digital audio interface
of some kind. TASCAM offers a very popular USB-based unit called
the US-122 for under $200. You plug your microphone or guitar into
the unit, which then sends the digitized information to your computer
at high speed.
If you want to get really fancy and you have an extra $1300 lying
around, look at the excellent TASCAM FW-1884 digital mixer/control
surface. It has a built-in 24-bit/96Khz digital audio interface
for eight microphone and instrument channels with fully automated
controls linked to your DAW software's virtual mixer.
Which begs the question: Do you need a mixing board? The
answer is no if your recording projects are relatively modest and
you don't do eight-hour sessions every day or so. You can use the
virtual mixer interface in your DAW to do it all. Having a physical
mixing board is a convenience that allows you to operate more than
one fader (channel volume slider) at a time, instead of one at a
time using your computer's mouse.
MIDI keyboard controller: You'll need some kind of keyboard
controller or a synthesizer/electronic piano to play the software
instruments in your computer. Basic controllers cost from $99 to
several hundred, depending on size and the number of controls. Be
sure it has velocity-sensitive keys or your performances will lack
dynamics and expressiveness.
Microphones: Unless you plan to create instrumental music
only, you'll need at least one good microphone. Don't cheap-out
on your mic, as this is where so much of the apparent quality of
your songs will begin. For the most bang for your buck, check out
Rode, AKG, and Shure.
Cabling and other accessories: Of course, you'll need appropriate
cables and perhaps some adapters to hook all this stuff up. Modern
MIDI keyboards often have USB ports that can plug right into your
computer, obviating the need to buy MIDI cables and a MIDI-to-USB
interface box. Guitarists can hook their standard mono cables into
the digital audio interface, but you can buy the $20 Monster Instrument
Adapter (Apple Store) that lets you jack right into the audio-in
port of your computer, then use the amp simulators in GarageBand
(or comparable software on Windows) to sound like anyone from Johnny
Ramone to Jeff Beck to George Benson.
Well, DAW!: Of course, you'll need GarageBand, Digital Performer,
Ableton Live, Acid Pro, or some other software capable of manipulating
loops, audio streams, and MIDI data. This is the heart of your digital
studio, so choose carefully; you'll be spending a lot of time in
there!
Adding virtual instruments, effects plug-ins, and loop libraries:
Once you've been using your DAW for a while, you may find that you
desire more variety in your choice of instruments, effects, and
loops than come standard. GarageBand users can buy Apple's Jam Pack
($99) which offers dozens of new instruments and thousands of loops
to your sound arsenal. There is a thriving industry providing hundreds
of plug-in tools and loop libraries. Just be sure the format is
compatible with your DAW. For example, GarageBand supports loops
only in Apple Loop format, while software instrument and effects
plug-ins must be of the Audio Unit variety.
All together now
It all works! Now what?
You've installed the software, plugged in all the hardware, and
you're ready to rock. Before you write your Symphony Number 1 in
C Major, let's try to head off some potential problems before they
happen. The first brick wall you'll hit will be lagging performance
as you add tracks. When your computer doesn't have adequate memory,
hard disk space and speed, or processor performance, your recording
efforts will be fraught with frustration. If you can't buy a faster
machine, do the following, in order:
1. Buy more RAM, at least 512MB and preferably 1GB or more, if possible.
2. Add a second internal or external 7200RPM hard drive of at least
100MB and dedicate it to music recording.
3. When recording, run only the DAW and nothing else on your machine.
Disable anti-virus scanners, IM clients, and other junk that runs
in the background and eats up processor cycles needlessly.
If all else fails, buy a 2GHz dual-processor Mac G5 and never concern
yourself with performance again. Did I mention that GarageBand comes
preinstalled on all Macs?
Creative approaches
At this point, you're ready to make music. Obviously, I don't know
anything about what kind of tunes you like, if you play an instrument,
or if you already have some songs in your head that you're itching
to record.
To familiarize myself with the capabilities of my rig, I made some
wallpaper music, just ambient floaty stuff, layer upon layer, for
hours. Then I went back and fiddled with copy and pasting the best
parts, correcting MIDI mistakes, changing sounds, altering dynamics
(such as they were), and just getting the lay of the land.
After a few evenings of New Age noodling, I began a tour of my loop
library and software instruments - again with no real objective
or song idea in mind. I just wanted to experience all the colors
in my new palette.
After an evening exploring all the possibilities, I started building
songs the old-fashioned way: from the bottom up. Starting with a
conventional, eight to the bar verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-verse-chorus-fade
structure, I pieced together an appropriate sounding drum part,
made from loops, running from the start of the tune to the end.
Over this, I recorded an acoustic rhythm guitar part for the full
length of the song, then I added an electric bass line. I could
have selected loops for these tracks or played keyboard parts, but
I'm a guitarist first so I chose the path of least resistance and
just started banging away until it sounded right.
The rest of my first tune was an additive process, layering on everything
I could think of until the creative juices ran dry. This works for
me, but you may prefer to simply record a rough sketch version of
your tune into a mic, accompanying yourself on whatever instrument
you can play. I like to build my foundation first, based on what
I hear in my mind. This way I can go back and replace sounds, correct
boo-boos, and so on, all without having to start all over from scratch.
It's all synced and modular, so it's easy to modify.
Mixing and mastering
When it's time to mix it all into a coherent whole, there are a
few common approaches that can make a huge difference in the success
of the work.
Mix the vocals LOUD and c l e a r : People respond first to the
rhythm and melody, then to the sound of the voice, then (if you're
lucky) to the content of the words. A song with a mixed-back vocal
performance will not grab people's attention and pull them into
your world. Make the voice 25% louder than you think it should be
and it'll be just about right. You should also make sure the equalization
on the voice is bright and clear so it cuts through the instrument
layers. Take the in-your-face edge off the track with a little reverb
and/or echo.
Use effects sparingly: Unless you're a techno-music writer, go easy
on the effects. Lay down your audio tracks as dry (without effects)
as you can stand; you can always add them back in later, but you
can't remove them from an audio track if you recorded them that
way. Beginners always use way too much reverb, muddying everything
up. Pick one reverb plug-in that sounds good to you, then apply
various amounts of it to each track as little as possible. Individually,
bring them up more as needed to create a convincing stereo space
with just enough depth to be convincing. Be extra careful with echo
delays, as they can muddy up a mix and compete with the drums if
you don't time the repeats to the beat.
Compress the master tracks: Use a stereo compressor plug-in on the
stereo master tracks. This will pull all the instruments together
into a punchy whole that seems louder and more present than it really
is. If you do it right, your music will jump out of the speakers,
instead of ooze out as so many mixes do. Start with a low compression
setting first, mix it, and take it somewhere else to listen to it.
It doesn't take much compression to do the trick, but too much will
flatten all the song's dynamics.
Do test mixes: Create multiple provisional mixes as you go, then
try them out on every stereo system you can find: boom boxes, cars,
iPods, whatever. Take notes. Never mix longer than an hour or so
or your ears will tire and you'll start making mistakes. Take breaks
to avoid ear fatigue.
Takin' to the streets
Music is all about sharing an experience with others, so once you
get some tunes in shape, burn them onto a half-dozen CDs and give
them to your friends for feedback. You can also upload MP3 versions
onto a number of song-sharing websites (such as www.garageband.com)
so the whole world can hear what you've been up to. However you
choose to share, don't let people's negative reactions deter you
from your work. Not everyone is going to dig your stuff. Everybody's
got an opinion, so take it all in stride and just keep rockin'.
-David MacNeill (davidmacneill@mac.com)
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