Build a Home Recording Studio - Record Your Own Music Then Record For Other Musicians Too

In the past, if you couldn't afford to rent recording time in a professional recording studio, your musical dreams and talents would often go to waste!

The technology available to anyone outside of the recording industry was simply too expensive and complicated to be an alternative. Fortunately, the advancements in today's recording equipment have made it possible and affordable to build a home recording studio.

How do you go about preparing a space to use as a home recording studio?

A traditional recording studio is typically divided into several rooms. This would obviously be the best way to set up your new studio, but if you don't have the required space, you could get by with a single large room separated into two spaces through the use of curtains or screens.

If you have the money or skills to do so, building a wall that divides the room into two separate pieces would be best.

One of the rooms will be used as a control room and the other as a tracking room for the performers. If at all possible there should be a window between the 2 rooms. It is really important for the sound engineer to be able to see the recording artist(s).

What is the purpose of the 2 different rooms?

• Control Room: This is where the sound engineer uses the different recording equipment to capture the music. Here you'll find the lifeblood of the home recording studio. The computers, mixers, monitors, etc.

• Tracking Room or Isolation Booth: This is where the performer(s) sing and play. It will also have monitors and at least one microphone. This room will be connected to the control room by various cables such as patch cables and microphone cords.

Now that you know what it takes to set up a home recording studio to work in, let's take a look at what else you'll need in the way of recording equipment.

Your first task will be to purchase any recording equipment that you don't already have. I'm assuming that you have at least a working knowledge of computers, monitors and speakers. If not you will need to do some extensive research on the subject. Luckily this research is very easy to access in today's high tech world.

There are numerous outlets for good computerized equipment and it should be possible to find some good discounts if you shop around. Also, if you are really knowledgeable about this kind of equipment, why not try to buy it used from a source like Craigslist or eBay. Just be sure that the owner's manual is still available. You may need it to help you choose the optimal settings for your new recording equipment.

This is a list of the basics needed for your studio.

• A computer with appropriate sound cards
• Monitors
• Speakers
• Synthesizers and Samplers
• Multiple cables and accessories
• Lighting equipment

While this is a good start, a Google search of recording equipment would quickly round out the required items needed to set up a complete home recording studio.

At first this will seem like a lot of expense, but it's not uncommon for a single song to take between 3 and 5 hours to record in a professional recording studio. When you calculate in the cost of mixing and mastering each song, you can spend between $150 and $350 for each song. It will be even more if you have the songs mastered somewhere else besides the studio that did the recording.

You can see that even making a 4 song demo could cost nearly $1500. When you look at it this way, a home recording studio looks even more attractive.

Guitar Slide - 9 Tips For Skillful Fingers

To play a slide on the guitar, you will need to have nearly perfect execution. The slide technique is used to make your guitar wail. Below are a few tips to help you perfect your slide technique:

1. The tuning of your guitar needs to be changed from its standard chord tuning of EADGBE to a much more open tuning of DGDBD. This change needs to be made from the 6th to the 1st string.

2. You can perform the slide by moving your fingers of your left hand only. The execution needs to emulate the correct position of the chords. Ideally, a slow and smooth slide is ideal for properly and effectively playing your new chords.

3. Gently grip the neck of your guitar and leave your end finger exposed to have a good feel for the strings. This allows you to easily execute your slide with nothing more than a basic finger movement.

4. To make your guitar wail properly, you should only cover those strings that are required for the slide. If you don't correctly execute the slide, you will end up with undesirable noise from the strings.

5. You need to keep your slide aligned vertically and aligned straight with the strings. This will help you execute the slide while exerting minimal effort.

6. Make a slight movement along the strings with your fingers. You should execute this move smoothly and gently to avoid creating undesired noises on the fret.

7. You can opt to execute your slide on the 1st and 2nd stings; this will make E and B chords, and a D major key on the 12th guitar fret.

8. You can then execute the slide going down to the bottom of the D major key, which is equivalent to the G major key in the 5th fret to get a loud wail.

9. You can also make another slide by going back on the A major key and then releasing your fingers and removing the slide on the 12th fret.

Of course, to beautifully execute a slide, you must practice - there is no short cut. Your best bet is to practice with an open tone; this is because the strings will all have similar chords when strummed and will give you basic practice without overly complicating your approach.

Having learned this skill, you may be delightfully surprised at the additional range of music you are then able to play!

Trevor has been writing on a wide range of topics for several years. Not only does this author specialize in playing the guitar, but you can also check out his latest 24v power supply website which reviews - among other options - the CCTV power supply for your electronics needs.

Piano Online Lessons - How to Recognize the Black and White Keys

When you have started learning keyboards, whether through piano online lessons, or by visiting a tutor on a regular basis, there can be a lot to take in at the beginning. But at the very heart of learning the piano is knowing where the keys are in the first place. To give you some help with this, here are a few tips and exercises to get you more familiar with the keys.

There are only 7 different white keys on a piano. The white keys are simply named after the first seven letters of the alphabet - A B C D E F G. They flow from left to right, and repeat themselves each time you reach G. When you are sitting comfortably at your piano, in your ideal learning environment, try this simple exercise. Say out loud the letters in order, from A to G. Then, say them aloud again, this time in reverse G to A. Repeat this over and over again.

You will see that the black keys are grouped in 2's, then 3's, along the keyboard. The white key at the left of each group of 2 black keys is C. Practice finding all the C's, and playing them, in random order.

Similarly, the white key to the left of each group of 3 black keys is F. Practice finding all the F's, and playing these randomly.

You will see there are 2 sets of white keys with no black key between them. These are B and C, then E and F. You can remember these by using the saying, "Brown Cows Eat Faster".

Finally, work your way back from middle C, to A. Now repeat the first exercise above, playing the keys at the same time as you say each letter aloud.

You should find that repeating the above exercises easily familiarizes yourself with the positioning of the white keys and supplements your formal piano online lessons or classes.

There are only 5 different black keys on a piano. They are named from the white keys that they lie between. Any black key has 2 possible names. It is either a sharp or a flat. The term sharp means "go up one step." The term flat means "go down one step." A memory tip for this is "a flat tire goes down."

So. if the black key lies between A and B, it's called A sharp or B flat. If it lies between C and D, it's called C sharp or D flat.

Which term is used in a musical piece? It depends on which note has been changed.

If you played the notes F, G, A, B flat, C, it is B that has been changed, so this note is known as B flat. If you play the 5 notes F, G, A sharp, B, C, it is the A that has changed, so this note is called A sharp.

Getting familiar with the notes is obviously key (no pun intended) to progressing through your course of piano online lessons, or tutor based classes. But you will find that by following the tips and exercises above, you will shortly come to feel more confident each time you play.

Easy Piano Lessons - Master the Piano the Simple and Cost Effective Way

Just about every day you can turn on the radio, and you'll hear tunes from music's ever- growing history. Regardless of whether it's Pop, Rock 'n' Roll, Punk or Classical there exists a type you prefer, which holds your own particular attention. However, have you actually stopped to consider how music artists make it happen to begin with? And have you had a desire to gain expertise in the piano, so that you might make it as a professional one day too? If you wish to take easy piano lessons, the online route may just be the one to follow.

It is reasonable to state it has never ever been simpler, or more cost-effective, to educate yourself in the piano, or keyboards. You will find internet programs which can successfully take you step-by-step through the procedure. At every stage you will get assistance that provides you the chance to master the instrument rapidly as well as with confidence.

Should you be searching for 5 excellent benefits of trying out the piano, think about these: -

1. Studying the piano may energize both your own body and mind. It is usually incredibly fulfilling whenever you can co-ordinate your mind and hands in a way in which it is possible to instantaneously change composed notation into uplifting tunes that happen to be music to your own ears.

2. Understanding methods to read music as well as play piano opens up doorways into a entire variety of styles - from Classical to Blues, Pop to Jazz, Rock 'n' Roll to Show Tunes. This provides you with a chance to develop your own musical style to complement any kind of occasion.

3. It matters not what age group you might be. You can begin whenever you want. Although it might be simpler to start young, I am aware of many individuals that played their first note well into their twenties and even later. Once you grasp the piano you will have it inside you always - even if you consequently have enough time to rehearse only occasionally.

4. Taking easy piano lessons via the internet permits you the freedom to educate yourself whenever you prefer and how it suits your lifestyle. You can also to take as much time as you require to master the instrument, without outside pressure.

5. The piano opens a gateway to much new music - possibly more than any other kind of musical instrument. Keyboard-based equipment, for example synthesizers, tends to be behind a great deal of contemporary music. Modern day computer programs make it reasonably simple to connect a digital keyboard to your laptop or computer in order to create music on home recording software applications.

Although, in truth, there isn't a totally pain-free method to study piano, internet training provides what can be referred to as easy piano lessons that make it about as simple as possible. If you are searching for that ideal method, mastering the instrument online could be just what you require.

Practice Tips

Learning to sing or play an instrument is a lot of fun, but it's also a discipline. This means that as your child learns new concepts and develops their inherent abilities, a commitment is necessary to progress. If you've been with Let's Play Music a while, you've no doubt heard your teacher say that investing 15 to 20 minutes a day, 5 or 6 days a week is better than hour of sporadic practice. This is because long term memory and skill development advance with consistent effort. Remember all that information in school you crammed before a test? I didn't think so! Once the novelty of taking music lessons wanes a bit, it's pretty natural for students to resist practice time. This is because it requires them to focus, and let's face it: it's work! Here are some tips we've found effective over the years with our own children and students:

Practice Tip # 1

Practice space should be located where family activity occurs. It helps if you're within ear-shot of your child as she practices only to give encouragement, but also because this prevents the child from feeling isolated. If your piano is in the basement, consider this a good time to fold that basket of laundry while she does her scales.

Practice Tip #2

Make a routine out of practice time. Families who are most successful with practicing are those who choose a practice time and stick with it. Many parents find that 15 or 20 minutes before their child gets on the bus works great, others like the after dinner time. We have found this to be true also. If we're all over the place with enforcing practice, we're likely to encounter a lot of resistance.

Practice Tip # 3

Lastly, have fun with music! Make a game out of it. Little ones like to play teacher and have their parents learn under their direction. This can really fuel interest. Hold regular family concerts; invite grandparents and other extended family or friends over for an evening of music with your child as the featured act. Serve some refreshments and enjoy! Their music shouldn't exist in a vacuum; it should expand beyond the weekly lesson and the practice regimen. The more opportunity for genuine appreciation students have, the more successful they'll be on their journey.

Spotify to hit US by Fall of 2010

The popular music streaming service, Spotify, plans to finally launch in America in the third quarter of this year, according to an interview with its Senior Vice President, Paul Brown. It had originally planned to hit the US in the third or fourth quarter of last year but reportedly ran into further licensing issues.

Spotify has 7 million users across Europe in the UK, France, Spain, Sweden, Norway and Finland, and provides a legal and free ad-supported music streaming service of nearly 8 million tracks from both major and independent record labels. Simply download the software - which looks unashamedly similar to iTunes - type in what you're looking for, and you're away.

Over 300,000 subscribers currently pay for its premium service, which offers ad-free streaming, the ability to listen on your iPhone, Android phone or Nokia Symbian phone, and cached offline playing - all for around £10 or €10 a month (about $15). Users can also buy a "day pass" of ad-free music for only £0.99 or €0.99, and the service provides links to legal download sites where you can purchase single tracks or albums with Spotify receiving a cut of the profits.

"We’re buying server space in random parts of the states and there are licensing discussions too," Brown told Bloomberg, "But they are going fine because we’re in a long-term partnership with the labels and publishers." It all sounds encouraging that Spotify will finally be ready to hit the big time later this year.

Spotify is also apparently in talks to partner with "unidentified U.S. Internet and mobile-phone service providers" for the launch, and plans to create further mobile applications, this time for BlackBerry and Palm devices. The company's commitment to the mobile platform was reinforced this week with the news of an updated iPhone app coming soon.

So far in Europe, Spotify seems to be helping to reduce music piracy by providing a free and easy way for people to get the music they want, with most users willing to put up with the occasional advertisement interruptions to their music or pay for the ad-free premium service. Either way the music industry and record labels make money (even if it is not as much as from traditional sales it is still better than the nothing they receive from illegal downloads) and hopefully this model can be successfully carried across the pond.

Source: http://neowin.net