Music making for everyone

Many people associate computer music with electronic bleeps, noise and artificial-sounding vocals, but computers are just as capable of recording rock, folk, jazz or classical music.

With a little free software installed, a home computer can be turned into a home recording studio of surprisingly high quality. If you can play an instrument, sing or even compose your own music, it’s a real treat to have your performances nestling in among your CD collection. In this feature, we’ll explain how to convert your own performances into a recording to treasure.

Track record
It may not look much like a recording studio, but any Windows computer can do a pretty convincing impression of one. It doesn’t have to be a terrifyingly expensive computer, either – most home PCs have what it takes. To prove it, we’re going to explain how to record a song using nothing more than a home computer, a microphone and simple, free software.

A key feature of music-production software is the ability to record different instruments on separate layers, known as tracks. These tracks are then played back on top of one another, rather like playing two or more different tapes at the same time. This has two advantages. One is that the same person can play multiple instruments, one after another.

As you perform each one, you’ll be able to listen to the other instruments that are already recorded so you can keep in time and tune. The other advantage is that each instrument can be controlled separately after it’s recorded, perhaps to adjust the volume or even to delete it and have another go.

The ins and outs
There are five things required to record music on a computer. One is the computer itself, and the second is recording software. We’ll use a program called Audacity, which is free, easy to use, doesn’t require a powerful computer and will run on Windows 98 or later, Mac OS X or Linux. The remaining requirements involve getting audio in and out of the PC.

Just as important as choosing a microphone is getting sounds back out of the computer again. Most people already have a set of speakers attached to their computer and these will normally suffice for now. If you catch the music-making bug and continue to record music, though, you may want to invest in a set of speakers designed for making music.

These are often called active monitors, and they are designed for accurate rather than flattering sound – prices start at about £50 from shops such as Digital Village. You’ll also need headphones. When recording multiple instruments on separate tracks, it’s important to hear the other instruments as you perform – but listening through speakers is impractical as the microphone will pick up the sound.

Using headphones when playing is a simple way to keep the instruments separate, producing the best results.

Setting up
To get started open a web browser, click here and click Enter. Click on the link marked ‘Download Audacity 1.2.6’. On the page that appears, click the link labelled ‘Audacity 1.2.6 installer’, and on the following page, click the words ‘this direct link’. Choose Save, select a memorable location on your computer’s hard disk and click Save again.

Once the download is complete, select Run or double-click the saved file and follow the instructions to install the software. We’re almost ready to start using Audacity but before doing so, plug in any USB microphones or soundcards you’ll be using.

If you’re using a microphone with a standard mini-jack plug rather than a USB plug, connect it into the Microphone (or ‘mic’) socket on your computer – this is often colour-coded pink. Double-click the Audacity icon on the Desktop to run the software.

Audacity generates lots of small files for each project so it can get messy unless they’re kept well organised, so it’s worth immediately clicking the File menu and choosing to save the project somewhere sensible – creating a new folder to save in is a good idea. In the top right-hand corner of the screen is a microphone level meter but it’s switched off by default. Click it to activate it and speak into the microphone.