Audio Production Software - Make Music With Your Computer

If you are looking to produce music with your computer you should first considering having a computer with the necessary capabilities in order to run the audio production softwares smoothly. Nothing ruins the music making process as much as delay and insufficient virtual memory to run all the necessary modules for your music software. As for the actual softwares there are many to consider. ProTools are the industry standard but these setups usually start at least $10000. However for a consumer level there are alternatives that are in much reasonable prices, for the PC you can consider, ProTools Le, Sonar, Cubase. For the mac Garage Band and Pro Logic are also highly popular choices.

In addition to the actual hardware of the computer, you may need to consider looking at the additional hardwares that can be incorporated into the music making process. For instruments you can consider keyboards and guitars, for recording purposes of course a microphone would be suitable. Many production setups incorporate a keyboard that can produce many sounds. On the more expensive side of these keyboards we call them "synthesizers" and what these can do is actually have built in sequencers in the keyboard. Packed with a lot of built in sounds and room for expansion through memory card slots you can actually do the whole recording process in your keyboard by itself. On the cheaper side of things we have keyboards with none of those functions, but its main use is to connect to the computer to act as the controller for all the sounds that you have on your computer. Both are advantageous in their own right and it comes down to personal preference. Finally buying an interface allows you to link all these sound sources and translate them to a signal that the computer and your music software can understand.

With all the software & hardware in place you can begin the recording process. One approach is to record through your mic, so that could include vocals, guitars sounds, piano or any other instrument to your liking. When recording with a mic, usually a condenser mic is a lot more popular when it comes to recording vocals. Where as a normal mic is cheaper and may be effective in recording instruments such as guitars. With the interface after you plug in your mic a lot of these interfaces have built in phantom power which is needed to power these mics. Another popular option is instead using the keyboard as a controller and allowing it to instruct "sounds" from your music software and allowing you to record it. The large advantage of this approach is that with simply a keyboard you have access to unlimited sounds as with music production softwares there is a lot of room to experiment with different sounds and effects to your liking. Even with different sounds, you can record with different effects live so that you can hear it in real time. This is gaining popularity because not only is it cost effective but it packs a lot of functions into one computer.

Will C has been producing music for a number of years, in his free time he is also a junkie for home improvement. Check out his website on kitchen unit doors

About Music Production Software

You probably are either not aware of what software is out there to help you in a music production endeavor, or do not know where to start. There is a lot of software out there for creating and editing music, many of which are very professional. When it comes down to it, the software you will end up using will mostly depend on your particular taste in music production software. Although similar, most of the programs you will encounter have significant differences that will greatly affect the outcome of your music.

Propellerheads Reason 

Propellerheads Reason is a very unique software, turning your computer into a complete studio. If you are already familiar with making synthesized sounds and using a sequencer, Reason should not be anything out of the ordinary, and the learning process is very small. Reason comes packed with different synthesizers (including the powerful Thor Polysonic Synthesizer) and effects all at your disposal. For years, people have used this software because of its simplicity and professional organization. Another feature you might like about Reason is its ReWire feature. ReWire is a protocol developed by Steinberg and Propellerhead that lets you remotely control digital audio software through a host application. For example, Propellerheads Reason can be used as a slave application providing sounds to Steinberg Cubase's tracks using ReWire. 

Steinberg Cubase

Since April 1989, Steinberg GmbH has been developing a revolutionary project called Cubase (originally called Cubit). Today, it is among the most renowned music production software in the industry. Its long-standing innovations have helped the musical community flourish and quickly move from live recordings of instruments to sampled electronic instruments. Along with its reputation comes its use by film scorers to produce crystal clear and realistic orchestral scores, making it cheaper to produce soundtracks for movies now. Its clean and professional-looking interface lets you see what is what, and lets you work smoothly and quickly, if you are under time constraints.

Cakewalk Sonar

Produced by Yamaha, Cakewalk is another of the industry's leading music production programs. If you have worked before with software sequencers, you probably have had to deal with computer resource constraints from time to time and had to accommodate for them. Cakewalk goes around this by offering hardware that will handle the number crunching for the computer system, while it only worries about sending and receiving signals, and playback. Cakewalk has been around since 1987, when its first release for DOS was put forth. Learning to use Cakewalk is not exactly easy, but when you get around to it, you will be mastering music production shortly after.

Pro Tools

Produced by Digidesign, Pro Tools has been hitting big since 1989, when it first released as Sound Tools. Along with Steinberg Cubase, Pro Tools is another software that film music producers enjoy using. Sometimes they use both, like Hans Zimmer. Pro Tools' interface has very little fancy things cluttering the screen, giving you plenty of editing space. Most of the features are accessible through the menu. Just like many other programs of the same nature, Pro Tools implicates the ability to use hardware routed to the computer in order to do the heavy number crunching that eats up the computer's resources normally. However, unlike other programs, Pro Tools actually requires at least one Digidesign hardware component in order to run. If you have a high budget, Pro Tools is a good option for you.

Miguel Leiva-Gomez is a freelance writer, freelance computer engineer, programmer, musician, and song writer. His passions are music, computers, technology, and educating people. He has always strived his best to explain things in the simplest possible terms to make people understand what he has to show the world. His voice has been heard in cities like Miami, and even in places like Oradea, Romania. Blog: [http://mercuryarticles.servehttp.com/blog/]

Audio Production Software and Hardware Specifications

There has always been music enthusiasts that create or attempt to produce their own music in their garage or basement, however nothing embodies the DIY spirit music and audio scene like the rampant evolution of audio production software. Over the past decade, audio production software has been the catalyst in leveling the sound production field between pros and amateurs, allowing the basement and garage mix masters the same caliber of tools used by professionals. Now anyone with the determination to learn can utilize Audio Production Software to produce block rocking beats with professional sounding audio.

Before you go any further lets look into Hardware Specifications and requirements.

In most instances meeting the "basic requirements" will work with most software, but audio production software has a tendency to very taxing on the CPU, use up plenty of hard drive space, cramp up the RAM and caches, and could possibly mute out sound completely if your sound card is not compatible or insufficient. PS - check your platform, because most audio production software are available only on certain platforms.

For majority applications the basic system specifications look like this:

Platform: Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista

Processor: 800 MHz

Disc Space Required: 200 MB hard disc space for program installation

RAM required: 256 MB

Sound Card Required: Windows-compatible sound card

However, for optimal results and functionality, the requirements would look something like this:

Platform: Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista

Processor: 1-1.5GHz

Disc Space: 200 MB for initial installation, 1GB+ for additional effect, instrument and sample libraries, and more for additional add-ons.

RAM Required: 1-2GB

Sound Card Required: Windows-compatible (ASIO driver support recommended)

Installation Support Required: DVD-ROM drive

This will vary only slightly for Mac-based programs, but should follow the same logic: take the basic requirements and double them (for disc space, quadruple). If your computers hardware specs don't quite meet the formula, you have two choices: seek a lighter program or upgrade your hardware specs for optimal performance and results.

Many Audio Production Software manufacturers have begun to include recommended hardware specifications to improve user experience and to ensure that the programs potential is being accomplished.

So before you look to invest in an Audio Production Software [http://www.audioproductionsoftwareblog.com/] , you might need to check your computers hardware specifications first...

Music Production - The Software

Music Production Software is properly in most studios the home of the studio, if it wasnt for Fruity Loops, Reason, Logic Pro or even Pro Tools many studios could not function. If your thinking of becoming a producer or starting a music production studio, the software is very important. Don't pick a software you feel is going to slow down your studio or is too much for your studio, pick what you feel is right and what you are comfortable with.

The most popular music production software out there right now is Fruity Loops, it is used by almost every new producer out there. It is very easily accessible and can be found floating about on the internet or bought from a local PC store. Reason 3/4 or even Logic Pro 8 made by Apple for mac are amazing and give your music amazing results, they are very popular choices made by producers as sequencers because of the amount of things that come with the software to enhance your music.

You should pick something that works well for you. You should sit down for a week and test of the demo versions. Be comfortable within what ever software you use to produce music, it will show in your music production. You should pick something to suit your level and skills too, i wouldn't recommend a newbie producer to start with logic pro if they have never made a beat before. Do you research before you make the purchase of any music production software, watch tutorials and read reviews on the software you think would be best for you.

For more information visit http://www.musicproducerpro.net

Good luck

J.Baileyy