If you are reading this article, you have access to a computer. Hopefully, it is in your own home, or at least in a place where you can access it in peace and quiet for a few minutes at a time. If you are lucky enough to have one with a microphone attachment, you are in luck! Here are a few fun ideas to help you to create your music with a minimum of time and save a few dollars in the bargain.
LOW-PRESSURE RECORDING
If you are used to jamming out ideas in the first place, doing so with your computer on should be second nature. My computer came with a wonderful set of programs that allows me to record directly onto hard drive from a microphone that came with the computer, so it’s easy to load .wav files of lyric ideas, and jam out a few scraps of music to play with later. It may sound funny, but sitting in front of the computer with the little microphone cord dropped down facing the floor and either near a keyboard speaker or the base of the neck of my guitar seems to work best. My voice is strong enough to be heard over the guitar, and I’m recording in an apartment living room with a high ceiling, so the acoustics are okay on their own, without effects. If you like, many of these programs offer sound effects you can add at the time, or after to enhance the recording, so you can experiment with those, too, just for fun. Once you have a setting and a mic placement that works for you, jam out a few tunes. I’ve found that the keyboard and screen make a great music holder to keep pages where you can see them easily, and you can just play as you wish, with your body in a comfortable position. I advise clearing the room of pets and other noisemakers, though, and get offline, first—an attention-loving cat or bird or dog may want to join in, and those buddy door and mail alert noises can easily ruin a good take.
These may not be high-quality recordings, but I’ve surprised myself on many occasions. If you have any real experience with live recording, or even lots of studio work, you may find that these “scratch” tapes come out nicer than your cassette recorded ones, and I’ve found that many are easily as nice as the live recordings I’ve done in a professional studio. Maybe it’s just that doing it in your living room in your ratty TV-watching clothes feels more relaxing than being under pressure in a studio where you are shelling out $60 or more an hour, too.
