Recording is an important part of the music-making process and is often done in studios with high tech equipment and professional producers and audio engineers. But you can also record music at home - here are some tips to help you get started.

Professional musicians Will Franden and Talia Cohen talk about why recording music is important and look at the sort of equipment you might need to record at home.

WILL & TALIA'S TOP TIPS:

• Be prepared and know the material
• Record your ideas
• Listen to the material often
• Set up a studio at home
• Record demos to show what you can do
• Understand how recording works
• Keep learning

GETTING STARTED WITH RECORDING

Recording in a professional studio is something most musicians aspire to and work towards. There’s something magical about a recording studio – each one has hundreds of stories to tell about artists who’ve come through the doors to record tracks and albums, and joining the ranks to record your own music is a big deal.

But most musicians will start off recording at home before they find themselves in a studio. Recording is important because it can help you to make a record of your musical ideas, and to refine your songs by allowing you to listen to them and make changes and improvements.

“Well, I’ve been recording myself on a computer since I was about 13 or 14. So it’s completely entwined with my creative process. Essentially, it allows you to make music that’s better and smarter than you are, by using your ears to lead the way.” St. Vincent

Access to a home studio setup also allows to you cut your own demos to share with people and grow an audience for your music. A number of artists such as Lily Allen, the XX and Ed Sheeran were discovered after sharing their home recordings on social media or selling them at gigs.

“I saw Damien Rice in Dublin when I was 13, and that inspired me... I practised relentlessly and started recording my own EPs. At 16, I moved to London and played any gigs I could, selling CDs from my rucksack to fund recording the next, and it snowballed from there.” Ed Sheeran

Having an understanding of recording and production techniques and technologies can also help set you apart as a session musician, and being able to record at home can open up opportunities to work with artists and producers all over the world.

“I started writing and recording, at a very basic level, just in my own bedroom.” Katie Melua

Recording music at home might sound a bit daunting, but you can get started simply by recording straight into your phone or computer using voice recorder apps such as Smart Recorder. Or you can experiment with online recording platforms such as Soundtrap. Once you’re a bit more confident you could start to think about setting up a home studio.

YOUR HOME STUDIO

If you’ve decided that you want to set up your own home recording studio, there are a few things you might want to think about sourcing. To set up a good beginner studio you might want to consider investing in some of the following bits of kit:

• A computer or laptop
• An Audio Interface to connect your computer with the rest of your studio gear
• Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software to record, edit and mix music
• One or two microphones and stands, and a pop filter for vocal recording
• A pair of closed back headphones
• A pair of studio monitors (or nearfield monitors)
• XLR cables for your mics and monitors.

EQUIPMENT EXAMPLES FOR A BEGINNER HOME STUDIO

Audio Interface Examples:

Presonus AudioBox A small and affordable recording interface with the right features for basic recording needs.

Focusrite Scarlett A compact interface ideal for beginners looking to record studio- quality music onto a computer.

“I have a room dedicated to music and recording. I go there first thing in the morning and just before I go to bed.” Brendon Urie, Panic! at the Disco

Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) Software Examples

Audacity A free, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac and other operating systems, developed by volunteers.

Garageband A free, fully equipped music studio for Macs.

Presonus Studio One PrimeDAW software that combines the recording studio model with beat and loop oriented production.

Pro Tools First A free, lite version of Pro Tools, which allows you to record, produce, edit, mix and master your music.

Note: Some audio interfaces come bundled with DAW software, saving purchasing both, so you might want to look out for these.

Studio Monitor Examples

KRK ROKIT 5 G4 Popular entry-level near- field studio monitors from KRK Systems.

JBL Professional 305p MKII 5” Entry- level two-way powered studio reference monitors.

“I have a little basement studio set up here at my house, and I do probably 80 percent of the recording here on my own.” Washed Out

Online Recording Platform Examples

Soundtrap A collaboration platform for making music online, offering beats, loops and instruments (subscription model).

Audiotool A free collaborative online music production studio right in your browser.

Recording App Examples

Garageband Is an app that allows you to turn your iPad or iPhone into a full-featured recording studio with touch instruments.

FL Studio Mobile Is an app for iOS, Android and Windows that allows you to create and save complete multi-track music projects.

Figure Is a free iOS app that allows you to make music on the go.