Have you ever wondered how it’s possible to record music in the comfort of your own home? Or perhaps you are a burgeoning musician looking to build your own studio in some rented space? Whatever the case, the reality of today’s music technology is, you don’t need a professional studio. You don’t really need to pay somebody X amount of dollars an hour. And, if you’re like me and you do a lot of recording, you really could end up losing money by wasting your time on multiple recording sessions. Learning a little bit about recording, and getting your own equipment, if you choose to go that route, could really shortcut your ability to record music and give you the chance to do multiple albums at your own pace and in your time.

So how do you do it? How do you create a studio? Here’s a quick overview or what I would call Studio Building 101:

1. Sound Traps – Believe it or not, there is a precise science behind how a room sounds. It’s not that you have to make it perfect, but you should be aware of what you’re doing. If you notice in a professional studio there is almost never space that is square. That’s because the sound reflections bounce off each other creating sounds that are out of phase. You’ll notice this when you clap your hands and hear a high ringing unpleasant sort of sound. So you try to avoid that. Try to create sound traps to absorb unwanted noise at certain frequencies. They sell foam for this you can put on your walls. As a side note, the idea of using egg cartons is pretty much useless, I’ve been told. That is somewhat of an urban myth. Like mailing something to yourself to get copyright protection! Darn those urban myths…

2. Recording Equipment – Now you’ve got your room, you’ve got it sounding pretty decent, what will you use to record? If you’re a Mac user, you might go with Logic. Perhaps Cubase, or Ableton live…it’s your choice. What I use is software called ProTools almost exclusively. It’s kind of a standard in the industry. But it is by no means the only way. Some people find that they end up using what they learned on. If you’ve learned how to record on a certain machine or software, you tend to gravitate towards that in the future. That’s fine!

3. Microphones – Get some microphones you will need to record. What are you recording? Getting a variety of microphones ensures that you will have something for everybody. It really depends on your budget. Try to get condenser mics, bass mics, and dynamic mics. Essentially that will cover you in the case of any kind of instrument.

Alright now you’re ready to record! All you have to do is get some people together and make it happen. Or you're a one-man/woman band, do it up! Good luck!

Would you like to learn how to record music without a studio, or make awesome recordings from your own home? Check out my Home Recording Lessons.