About Andrew Scott Expertise I have been an amateur songwriter for the last 15 years. I currently write and record part time now, from my home studio. I record by myself, playing and recording all the instruments, as well as singing all the vocal lines. I have co-written with many people and can answer songwriting question relating to rhyme, demo recording techniques and music theory. Specifically in rock, pop and country music. I can offer advice on equipment selection and recording techniques for the amateur home enthusiast. I am willing to listen to, and critique, demos of amateur songs without fee.
Experience I have written and recorded for over 15 years. I can play acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, bass and sing lead and background vocals. I have written over 100 songs for my own bands as well as solo efforts. I have a web page that has over 6,000 song plays without any advertising or promotion the past two years.
Question I want to record music at home. I have only guitars and ols keyboard. Probably I will buy one of these new complex keyboards.
But first I want to try to record my music through a good software.
My question is:
1. Which software is more appropriate for my purpose?
2. I have no idea in theory of composition. Is there anysoftware that can automaticaly write the chrods for acommpaniement based on a tune? Or generate variations of a theme?
3. Is there any software that can transform music in written partitures? (from single guitar)
thanks
Answer Hi Rick,
If you are wanting to start a home recording venture then it really depends on your budget and your computer capabilities.
Most computer recording software is pretty good, they all have their ups and downs. But they all need a fast processor, lots of hard drive space, lots of RAM - plus a good sound card. Recording at CD quality or above will eat up a hard drive. And if your RAM/processor are not state of the art - some software still hang up or freeze at times.
Cubase is popular as are several others that are not too expensive. Many of these software packages come bundled with other software that you can loop drum patterns/guitars/etc. So you can almost kill two birds with one stone.
I don't know of any software that writes chords based on written guitar tabs, but it may exist - I just haven't seen it. Most accompaniment software has some type of chord accompaniment based on root chords. If it isn't bundled with your recording software you can find it to purchase.
Make sure you get one with a pci interface to be able to plug your guitar/mic/keyboard into your pc. You also will need a recordable cd drive to mix to unless you just record to computer only.
Check this link to see some of the software and their specs they have:
There are over 30 different systems listed there - you can browse buy price and specifications to see if any will fit your needs. Make sure you read the pc specs required to insure your pc will be able to work with any recording software you look at.
