Pennsylvania State University



Recording a Song at Home: How To Sound Like Your Favorite Popular Artist, Using Logic ProJason B. MorrisIntroductionIn the past fifteen years or so, the entire music industry has been transformed in various ways. The one change that has perhaps had the largest impact on the music industry in the past 15 years, is the evolution of music recording technology. Before the 1990s, it was almost unheard of to be able to record anyplace other than a handful of recording studios around the world. Not only were resources limited, but those that were available could cost millions exhorbitant fees to use. Now you can plug a microphone into your laptop, record a song, upload it to Youtube, and become a world famous musician overnight. You could even purchase some relatively cheap equipment and have a little home-recording studio that will produce professional quality music. This transformation is due to advancements in technology, decreases in equipment costs, the spread of internet availability around the world, and free websites like Youtube and Facebook.This instruction set will illustrate how to use the technology that was born from this amazing transformation. With just a few pieces of relatively cheap inexpensive equipment (professional-grade), you will learn how to set up an easy recording environment and make yourself sound like a pop star. Let’s get to it!0243205CAUTION!To prevent damage to the equipment and to your ears, make sure to do the following:Connect all the equipment before you turning anything on.Turn off all equipment before disconnecting anything.Keep all volume controls very low until you knowing you sound should be hearing sound be coming through your the headphones. Then increase the volume as necessary.List of Materials1) A Computer: This can be a laptop or a desktop, but it must be a Mac because the software you will be using in this instruction set is only compatible with a Mac. The computer you will be using is a Macbook Pro.2) Logic Pro Software: This is professional-grade audio software that is used by both the pros and the beginners. It is only compatible with Mac computers.3) Audio Interface: This is the device that will allow you to connect the microphone to your computer. This could be replaced by a USB-microphone that connects directly to your computer’s USB port. However, this set up an audio interface will give you much better quality because it allows you to use professional quality microphones. The audio interface used in this instruction set is the Audiobox by PreSonus. Many other audio interfaces have similar designs and connections.4) Microphone: Any microphone with a male XLR connector (3 pins as seen below) can be used. The microphone used in this instruction set is a Shure Beta58A Dynamic Microphone.5) XLR Cable: This is an industry-standard cable that connects from the microphone to the audio interface.6) USB Cable: This is the cable that connects the audio interface to the computer.7) Headphones:Any headphones can be used but if you will be recording music for a long time, you want to make sure they’re comfortable.Setting Up the Hardware29768801828801) Connect the microphone to the XLR cable. The microphone has a male XLR connection (3 pins), which connects to the female connector (3 holes) of the XLR Cable. You should hear the connectors click into place.2976880857252976880241302) Connect the XLR Cable to the audio interface. The male connector (3 pins) of the XLR Cable slides into the first circular slot on the left of the interface labeled “1 Mic” (it will not click into place). The tiny screw on the male connector of the XLR cable should be facing upwards.297688076202976880-635003) Connect the USB cable to the audio interface. The rounded-square connector of the cable slides into the port on the back of the interface labeled USB.29768801416052976880184154) Connect the USB cable to the USB port of the computer. 2976880374652971800101605) Connect the 8 mm headphone connector to the headphone port on the computer. 297688025400297688073025All your hardware is now connected.CAUTION! Do not put your headphones on yet! We must fFirst check volume levels to ensure that you do not avoid damage the headphones or your ears!It is recommended that you makeMake sure the computer is plugged-into an electrical outlet at this point because the software can drain the computer’s battery quickly.We can now set up the software.Setting Up the Software2976880596901) Turn the computer on by pressing the power button at the top right corner of the computer. If everything is connected properly, the LED on the audio interface labeled “Power” should be lit up.29768805588029768801714502) Once the computer is on, check the main volume on the computer. You can To do this, by clicking on the speaker symbol at the top right corner of the screen. Make sure the volume slider is no more than ? of the way up.Now it is safe to put your on headphones on!298704036830298704003) Click on Logic Pro in the logo menu at the bottom of the screen. The program can take up to a minute to load. Once loaded, the “Arrange” window of a previous project will appear. This is an automatic function of Logic Pro.2976880518160Note: Logic Pro is a separate piece of Software sold by Apple Inc. It must be installed before continuing on if it isn’t installed already.4) 2976880132715Click on “File” at the top left corner. In the drop down menu, click on “New” to start a new project.2976880394970A message saying “Do you want to close the current project before opening a new song?” will appear. Click on “Close”.29768802330455) In the next window, you will see a menu on the left with three options: “Explore”, “Compose”, or “Produce”. Make sure that “Explore” is highlighted.2976880133350Once Explore is highlighted, you will have three options: “Empty Project”, “Guitar Tones”, or “Instruments”. Select the “Empty Project” option.3129280558806) Now a new project will open with a window that prompts you to set up the tracks for the song. Select the following:Number: 1Type: AudioFormat: MonoInput: Input 1Output: Output1-2Click “Create”3070860144780You should now have an untitled project open with one track labeled “Audio 1”. Note: Now is a good time to save your project in a desired location by clicking “File” in the top left corner and selecting “Save As”. Title your Project the name of your song.30683201174757) Click on the “R” button next to “Audio 1”. The button will turn red once selected. Talk into the microphone and see if you can hear yourself through the headphones. If you can hear yourself, then move to the step 8.If you can’t hear yourself right away, continue to talk into the microphone as you slowly increase the volume of the computer using the speaker button on the top right corner of the screen (as in step 2 of the software set-up section). If you’re connected properly, you will hear yourself through your headphones once the volume is at about 50%.40233608255Note: The volume meter at the bottom left corner is great for testing your set-up. If you’re properly connected and can’t hear yourself, then you should still see the volume meter reacting to your voice. This means that your connection is good, you simply need to turn up the volume more. If the volume is 75%+ up and you still can’t hear yourself, you may have broken headphones. Try changing your headphones and restarting at step 7.34340801466858) Once you can hear yourself, you can now turn on the pitch-correction effect (also known as Auto-tune). Just above the volume meter labeled “Audio 1” at the bottom left corner of the screen, there is a label that says “Inserts” with two empty boxes underneath it. 3007360252730Click one of those empty boxes to open a drop-down menu of possible plug-ins. Scroll over the “Pitch” option to open a sub-menu. In the sub-menu select “Pitch Correction”. 27432001574809) Your pitch correction tool should now be open. It looks like one octave (12 notes) of a piano. To calibrate it, you should know the type of scale (major, minor….etc.) and the root (the first note) of the scale that your song uses. If you don’t have a preference for what song you sing, then click “Root” and select “C” and click “Scale” and select “Major Scale”.Note: If you want to sing a particular pop song but don’t know that information, you can simply search for the it in google and you should be able to find it. Search for “scale of (Enter Song Name Here)”.2743200010) Now you’re ready to record! At the bottom of the screen there is a standard menu of buttons (play, stop, record…etc). Press the record button (Circle) to start the recording. It will turn red and the play button will simultaneously turn green. Nowthe program is recording and youcan sing your song into the mic.Press stop (Square) when you’re done. Press play (Single Triangle) to hear your recording once your finished.Sound familiar? It should, becausethis is a tool that almost everymajor artists uses today.Troubleshooting TipsWhile trying to properly connect and set-up this equipment, you may encounter a few problems. Here are a few tips to help you try and solve any problems that you may have:Check to make sure your headphones are working. It’s best to test them on a different device before using them for this set-up.Make sure everything is powered on after it’s connected. The audio interface is powered by USB. Once it’s plugged into a powered computer, a red LED light labeled “power” should turn on. If it doesn’t turn on, try diconnecting and re-connecting it. If that doesn’t work, try using a different USB socket.Sometimes the software will stop working simply because it’s too much for the computer to handle. If it was working at first but starts to glitch for no apparent reason, try quitting the program and re-opening it. That usually solves the problemAlways save your work! It’s a good idea to save your project any time a change is made because if the software closes or freezes, your changes can be lost.Continuing Your RecordingYou now know how to record yourself sounding like a pop star! The best way to continue learning recording techniques is to play around with the software and experiment. Try changing the roots and the scales of the pitch correction tool. See if you can hear the differences. Try recording instruments instead of your voice. It’s never going to sound perfect the first time but once you can hear the differences, you’ll learn how to best use the software. Patience, curiosity, and a comfortable set of headphones are the best tools to have when continuing with your recording.Jason,Great visuals and comprehensive instrution set. A few points: Use imperative mood for each step (eliminate “you” and express steps in command/request format).Feedback: state feedback separately from the step (not a numbered step), apart from the step and in a different color, or font, or format (like bold or italics).Great job overall. Grade A- ................
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