Recording Studio FAQ

 

What is Recording Studio?

Recording Studio is an after-school class in the Flipside program for Murray students who want to learn about recording, engineering, and producing music, sound effects, podcasts, and other kinds of sounds. You will be able to make high quality recordings to share with anyone you like, either as a performer, engineer, or producer.

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How does that work?

Good question! We'll go over two kinds of software that are used around the world, GarageBand and Audacity. (Both are also free.) After learning just enough to get started as a class, students will have a chance to begin working on their own projects.

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Working on projects?

Yes! Every student can leave this class with a high-quality recording of whatever they want (subject to Murray language rules - this is a school program). You will have access to high-quality recording equipment and professional-quality computer software to make your recordings sound awesome. (Click here to listen to a few student projects from last term.) We keep a relaxed atmosphere in our class to give you a comfortable place to discuss ideas with group partners or to rehearse your performance before recording it.

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Do I have to sing?

Only if you're a bird, but if you want to sing, this is the place to be. If you play an instrument, this is also a great opportunity to make a quality recording to share with friends & family, or perhaps as a demo recording for an audition. You can also do spoken recordings, such as podcasts and poetry. (If you're a poet, you can set your poetry to music as well.)

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I'm not a musician. What can I do?

You've got several options. You can work on non-musical projects, such as sound effects, sound design, and podcasts. You can learn how to engineer recordings for other students. Many of our students come to this class because they want to have a good recording of their singing. You can work with one of them to engineer their recording and mix it down the way you both want.

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Do we work in groups?

You can work in groups if you like. If you find people who have different skills and interests, you might make a good team. A singer, a rapper, and a lyricist might use their skills to make something new and completely original. A team like that might also want to work with someone who is good with electronic music, or maybe acoustic instruments. These tend to be more ambitious projects, and they can sound awesome when they're done. You can also work in groups musically by singing duets or trios, or by performing as a band.

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I'm not a musician. Can I still make and record my own music in this class?

Believe it or not, the answer is yes! GarageBand software, which is available on every student's iPad, has the ability to create music for you. You can string bits of this music together, layer them on top of each other, whatever you like. The truth is that choosing how to put musical sounds together in a way that you like makes you a musician. Learning musical scales and theory isn't necessary for this class. (I hope Mr. Dahlberg isn't reading this!)

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What is GarageBand?

Garage Band is software that Murray students can get for free on their iPads. It can be used to compose and record all kinds of music and sounds. It contains high quality digital instruments, such as drums, cellos, synthesizers, and guitars. It also has the ability to create music for you so that even the non-musician can create quality recordings. Many students are familiar with Garage Band even before coming to our Recording Studio class, but it's not necessary. The iPads that Murray students use have high quality built-in microphones. These microphones can be used with Garage Band to record your voice, musical instruments, or anything else, and it will sound great when you're done.

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What is Audacity?

Audacity is high quality sound production software that is installed on the computers we use in the computer lab. With Audacity, students can record with a professional quality microphone directly to a computer. Then the recordings can be mixed just the way the student-producer likes,  including all the effects you might hear on professional recordings. Audacity is a world standard in music production software, but it is available for free. It is open-source software, which means it is constantly being improved by a team of volunteers, and nobody pays anybody anything. Audacity is found in most major recording studios as one software option that engineers and producers like to have available. It's more complicated than Garage Band, but you can do a lot more with it.