How to record a song and put it on the web

[LiveMusic]

How can I do this? It doesn't have to be professional quality but I'd like it to be good enough you could understand what I'm singing if you listen to it after hitting my web site. I wrote a song after being inspired by a girl I am dating and this is a surprise for her. I gave her an audio tape just done on an el cheapo Radio Shack tape recorder and she loved it. But I'm making a website for her just for fun.

 

I don't know anything about recording songs. I know the song has to be digitized and I guess it needs to be in a format Real Audio will play. Assuming that is what most browsers default to.

 

Is there a simple way? Only equipment I have that might help... I have an Olympus handheld digital recorder but it's really small. The quality would probably stink. I also have a Yamaha PSR740 keyboard and it has 16 track recording. I have never recorded anything on it. Maybe there's a way to pipe in my guitar and vocals and record them? If so, how do I get it to the web? Do I convert it to MP3 or some other format? How do I do that?

 

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Duke

[dansouth]

Details vary depending on the kind of computer you have, your hosting site, etc. But here is the overview.

 

(1) Record and mix your song.

 

(2) Get it into your computer. If the song is on a CD, and if your computer can read a CD, that's the easiest way. If you recorded it directly on your computer, that's probably good, too. You can also read the song in via a sound card, but the quality may not be as high.

 

(3) Conver the song to and MP3 file. You'll need an MP3 converter program (sometimes called a ripper) to do this. Your computer may already have a program that rips MP3's.

 

(4) Upload the MP3 file to a hosting web site. This can be your own site or a specialized site like MP3.com. If it's your own site, you'll have to do a little HTML programming to make the song "visible" to people who visit your site (but this is not complicated).

 

Good luck.

[gtrmac]

I am using www.javamusic.com It's quicker and easier than mp3.com You can get free .wav to mp3 encoders from the web if you search. I use an editing program called Wavelab but it is not free. Hereis one encoder which is cheap anyway.

http://www.real.com/accessories/?prod=xingmp3encoder

Here's another this is free I think http://www.birdcagesoft.com/index1.html

[michael saulnier]

Originally posted by LiveMusic:

How can I do this? It doesn't have to be professional quality but I'd like it to be good enough you could understand what I'm singing if you listen to it after hitting my web site. I wrote a song after being inspired by a girl I am dating and this is a surprise for her. I gave her an audio tape just done on an el cheapo Radio Shack tape recorder and she loved it. But I'm making a website for her just for fun.

 

I don't know anything about recording songs. I know the song has to be digitized and I guess it needs to be in a format Real Audio will play. Assuming that is what most browsers default to.

 

Is there a simple way? Only equipment I have that might help... I have an Olympus handheld digital recorder but it's really small. The quality would probably stink. I also have a Yamaha PSR740 keyboard and it has 16 track recording. I have never recorded anything on it. Maybe there's a way to pipe in my guitar and vocals and record them? If so, how do I get it to the web? Do I convert it to MP3 or some other format? How do I do that?

 

 

Duke,

 

You don't mention if you have a sound card in a PC or Mac?

 

If you do, you have the basics for a simple recording like you're describing. There's plenty of software available, (sometimes bundled with your sound card) that lets you make basic recordings. Once you have a "digital" recording of your song, there's more software to convert (rip), it to an mp3 or some other format.

 

Search for ripper software on the web for making mp3's and check out the software that comes with your sound card for a basic recording capability.

 

Good Luck,

 

guitplayer