What is Computer Music?
Making music with a computer(Computer Music)
Computer Music refers to the production of music through the use of your computer.
From recording vocals and instruments, sequencing synths and percussion, to even optimizing the volume of a track by mixing.
You can complete the entire process of a making a song within a laptop.
Once completed, you can export your music file, and listen to it on your device such as an iPhone, send it via email to a friend, or share it with the entire world.
We are living in an amazing time for music lovers.
Here we will discuss what you can do with Computer Music, as well as what makes it so attractive.
What you need to make Computer Music
The bare minimum required for making Computer Music is a computer and a music production software.
For computers
You can create Computer Music regardless of if you’re running Mac/Windows OS, desktop, or laptop.
Recent advances in technology have made computer incredibly reliable, and we can now use an wide variety of models to produce music.
The link down below provides a more in-depth look at the specs required to make music on a computer.
Music Production software
The software used to produce music is referred to as a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), and there are many options available from a variety of companies.
Recently, there has even been an increase in free DAW software.
For beginners who are looking to start making Computer Music, perhaps you don’t want to spend too much.
Although free music production software has its limitations (compared to its payed counterparts), it has more than enough features to learn and enjoy making Computer Music, and we highly recommend trying free versions to beginners.
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The charm and characteristics of Computer Music
There are many things that make Computer Music attractive.
What can you actually do with Computer Music? Let’s take a look at the possibilities.
Ability to create solo projects freely
The biggest advantage to Computer Music is the ability to make music complete by yourself.
- Sequencing drums
- Recording vocals and instruments
- Chord progressions and writing melodies
- Applying effects
You can create high quality music, and tweak it until you create the exact sound you envisioned.
For those gigging musicians and recording artists, you can share the exact image of how you want the music to sound, and allows for smooth recording in the studio.
The joy of collaborating with other artists
The task of making music alone may sound daunting to some, but Computer Music allows for fun and easy collaboration with friends and artists .
You don’t even have to live in the same country.
By sharing files between each other, you can create music with someone halfway across the world.
- Have a friend sing over the track you produced
- Write a melody and have someone write a chord progression
- Hire someone to mix and master your track to completion
By splitting up the process according to your strengths, you can stay motivated and create higher quality music.
Experience the joy of working with others, while making music together.
Make music without playing an instrument
“I want to make music, but I can’t play an instrument…” There are certainly many individuals who feel this way.
No need to worry!
Computer Music software contains a large variety of sounds such as drums, piano, synths, and guitar. You can sequence these sounds using your mouse, without ever having to touch an instrument.
Since you can preview the sounds you input, and edit them infinitely until you are satisfied, you can create music without the need of live instrumentation.
Editing with ease
Because of the fact that Computer Music is done on a computer screen, edits and paramaters are easy to understand and learn.
In addition, because you can dedicate CPU use to editing, the processing speed is much faster than when using synths or multi track recording, and allow you to make a wide variety of changes.
Music production is stress free and convenient, adding to another one of Computer Musics many charms.
Editing even pitch and rhythm on live recordings of instruments and vocals is also possible .
When uploading songs with your own vocals, you can use editing to increase the quality of the project.
Using to practice your instrument
Computer Music can be used not only for making music, but for practicing it too.
With a variety of metronome choices and the ability to change time signature and rhythms instantaneously, it is incredibly useful for practicing phrasing, fingering, and scales.
You can even import songs that you want to practice, and loop sections to focus on, helping to optimizing your practice routine.
Imported songs can even be slowed down, and with the help looping, you can use this technology to learn music by ear.
By recording yourself, you can listen and analyze your playing/singing, and work on your pitch, phrasing, timing, and more.
Changing sequenced data to sheet music
Sequenced phrases can be instantly turned into sheet music.
Since printing sheet music is also a breeze, this comes in handy when asking a third party to perform/record. If you run a music class, this allows you to create and distribute sheet music to your students.
Playing live or DJ’ing
The recent trend has been making Computer Music on a laptop.
The biggest advantage to this is being able to take it anywhere, and:
- Make music while traveling on train or plane
- Bring a project to a studio to record instruments/vocals
- Run a backing track you produced and playing along with it live
- DJ at an event/club
These are a few of the many possibilities.
Music production can now be done anywhere you desire.
These are just a few of Computer Music’s advantages and benefits.
Did any of them intrigue you?
It’s by no means difficult or expensive to start, and you can begin this journey for free if you have a computer.
If you found yourself interested at any point, please give it a try!
Our next article will cover the hardware and computers used to make Computer Music.