The Hometaping process
1. Composing
2. Recording & Editing
3. Submitting
1. Composing
How do I write songs?
There is no right or wrong way. You
could have some good words and a nice way to sing them. You could have
worked out four chords on the guitar that sound nice played one after
the other. You might have found a particular sound that you really like.
If you’re a bit more advanced, you could intricately work out a clever
piano piece, and accompanying drums or other instruments.
There are lots of ways to write music,
none of which are better than the others. We’ll be posting some tips
from songwriters on our news section. Don’t feel like you have to
listen to them.
Can I use samples of other people’s
music?
Yep.
Can I cover other people’s music?
Yes.
2. Recording & Editing
How do I get a clean sound?
Some simple ideas:
- Use a microphone rather than the one in your computer.
- Make sure the windows are closed.
- Record at night when it’s quiet.
- Record in your bathroom
- Rent some studio space, if you’re feeling flush.
- Use some thick drapes.
If you’re feeling confident and
have lots of equipment, there’s a video designed for slightly advanced
Hometapers at Howcast here:
http://www.howcast.com/videos/
How many songs do I have to record?
There’s no minimum or maximum.
Our guide is that you make sure you record at least 20 minutes of music.
There’s no other limit.
How do I record music on my computer?
There are many ways, lots of which
are free. There are lots of software options around to help you record
music in ways that match your budget and aspirations.
If you’re on a PC, try downloading
a piece of software called
Audacity
from here:
http://audacity.sourceforge.
Macs now usually come with something
called
GarageBand
. It is quite easy to use and lets you try lots
of sound effects, ‘virtual’ instruments and drum samples.
If you want something more complicated
try Apple’s
Logic
(which is for Macs only) or
Pro Tools
for the Mac or the PC.
There are other companies who make
slightly more affordable software. One example we have found is ‘Acoustica’:
http://www.acoustica.com/
Fruity Loops
is a piece of software for PCs that helps you make drum loops and samples:
http://flstudio.image-line.
We have not tried lots of these and
we make no judgement or claims about how good they are! If we come across
any good examples we’ll put them up on the news section.
How can I learn to edit or get
better at recording? How can I make it sound good?
There are plenty of good tutorials
online. There’s an especially good set of video tutorials at places
like Howcast and YouTube. We’ll be posting up good examples at the
news section when we come across them. Here’s some we’ve found already:
-
A good lot of videos about
using Apple’s Logic software:
http://www.wonderhowto.com/
software/apple-logic-studio- video/ -
A good Audacity tutorial:
http://audacity.sourceforge.
net/manual-1.2/tutorials.html -
A simple video about editing
in Audacity:
http://www.howcast.com/videos/
54743-Editing-With-Audacity
We would recommend searching around
video sites for helpful videos. Check out the news section too – we’ll
post examples and our very own resident Hometaping vlogger will be documenting
their Hometaping step-by-step!
If you want to learn in more depth
learning in person, you could try searching for teachers in your area
using a site like the School of Everything:
www.schoolofeverything.com
- it helps people who want to learn something
find people who teach it.
We’ll also be running two Hometaping
‘clinics’ in November where you can meet other Hometapers. We’ll
bring a few experts along who can show you the inside tips and the tricks
of the trade. Keep an eye on the news section for more details.
Can I record in other ways?
Yes. Don’t worry about not having
lots of equipment or being able to record on a computer.
We accept tapes, minidiscs and CDs.
Actually, we’ll accept any form of recorded music you can think of.
If you want them to go on the site and can’t do it yourself, post
them to:
Hometaping,
149 Malden Road,
London.
NW5 4HT.
We’ll do our very best to digitize
them and put them on the site. Make sure you keep a copy for yourself
if you do – we might lose or break it, or it might go missing in the
post.)
You could also record your music
by calling the helpline on 07964 663170. We will record you down the
phone directly and post it on the site. Just an idea! (Someone please
do this).
If you prefer, you can record your
songs as videos - that’s fine too. Point the camera where you like
and upload the results to a site like YouTube. We will link to them
from the site if you let us know.
3. Submitting
How long will my music be on the
website?
We can’t store the music forever
ourselves because we don’t have enough money.
This is our plan. We’ll keep the
music up at Hometaping for six months. Then we will take all the submitted
entries and put them up at a brilliant website called the Internet Archive
(which is at
www.archive.org
). We will create a page there called ‘Hometaping
Volume 1.’
If you don’t want us to do this
with your music we won’t - just let us know and we won’t include
your album.
Copyright
In hosting this music and running Hometaping we in no way claim any ownership of it whatsoever. It belongs to you, full-stop.
Your question not here? Let us
know:
Helpline: 07964 663170
Email: hmtpng@gmail.com