How to Create Your Own Song to Sing
Songwriting is a purely creative process. Although you can benefit from learning the fundamentals of music theory, practicing a melodic instrument or studying the ins-and-outs of audio production, you do not need these skills to begin writing and even recording your own songs. Using only your imagination and a bit of user-friendly technology, you can create original music complete with custom accompaniment, which you can share with friends and family or just keep to yourself.
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Things You'll Need
- Digital recording software
- Musical instrument
- Tape recorder
- Notebook
- Microphone
- Headphones
Instructions
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Begin writing your song. You can begin with a simple melody, a catchy title or a collection of lyrics lifted from a personal poem or diary entry. An instrument, like a guitar or piano, can help you to find and develop your melody, but you can write a song without instrumental accompaniment. Write what inspires you. If necessary, listen to some of your favorite music for inspiration.
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Preserve your song by writing it down. Scribble your lyrics into a notebook or jot them down on your computer. If using an instrument, write down the chords to help you remember. Record yourself singing into a tape recorder or audio recording program, in order to ensure that you do not forget what you have written.
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Revise your song. After writing down the essential information or recording your voice, set the music aside for a couple of days and then come back to it with a fresh perspective. This will help you to make improvements, additions or other necessary adjustments. Continue to revise your song until it sounds perfect to you. In some cases, you may not need to revise at all.
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Record your music. An instrument can prove very helpful, but you can make music even without an instrument. Download an audio recording program. For free software, try Audacity, Ardour or QTractor. Open the software and begin recording your melody. If you own an instrument, press "Record" and begin playing. If you do not own an instrument, look for audio loops online. These are pre-recorded sound samples that you can drag into your audio project for free musical accompaniment. Try sites like Looperman, Free Loops and Loopasonic.
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Layer your melody. After you record or insert your first instrument sound, you may want to add extra accompaniment. For instance, if you recorded a guitar riff, you may want to add a second riff, guitar solo or bass line. For this, you can use a process called multi-tracking. Locate the "New Track" option on your software window or menu bar, select it to create a new track, which looks like a second horizontal bar (beneath the original bar, where you recorded your first instrument). Import additional audio loops or record additional instruments.
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Record your voice, if you so desire. If you simply want to record the musical accompaniment for live singing, you can save your project at this point and use the "Export" option to convert it to an audio file. If you want to record a complete song with vocals, though, create a new track, connect a microphone and pair of headphones to your PC. Move your cursor to the beginning of the song on the left side of your screen, press "Record" and sing into your microphone while listening to the instrumental part of your recording.
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Tips & Warnings
As an alternative to loops and live instruments, you can create your melody using a process called MIDI sequencing. Make sure to use a "MIDI" compatible program like GarageBand, Logic, MixCraft or even a free program like QTractor, LMMS or RoseGarden. Locate the "Piano Roll" or "Sequencer" option for each track, and insert music notes on the horizontal grid. Insert high notes at the top of the grid and insert low notes at the bottom of the grid, always moving from left to right. Assign different instrument sounds to each track, so your sequences emulate the sounds of live instruments.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit sing image by Byron Moore from Fotolia.com
