Redcording backings.

[Les Cruttenden]

sometime i asked for help and advice to record some backings off my music keyboard...i got a response but a domestic crisis got the better of me and its all water under the bridge now.......have been a keyboard player for years...recently took up the whistle...used to record CDs using a phillips recorder plugged in the back of the keyboard...BUT i understand that I can plug my keyboard into the computer via a midi cable...i'm 65 and new to computers ....i presume there is a system for me to play and the computer to record..i then want to record on the cd gadget on my computer...ive got two slots one to play cds and one to record them(dont know how this one works yet)...finally to play the cd on a cd player to back up my whistle playing when i play in the garage!!!!!!!!!!!!Does that make sense...any reply needs to be simple....someone local suggested i would need software but wasnt sure.HELP.....Les.

[ChrisA]

I wouldn't mess with midi unless you're planning to do some really complicated layering. If you're trying to record the sound of the keyboard as you play it, just use a patch cable to the line-in on your audio card. This is simple familiar-to-musicians kind of cabling, but of course, you'll need to get an adapter to plug a standard 1/4 inch patch cable into a computer audio ('walkman size') 1/8th inch jack. The line in should be actually labeled 'line in' or else have that arrow-pointing-into-concentric-circles icon.

There's a piece of free software called 'audacity' that I use on my Linux machine for all kinds of sound work. It has been ported to Windows, and I hear it should work just as well there, but I don't really work in Windows if I can help it. Anyway, get it from http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Inside Audacity, there should be a 'record' button, and it should be pretty much as simple as pressing 'record' and playing your piece to record it into Audacity. You can then mix tracks or adjust levels or whatever, and save as mp3. You can then play the mp3 directly on your computer, and of course, there are all sorts of tools for recording mp3s to CD.

[Scott McCallister]

...i understand that I can plug my keyboard into the computer via a midi cable...i'm 65 and new to computers ....i presume there is a system for me to play and the computer to record..i then want to record on the cd gadget on my computer...ive got two slots one to play cds and one to record them(dont know how this one works yet)...finally to play the cd on a cd player to back up my whistle playing when i play in the garage...

Les,

Make sure of the difference between MIDI and AUDIO. Midi really isn't sound. It is a data stream that allows musical instruments and computers and other peripherals to talk to each other. Basically it records/plays "this note, at this time, for this long, this hard/loud" Think of it as sheet music for the computer to read and use to "play" your keyboard.

You don't have to be building massive layers to use midi. In fact it is probably better to start simple and grow as you need. A single chord line or melody/harmony line is very easily done. You will need a sequencer of some type that will record/pay your midi performance. (or if your keyboard has this function you can record it right on the instrument!) Then you play your keyboard with the computer sending your midi performance back to the instrument.

Audio is the "sound". Even though it is still a bit stream, here the data are representing voltages which will eventually be transduced to your speakers for acoustic sound. While your computer is "playing" the midi file on your keyboard, you need to capture the sound from the L/mono and R jacks from your keyboard on some sort of recording device. Here it would be the computer. You can probably find a Y-splitter at Radio Shaq that will combine your 1/4 mono cables to a stereo 1/8 plug to put into your sound card. (or if you have a headphone jack on the keyboard, you could probably get away with a single cable)

As you suspected you will need software to do this effectively as well. Look for a program that will create "standard .WAV" files. You will need to have the files set up with the parameters of 16bit @ 44.1 kHz. This is the only format that will play on a standard CD player. (new mp3 capable players not withstanding)

Once you have a bunch of .WAV files created the way you want them, find the CD burning utility that came on your computer. Use it to burn the wave files to a blank CD. Make sure you use the CREATE AUDIO CD function or you will only have a disc that will be readable by computers (like a floppy disc).

You can go really expensive on all these items, or really cheap. Chances are, though, the more you spend the better sounding your end result will be. The addition of spatial effects and discreet editing control can often make the difference between a good recording and a great recording. A high quality soundcard is key to making all this run very well. The software is last but not least in the recording chain, and you can do a lot with a little using some creative recording techniques. (Sgt Pepper's was only recorded on 4 track for the whole album)

One last caveat. Be prepared for this to not work intuitively right away. After a night of pulling your hair out trying to figure out why program change information isn't transmitting on CH3 or why a bus output has suddenly been silenced, you will turn to your beloved "end blown fipple flute" and realize... "wow, I can just touch this and make music" and then want to chuck the whole mess of black spaghetti in the bin.

Best of Luck
Scott

[fearfaoin]

Restating what has been said before:

Your CD burner (the one that records CDs) needs certain file formats so it can burn an
audio CD. The easiest of these formats to create is called .WAV
You have several ways to create the .WAV file from your keyboard.

The most intuative is to get a cord that connects the Earphone jack (or Line Out) from your
keyboard to the Line In of your computer. Then, you can use any recording program
(Windows comes with "Windows Recorder"... that works fine) to record your keyboard,
saving the sound as a .WAV file. Then you use the program that came with your CD burner
to burn an audio CD from the .WAV files you have saved.

Another option is to use a MIDI cord between your keyboard and computer to create a MIDI
file as you play. Then use a conversion program to convert the MIDI file to a .WAV file. Then
burn the .WAVs to CD. This has more steps, but is more flexible. You may want to start
with the first method until you have the hang of burning CDs, then progress to the MIDI
method.

Does this make sense? I'm trying to figure out how to state this as a step-by-step guide,
but it's hard to do without knowing what software you have...

[ChrisA]

You don't have to be building massive layers to use midi. In fact it is probably better to start simple and grow as you need. A single chord line or melody/harmony line is very easily done. You will need a sequencer of some type that will record/pay your midi performance. (or if your keyboard has this function you can record it right on the instrument!) Then you play your keyboard with the computer sending your midi performance back to the instrument.

What I meant by that comment was that, if one wants to record exactly what's played and
do no more processing to it, then midi is just an extra complication.

Midi is, however, extremely nice for recording multiple lines and then mixing them around
in ways that raw sound isn't so good for (ie, duplicate the melody line, change the instrument,
and you have an oboe playing in unison with the original piano... change the tempo around, cut and paste bars from one part and put them in another, etc., etc.) It's certainly possible to use it for less, like just storing and reproducing a melody line. But for play-this-and-put-it-on-CD or play-this-adjust-the-volume-and-put-it-on-CD, it's just easier to work with sound files, IMO. The MIDI is just an extra encoding-decoding step that isn't needed for such a simple task.

I'm not trying to give MIDI a hard rap, just trying to point to the simplest solution to the original problem (play a track and get it onto a CD).

[ChrisA]

(Windows comes with "Windows Recorder"... that works fine)

I thought Windows recorder was limited to 60 second clips? But that was back on Windows98. Maybe they've removed the brain-damage since.

[fearfaoin]

I thought Windows recorder was limited to 60 second clips? But that was back on Windows98. Maybe they've removed the brain-damage since.

You are correct, sir. I had never used the built-in recorder, but I just checked
and it is limited to 60sec in WindowsXP. How silly. I just wanted to suggest
something that a beginner could cut his teeth on, since Audacity may seem
daunting. So much for that...

[Les Cruttenden]

thought i had better say thank you for the info i have had...i have actually downloaded 'audacity' but need to learn how to use it...i'm pretty thick but have found the info on the net...again thanks Les.