New Kid In Town

[tpreitzel]

Basically, I'm over 50 years of age. I haven't touched an musical instrument in decades. While younger (~12), I was moderately experienced with the piano and accordion. Although I'd still like to acquire individual instruments to play, I simply don't have the space. * Today, I'm more interested in songwriting. I've never been able to sing well (mainly health and poor technique), I want to improve based primarily on personal study. Hopefully, I have the intelligence and creativity to write songs and sing. Thankfully, my financial life doesn't depend on the former. Songwriting is partly a skill so I simply hope to improve. Personally, I'm indifferent to showmanship. I'm striving for personal excellence.

* How should I approach the process of creating music? I want to keep the cost LOW initially which will sacrifice some quality. I want the best bang for the buck in creating a miniature recording studio while I search and learn.

Edited May 10, 2010 by tpreitzel

[john]

hey

Welcome to Songstuff

There are a few ways you could go here:

Stand alone all in one - useful if you plan to play all the instruments you plan to record, or have someone else play them.

PC - lots of hardware and software available, operating systems tend to be slightly less music creation friendly

Mac - slightly less hardware / software available but it does have it's own advantages. Also slightly more expensive than PCs.

On balance thinking on options available to you and pricing I would think a PC based solution would be the best fit.

I would say get a PC desktop that is used only for music. Get another one for handling internet browsing and other common PC activities. Also by going this route you can familiarize yourself with the same tools you would use should you choose to get a portable set up using a laptop at some later date. I wont suggest the laptop just now as it is more expensive and adds a further level of complexity and issues that when you are already on a steep learning curve just seems un-useful.

What sort of budget are we talking?

Cheers

John

[tpreitzel]

hey

Welcome to Songstuff

There are a few ways you could go here:

Stand alone all in one - useful if you plan to play all the instruments you plan to record, or have someone else play them.

PC - lots of hardware and software available, operating systems tend to be slightly less music creation friendly

Mac - slightly less hardware / software available but it does have it's own advantages. Also slightly more expensive than PCs.

On balance thinking on options available to you and pricing I would think a PC based solution would be the best fit.

I would say get a PC desktop that is used only for music. Get another one for handling internet browsing and other common PC activities. Also by going this route you can familiarize yourself with the same tools you would use should you choose to get a portable set up using a laptop at some later date. I wont suggest the laptop just now as it is more expensive and adds a further level of complexity and issues that when you are already on a steep learning curve just seems un-useful.

What sort of budget are we talking?

Cheers

John

John,

Financially, I'd like to keep the annual budget at $2k or $10k total over 5 years ($10k isn't necessarily the maximum over a longer term). I'm really torn here between the options. An PC-based solution seems the most practical for my immediate future, but mastery of physical instruments is removed. Unfortunately, I don't have much space which only strengthens the idea of using a PC. However, I like the idea of learning, playing, and recording physical instruments. How do I perform the latter in a small space as I'd love to have a baby grand piano in my place, but don't have the means to haul it with me due to rather frequent relocations?

Hypothetically,

1. If required, perform live which would require skill with physical instruments.

a. Which specific instruments and their manufacturers would one select out of the available classes, e.g. woodwind, brass, percussive, to both perform live if necessary and record? Modern songwriters probably write music primarily for stringed instruments. Some artists leave their mark on popular music using rather esoteric instruments, e.g. Ian Anderson.

b. Instrumental pieces including classical work

2. Music theory

3. Songwriting

4. Performance

5. Recording

(Thanks for the welcome, BTW)

Edited May 10, 2010 by tpreitzel

[Bridget Murphy]

It's great to hear you're getting back into music and focusing on songwriting. Even without a lot of space for instruments, your background with piano and accordion will definitely be beneficial.