Producing music is not just about recording catchy sounds and lyrics. In many cases, it is the music producer’s job to make the band or artist sound good. Even if the person cannot hold a tune, music producers use specific software that changes the tune to make it sound more appealing. In fact, most commercial artists don’t sound anything like they do in their albums.
To start as a music producer, you just need a reliable laptop, a pair of headphones, and simple music production software to play around with. As you start to gain experience and more customers, you will want to investigate paying for some of these premium software programs that come with some pretty nifty features.
FL Studio
FL Studio has made great strides over the last three decades, specifically with electronic music. Complete with thousands of different sequencers, you can create absolutely any sound that you can think of. Want to add some drums without having to play the instrument? FL Studio can do that for you. The most popular version is the FL Studio All Plugins Edition. This package supports all different audio file formats and has over 100 additional musical instruments and effects installed. You will also get free lifetime updates if you pay the annual subscription fee.
This piece of software will set you back by about $500 but will be totally worth it when you realise just how much you can do with the program. You will have so much fun playing around and trying different music synthesisers, you might never get up from your laptop.
Cubase
Up until about three years ago, Cubase used to be the most expensive music production software on the market. Names like Biggie G and Ariana Grande have been recorded using Cubase. You will still pay a high price for the program, but the features that you get will be well worth your money. Cubase is ideal for rendering recordings at the speed of light, and it is very simple to learn for newbie music producers.
The only downside to Cubase is that it can be resource-intensive, so you will need a sturdy laptop to manage the load on the hardware and keep it running optimally. If you do decide to try out Cubase, first check out Lenovo’s music production laptops to get an idea of how much you have to and what you can get for your money.
Free Alternatives
Just because something is expensive it doesn’t mean it’s higher quality. There are some music-producing programs out there that are just as good as Cubase and FL Studio. They are free because the developer wanted to offer producers a good recording resource and didn’t care about the money.
Examples of some great digital audio programs include Audacity, Tracktion T7, GarageBand, and Giada. If certain recording software has a hefty price tag on it, don’t automatically think that you must own it to be a successful producer. These free options might offer everything you need in one easy-to-use program.
Your choice of recording software is also a very personal one, and there is no right answer to the best pieces of music-producing software. These examples will be of great benefit if you aren’t sure where to start.
