How to Spice Up Your Music

My passion, personally, is music production. Not the DJ-ing or the remixing, but the creation of a song out of nothing. Any Apple user will be familiar with Garageband, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. The developments in software have led to it being entirely possible to develop professional songs or sounds with an investment of as little as $500.

There are software programs that contain everything you need from synthesis to mastering. Alternatively, you could invest in hardware if your passion is more one of rocking out rather than geeking out with computers. The price of attaining a polished recording has plummeted in recent years, leaving the benefits in the hands of the consumer.

Personally, I prefer the computer-based side of production. I use a common program called Reason, as well as various live instruments for that all-elusive "feel" the people look for today. What I love about the music is that so many sounds can be opened up with some creative redirection. If you pick up a guitar, there are only so many sounds you can get out of it, limited by its relatively low-tech build. Put that guitar sound into a computer and the possibilities are endless; reverse it, chop it up, bitcrush it, add reverb, noise gate, the options for developing your own sound are incredible.

Of course, computers offer more than just possibilities for developing new sounds. As the market for computer-based music production grew, so did the market for hardware. Today you can pick up a keyboard that links directly via USB for a trifling amount of money. These provide you with not only an interactive playing surface, but also another dimension for creativity.

Only a few hours ago, I hooked up an old video game controller to Reason, using a couple of free programs I downloaded. I can now play a drum machine as easily as I could play Street Fighter. This is not only fun and quirky, but also gives your music a sense of personality, something that I have been working on gaining as I step into the arena of live music performance. The technological possibilities go beyond a computer.

Several developers have released recording devices that connect straight into an iPod, which gives the amateur recorder even greater potential to develop songs and sounds. Music players now have DJ mixing capabilities and the Nintendo DS has been given a game that is essentially just a synthesiser.

Of course, the world of music is not for everyone, but for anyone who dabbles in it, there has never been a better time to jump in.