Over the past decade, the way we listen to music has fundamentally changed. No longer tied to physical forms, such as vinyl discs, cassettes, or CDs, downloading and streaming services have taken music collections away from our shelves and placed them on our desktops.
The rise of digital audio is largely responsible for this change. Products such as the original Sony Walkman and the Apple iPod delivered music on the go, but these were eventually superseded by the smartphone, which can now deliver many thousands of music tracks all day, every day, from your rucksack or pocket, making music more accessible than ever.
The same can be said for music production. Whereas once you needed a band or an orchestra of musicians playing instruments, studio time, and expensive recording equipment, these days it is possible to produce a song, publish it, and listen to it from the comfort of your desktop. With a smartphone and software, you can even do this from the palm of your hand.
Here, we will take a look at how music production has changed over the years, the software you need to get started, and how you can compose your own musical masterpiece.
The dawn of the digital audio age
Before we go any further (well, backward technically) we first need to understand the fundamental elements of the digital audio workstation (DAW). Pretty much most music you hear these days will have been composed or produced in some way with the help of a DAW. Thanks to its ease of use, format, efficiency, and productivity, this technology has superseded most other traditional methods of music production. When it’s this easy to produce music, it just makes sense to go down the route of DAWs.
So then what is it? A DAW is a. The possibilities are endless.
