The programs are the least of your worries. You can download free software such as Audacity or Kristal that would do this job.

What do you have in the way of microphones, pre-amps, a computer interface, stands, cables, headphones and monitors? What sort of room are you going to record in? Does it need acoustic treatment to get an acceptable recorded sound?

Is she going to sing and play at the same time, or were you thinking of laying down the piano track first and then have her sing whilst listening to the piano on headphones?

Sorry, lots of questions, but the software is the easy bit.

I've heard for audacity already but i prefer a program with multiple effects, recording from mic ,and instruments.
made a search on internet and found the "sound forge audio studio"
seems to be interesting with many features and not too complicated

the equipment is pretty basic:
i got a pc and laptop, 2 monitors,professional headphones, a microphone and a piano(not the big one,bt the "small" one, which have the feature to save the played session in the memory.

regarding the room, it is a normal house room, no acoustic treatment in it done, no isolation etc.
i wasnt thinking about the isolation and acoustic treatment for this moment(if its too expensive)

she is already having some tracks that she want to work on, and she wud just sing on them after playing them and recording them from the piano.
so it means, it wouldnt be done in the same moment, but : 1st playing and recording to pc, then singing and recording it on the track tht she previously played on piano.
i know audacity doesnt have those features, so that why i am asking what should i need to make her room a little private studio to make good tracks

thank u for your help, i really much appreciate it

I practiced alot on (at the time) Sonic Foundry's Vegas. I believe it was version 1.0. (now Sony Vegas)

Stupidly simple, but lots of room to "broaden your horizons". It used to be very multitrack friendly, but since Sony took over, it seems tey're putting more emphasis on the "video" part of it, and not multitracking. Still comes with loads of effects, and like I said, SIMPLE.

Another one would obviously be Cool Edit (now Adobe Audition). Used to be very simple, now they tried to fit as many buttons as possible on one screen. If you can get a version of Cool Edit 2.0, it would be great. (I recorded whole albums on that baby... though never again)

The other option would be to buy a cheap M-Audio interface, and Pro Tools M-Powered. It would set you back maybe about $300-$350.

Others out there (but I haven't tried, so I can't tell you how they are) M-Audio's Session. Comes with interface and all, for just $50
http://www.m-audio.com

Also Kristal, but it seems to have a 16 track limit though... But hey, it's free and supports VSTs.
http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/index.php

There are others but these are definitely worth checking out!

thank u very much for the program list.
i have downloaded adobe audition and found on internet cool edit 2
it was easy to find

can u tell me if it is possible to record from a mic or from a piano ??

i dont know yetr what kind of piano my gf has, but what kind of cable do i need to have to connect it to the computer ??

thanks

That depends on your interface, or in her case, maybe just the soundcard on the computer. If it's a regular one, you might want to look into buying a usb interface, so you can plug in a balanced mic input. These are very cheap, so it would be worth investing.

Here's a cheap beginers recording bundle http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/US122LTNT/ I looked around for a bit and theres another M-Audio bundle but it costs $500 but comes with studio monitors.

Since the fun comes from learning, starting with analog would benefit the music itself.

A 4 track tape machine can teach about the aesthetics of recording in ways that computers can't.
When a singer records themselves, it is as much about analyizing one's own voice as much as it is about obtaining a final product.

Halifaxsoundguy wrote: Here's a cheap beginers recording bundle http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/US122LTNT/ I looked around for a bit and theres another M-Audio bundle but it costs $500 but comes with studio monitors.

i have just realized that i have already a recording bundle(with 4 mic entrances) and audio IN OUT entrance.

what is the difference if i connect the mic directly to the computer or
i connect it through the recording bundle("tetramix") ?

thank u

I suggest Tracktion:

http://www.mackie.com/products/tracktion3/index.html

Its powerful enough to be capable of fully 'pro' results (in the hands of a 'pro' of course) but is also the simplest and most straightforward DAW to learn.

If you buy the 'Ultimate' bundle you get a 4 hour video tutorial which is very detailed and comprehensive (I should know, I made it ;) )

lvertel wrote: i have downloaded adobe audition and found on internet cool edit 2
it was easy to find

Do us and yourself a favor and pay for tha software will you? I don't want to have to pay more next year because they had to spend more money on R&D because people like you are downloading hacks. If you haven't noticed this forum is mostly pros and then there's the rest like me. But, the point is probably 95% of the people here pay for their software. Myself included. Legitimacy has it's benefits.

Downloading software doesn't make you an engineer anyway so why not stick to the freeware and freely included software that comes with so many interfaces these days. Cubase LE is fully functional and far beyond the grasp of the average newbie.

hueseph wrote: [quote=lvertel]i have downloaded adobe audition and found on internet cool edit 2
it was easy to find

Do us and yourself a favor and pay for tha software will you? I don't want to have to pay more next year because they had to spend more money on R&D because people like you are downloading hacks.

Pretty careless statement don't ya think?

Either one of these products can be picked up gratis for a few weeks.

Let that high horse out to graze what I say.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/Audio-Editors-Recorders/Cool-Edit-Pro.shtml
http://www.adobe.com/products/audition/

Space wrote: Pretty careless statement don't ya think?

Maybe. Maybe not. When I see download and software in the same sentance I get defensive. If I was wrong, my apologies. Otherwise, I stand by what I said. There's been enough discussion regarding warez on this site.

hueseph wrote: [quote=Space]Pretty careless statement don't ya think?

Maybe. Maybe not. When I see download and software in the same sentance I get defensive. If I was wrong, my apologies. Otherwise, I stand by what I said. There's been enough discussion regarding warez on this site.

It's the Internet, downloading is >the< number one thing that folks do.

Your interpretation of the young mans statement is colored by your personal issues, I imagine you see the glass as half empty as well.

All I'm thinking here is, if it isn't there to begin with, and it wasn't, why make it something it is not to suit your own rationale?

He didn't outrightly state that he downloaded the free trial which most people include in their statements. Just because downloading is the most popular thing to do with the internet it does not make it right to download copywritten material. Does it? Granted, I could have worded my comment better. I've paid thousands of dollars for software over the years. I would like to think, that I paid for my right to use them but in reality I've paid for mine and others by way of warez.

All that being said, I wasn't trying to hijack this thread.

Me either, your point is taken.

lvertel wrote:
she is a singer that have no time to go record a song in studio
and thought about creating a "studio at home" to record her own tracks.

Learning how to record a song and make it sound good will take a long time. Just because you have a computer and a mic does not mean that the songs will sound like coming from a studio.

Are you sure your girlfriend will have time to learn the art of recording and mixing if she does not have time to record a song in a studio?

I am not trying to be joy killer but I once thought that buying a few mic's computer and a recording interface would be a lot cheaper than go to a profersional studio. Man was I WRONG. If I would rate my hour and send me the bill for all the time and stuff i have bought since i got the "studio flew" I could have recoded 2 full albums at a professional studio :D

Dont get me wrong, I enjoy every minute and penny I spend in my studio I just want you to think this all the way. Lerning how to record quality tracks will take years of trial and error..

A 4 track tape machine can teach about the aesthetics of recording in ways that computers can't.
When a singer records themselves, it is as much about analyizing one's own voice as much as it is about obtaining a final product.

Even a $100 4-track cassette portastudio from tascam is a waste of money.
Just stay away from the cassette beast entirely! Those devices will not teach you the principles of analog tape recording. Different animals. Sorry flimmusic.

So, a suggestion - both for a program (REAPER - I like it, and it's got a 30day free demo, and then the full version for home use is only like $40) and for an alternate gift...Do you know any other musicians that might already have this set up? A lot of guys have their own little interfaces and some mics, and they're always looking for more chance to use this stuff they bought for "songwriting" and haven't actually used since. They're going to know how to use the software, and the hardware, at least a bit, and it'll be both less hassle, less stress, and you might end up with something decent, at the end of the adventure. If not - you can always blame the other guy, and thattaway you still get credit for a good idea ;)

Nathan