Computer & DAW

SOUND CARD

Sound and computer are inseparable in the digital era. We recorded digital audio on the computer and modified it using software.

But sound is, in origin, analog.

A sound card is the device that the computer uses to transform the analog audio into digital audio and digital again in analog to hear.

At the same time, it has input (IN) and output (OUT) to connect a microphone, other sound sources or speakers and headphones.


Sound cards need to run a few drivers, also called controllers. They are computer programs that enable communication between the sound card (hardware) and the operating system (software). Like an "instruction manual" that tells the operating system how it should manage and communicate with the card.

 

 

There are two types of sound card:

- Internal Sound Card: is integrated on the computer motherboard; it serves to listen to music or chat with voice, but are not adequate for recording and audio production because it is very simple.


- External Sound Card: is independent from the computer, much more complex than the internal.

If we want to make audio productions with sound quality, we should invest in an external sound card and dedicated itself to recording.

These external cards can be added later to the computer motherboard.

Do you know what kind of sound card has the computer in our music classroom?

MUSICAL SOFTWARE

Musical software are all programs or applications that we use to create, record, edit, mix and play sounds or scores.


In our computer we have free software that respects the freedom to use it, copy it, study it, modify it and redistribute it freely.


Audio editors are computer programs that allow us, along with a sound card, work with digital audio.

They act like a text editor but with sounds: cutting, copying, pasting, deleting parts, changing volumes, adding sound effects, equalizing ...

 

A multitrack editor works with multiple audio tracks.

For example, it can recording the voices of various speakers and accompany them with sound effects and music.

We put each of these elements in different audio tracks and have absolute control and independent of each.

These features make multitrack editors also called sequencers.

When we have already recorded, edited and mixed all tracks, a sequencer software that will allow us to export the final mix as a single track with the format and quality of digital audio to choose.

The creation process with this software:

• Create the material. What can be done in different ways (loading prerecorded audio, recording our own audio instruments or voices). Depending on the program you use can also be programmed sequences MIDI and virtual instruments make sound.

• Apply effects to each of the tracks to get the sound and make the mixture (volume balance between the different sounds used).

• Applying final effects and final audio adjustment, also known as mastering.

Basically all DAW software work like and, although they have some peculiarities, the philosophy is the same.

These are some of the features offered by DAW:

• Playback: allows you to control (play, stop, pause, forward, rewind, record ...)

• Audio tracks: lets you record several sounds (tracks) and listen simultaneously. Also when we are recording a track (for example a voice) can hear the sounds that we recorded earlier so that they are synchronized.

• MIDI tracks: most DAW can record MIDI events, ie, notes that after playing an instrument that can communicate outside this protocol or virtual instruments.

• Automation  effects and controls: this is a very powerful tool because it allows us to define how we want to complete a sound over time.

• Plugins: the DAW are modular, ie; we can integrate other modules (small programs) or plug-ins that extend the tools at our disposal to try and modify the sound. 

• Dump option: when we finish our recording session and we have all the material, so we exported as a finished song and upload it to the Internet.

And now let's explore the musical software on our computer ...

What kind of editor are in our recording studio?