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Patching a song together from separate tracks

Posted by Dan Sleep on February 19, 2011 at 11:42am in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts

I would like to be able to create an MP3 or WAV song file using tracks that are either recorded by me, or using free downloaded loops, etc.

 

I currently have:

 

Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum Version 10

Audacity

SoundForge 5.0 (this comes with Vegas maybe?)

 

I am not really sure where to start or how to go about combining all the tracks into a single song, and make sure they all line up and are in synch.

 

I found some free drum tracks, but don't know how to slow the temp so I can use it.

 

I know this is a lot, but can anyone point me in the right direction, like to a tutorial or something?

 

Thanks

 

Dan

 

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Replies

  • mike helm March 19, 2011 at 12:41am

    ambiloop.com     free

  • Bear March 19, 2011 at 12:02am

    I only have Audacity, but all the songs on my page were recorded with it. Most have at least 2 tracks, and as many as 5 or 6. I think you can combine an unlimited number of tracks if you want. I got no advice other than to just take your time and play with it.

  • Roosterman March 16, 2011 at 6:25pm

    Hi mate,

    Iv no experience with Audacity, though Iv used Soundforge in my deep and murky House music past.

    My tool of choice was always Cubase 5.1 / VST. You could prolly get a copy now for next to no money as its pretty out of date. Its still a great way of making up tracks though, and fairly intuitive.

    All tracks (as many as you want!) are veiwable in the same pane, and you can change tempo, pitch etc etc as you go.

    Use it in conjunction with Wavelab for splicing bits up and youre pretty much there.

    Look on Ebay for dvd / cds chocko full of loops, beats and samples for little money.

    Good luck :o)

  • Jon Grinder March 16, 2011 at 3:29pm

    Tascam makes 4-track digital recorders, which work very similarly to the old tape decks.  But, the tracks are exportable as wav files.

     

    I have one (I think it cost me $135 including shipping, off of Amazon).  It will do way more than I ask of it.  I don't know, however, if you can alter tempos with it...

  • Dan Sleep March 15, 2011 at 4:19pm

    Hmmm...interesting. Maybe I will download that and give it a go.

     

    Thanks

     

    Francois said:

    Well, I have just discovered a program called Jokosher (http://www.jokosher.org/)

    It's am open source multitrack recording studio for Windows and Linux. It also looks like some pretty serious piece of kit.

  • Dan Sleep March 15, 2011 at 4:13pm

    Well, I have been fighting with this and not having much luck, I keep getting it all screwed up and then end up starting all over again.  Maybe I would be better off finding someone who could do this for me.

     

    I have a few members here who are working with me to create a collaborative song, and I can get the different tracks, I just need someone who knows how to put the whole thing together and make it work.

     

  • Vaughan S. Nelson-Lee March 15, 2011 at 3:45pm
    You can change tempo in current versions of Audacity. And there's no need to combine tracks.... simply export the whole project as MP3 and it works!
  • Dan Sleep February 23, 2011 at 8:25pm
    Thanks Mark, I have been sorting through all kinds of information about this. You're right, my head is going to explode any moment now.
  • Mark Bliss February 23, 2011 at 3:32am

    Also, theres this group. Not much recent activity, but it would be cool to get something going......

    http://www.cigarboxnation.com/group/cbnationrecordingcollective

  • Mark Bliss February 23, 2011 at 3:15am

    I havent used any of the updated versions of Audacity, so I am not sure what they have changed, but the older versions didnt support tempo changes. Some other multitrack/DAW software does, but in general most will allow only limited tempo changes without it getting odd sounding in my experience unless you get into some of the higher end stuff. If someone has found something inexpensive that works well for this I would like to hear about it.

    As far as synching tracks, this is actually quite easy if you plan ahead. I could explain a process for it but there is a great short tutorial for it from over at Kompose.com for the purpose of matching tracks created by different musician remotely, but the same trick is quite useful for many multi tracking creations.

    Hmm, my links didnt work first try, lets see if this works:

    Track synching tips

     

    Keep in mind you can easily create your own synch tone by recording a four "click" measure of any sound sample and your tracks must all have the same tempo, so if you are sharing tracks with others, make a note of the tempo and share the info. Sometimes I record it into the synch track by speaking before the click measure.

    That should get you started. Be sure and share as you learn!

    Oh, and I use Mixcraft software, its pretty full featured and complicated, but its a lot cheaper than anything with comparable features I could find. They also have a pretty cool drum track creator, called Beatcraft you might want to check out.

    Theres so much stuff out there, so much to learn. Head feels spongy........

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