Top products from r/musicians

• Check out r/audioengineering - they have a weekly "no dumb questions" thread especially for beginners, and a weekly "gear" thread. They're a great source of information.
  
• All of the other suggestions for mbox, focusrite, etc. are great. Me, I live in the protools world, so I would suggest an mbox.
  
• Here are some suggestions for mics:
  
  • Shure SM57 - workhorse dynamic mic. Also sounds great with the windscreen attachment. Could be found on ebay for less, still in good shape. Durable, reliable mic.
    
  • AT2020 - large diaghragm condenser.
    
  • AKG P-170 - small diaghragm condenser.
    
• Great book on home studios
  
• Great book on mixing for the home studio
  
  Have fun and good luck!

As always it starts with playing something very simple and singing over that... playing quarter note chords on the piano with a few chords and figuring out a melody with your voice is a great way to start... watch some videos of people playing and singing at the same time, you'll notice that the parts they play will sometimes get simplified when they are singing, and then become more intricate when they can focus on just the parts.

I would like to point out that many piano books aren't actually the exact way the artist plays the song, in fact most of the songbooks include the melody line in the right hand that should be sung, and not played...

If you were to get the Beatles Score Book, you'll quickly realize that a lot of the melody lines are sung over a chord progression that is much easier than playing the chord progression and the melody line while singing the melody line as well...

I got a lot of value out of Steven Pressfield's "The War of Art": https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Winning-Creative-Battle/dp/1590710037/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

In summary: waiting around for artistic inspiration/motivation is a mistake.

Successful and/or prolific artists don't wait to feel motivated, they work every single day no matter what.

I have found that when I'm in a rut, but I force myself to start writing, I can still eek out some decent ideas.

That leads to another good point: "From quantity comes quality".

Not everything you do has to be groundbreaking, and you don't even need to release all of it. But when you sit down every day to create, you're bound to create some good stuff.

Hope that helps.

I’ve been playing thirty years and taught quite a few along the way. The modern way is probably YouTube but I can’t help you there. I recommend you start with this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0711982260

It’s an easy and quick book to get into but remarkably deep and effective.

Then move onto this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0825640571

This book is tough and requires some dedication. Where you go after that is based on your personal direction. Crack the basics first.

If you really want to make progress, get a teacher. They will turbo charge your development and spot mistakes.

This is a pretty good one. It's centered around jazz but the concepts are super transferrable. You probably need to be able to read music for it though.

​

Outside of that, I'd guess that almost any book on functional harmony would teach you what you're looking to learn. Hope this helps!

Get something like this to get you started. Learn the positions, notes and scales. Once you know that, you can go as far as your musical talent and willingness to work hard will take you.

In a lot of ways, trombone is one of the easier brass instruments. There are 7 slide positions, as opposed to a wind instrument with seemingly limitless fingering combinations. Getting the right embouchure is key to being able to play with good tone and a wide range.

Have fun!

Do you struggle with the music or the lyrics?

Most people struggle to write good lyrics. Most people's first songs are pretty awful lyrically. You can improve with practice.

Pat Pattison is the professor of songwriting at Berklee College of Music and an incredible teacher. He does clinics and has published some books and videos. Write Better Lyrics is a great introduction into how to think about your lyrics.

https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Better-Lyrics-Pat-Pattison/dp/1582975779

How are you doing it currently? Do you have an example of how it sounds? Possibly a lot of background noise?

Latency is the delay between when you (say) hit a note and when it gets recorded. A massive latency would mean things were out of time, but wouldn't give you any static.

A cheap solution:

Microphone:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0002KZAKS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Mixer/Audio interface:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005EHILV4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
You'd need an XLR to XLR cable as well. There are more expensive options than these, but these are good for starting out.

As far as I'm aware there's no difference between XLR and jack - the audio interface I link has a combined XLR/jack input.

Two 50-packs of Kazoos. Hand them out to everyone on public transportation.

The first thing to do is look for a copy of The Beatles: Complete Scores. Here's the Amazon link. That will help a lot with the other tips that have been given.

I've got an Audio Tecnica AT2020 that I put on a shock mount, and I use it for vocals, sax, and as a room mic in rehearsals. I'm really happy with it, and it didn't break the bank. It requires phantom power, so be sure to turn it on on your interface.

I don't know if you play jazz at all, but this book is an incredible practice resource. Also, do you know all your major and minor scales?

What about this?

You can also buy one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Gripmaster-Exerciser-Tension-5-Pounds-Finger/dp/B0006GBDZY/

Not beginner at all, but even dumb laypeople like me can get something out of this. Like the human voice is a double reed instrument.

https://www.amazon.com/Music-Physics-Engineering-Dover-Books/dp/0486217698

This may not be completely applicable to your situation, but I've seen this book recommended when musicians mention getting stuck in a rut, feeling inadequate, etc.:

http://www.amazon.com/Effortless-Mastery-Liberating-Master-Musician/dp/156224003X

I haven't read it myself, so I can't give any opinion on it.