Hey guys! I am trying to prep for Illinois state and Worlds and get my routines going. Illinois will be my first contest ever and I have no idea how to prepare music for a routine. I already have a few songs that I might want to use but they are over 3 minutes apiece and for Illinois I need a 1 minute and a 2 minute routine. So I naturally thought of you guys, the old pros who have done this stuff before! So basically what I am asking for is advice on how to edit/mix music so it will fit in the allotted time frame. What programs do you guys recommend? (I have a windows 7 laptop)
I will appreciate any advice you guys can give!
Just came across a program called Audacity that looks pretty cool, any thoughts?
Audacity would be good for what you need.
Thanks man! How about Windows Movie Maker?
I haven’t used Windows Movie Maker, but I think it could handle it.
I use Reaper for all my audio and video editing needs. It’s built for music making, but it’ll handle video too. It does it all and the trial version is fully functional with only a nag screen at startup.
Audacity is great for editing just music.
You need one add on if you want to export to mp3, but its really an easy program to use.
Windows Movie Maker is better for videos in my opinion.
That looks like a really sweet program that I might have to try! Does the free version include the music creation?
I just got Audacity a few minutes ago and it seems pretty good for the editing, Thanks guys!
I use audacity; Window Movie Maker is for video, and only with great pain will you edit music with it.
One more question, I have just done my first song down to one minute and I want to save it to MP3 format, what program is good for doing that? ( I used Audacity)
The trial version is complete. It does everything the full version can do but with a nag screen when it starts. They expect you to pay $60 after 3 months or something even though the program keeps working. It has everything you need to start making music, from the software side anyway. You’d obviously need some hardware if you planned to do any recording. I have a novation impulse 49 key midi controller for virtual instruments and mixing… and a USB audio interface for recording real instruments and mics. I’ve run the software successfully on win7, 8, and 10…
There are tons of free VST instruments you can use with it too. Google “VST plugins” to get an idea what I’m talking about.
In audacity, you went to file->export audio? Then choose Mp3 as the file type?
It might not have an Mp3 encoder installed by default in which case you should download and install the lame mp3 encoder… http://lame.sourceforge.net/
There is some legal reason that many programs do not come with an mp3 encoder. You often have to find and install one. Lame is top notch and free.
You have to download a file to export to mp3. It’s not that hard but I can’t send you a link from my phone. Google should pull it up
I find Audacity a bit frustrating to use. Reaper’s UI is initially daunting unless you have a background in Digital Audio Workstations… but ultimately it becomes far easier to do actual music editing and creation. Audacity is fine for what it is, but Reaper is in a whole other class alongside heavyweights such as Cubase/Nuendo, ProTools, etc.
If it becomes a passtime or passion you enjoy, you should definitely pay to register it, though. It costs about the same as one nice yoyo.
Fun fact: the creator of Reaper was the creator of WinAmp. 