Enjoy singing your favorite tune at the top of your lungs in the privacy of your own car? Having such wonderful self-confidence in a less-than-stellar vocal performance can be exhilarating, but developing accurate pitch is an essential part of ear training. You can practice pitch by recording your voice. Recording your voice allows you to be the Simon Cowell of your own personal American Idol.

You can easily record your voice with Audacity, a free sound editor available at Sourceforge. Audacity is currently available in two flavors, the original Audacity ‘1.2.6a’ and the new beta version Audacity ‘1.3.12 (Beta)’. Audacity is available for both Macs and PCs, as well as other operating systems like GNU/Linux. To record your voice or an instrument in Audacity, you will need:

• a computer
• a microphone (a built-in microphone or a USB mic will do)
• and preferably a pair of headphones

Click to read the rest…

Can’t remember the bass riff from your favorite tune or just want to write down a sweet drum beat playing in your head? Figure out complex rhythms in a snap with Apple’s Garageband. A user-friendly music software program included with every Mac, Garageband allows any music enthusiast to mix beats, record, and produce original music. You can use this simple software to work on basic ear training skills involving rhythm, pitch, melody, and harmony.

Garageband’s simple interface includes tracks for audio and MIDI, a score, basic playback controls, options for effects, a sound library, and even a virtual music keyboard you can toggle on and off again using key commands. Export music from Garageband directly into iTunes.

GarageBand User Interface

Follow these simple steps to develop your rhythm skills in GarageBand. Click to read the rest…