Why Every Musician Should Have a Home Studio

Here we are in the year 2010, an unprecedented age of technology and accessibility, where the prices of computers and recording equipment have dropped tremendously…while at the same time the power and feature set of both have skyrocketed. It doesn’t get any better than this people. That being said, I believe we are living in a point in history where I can firmly say that every musician in America should have and use a home studio. With a complete powerhouse of a studio available for under $500, there is absolutely no excuse. Let’s take a brief look at three reasons why.

Home studios help you write music

 I’ve written before that I believe the home studio to be the ultimate songwriting tool. Having the power and ease to be able to dump your ideas into something like Pro Tools is incredible. It not only allows you to remember what you are writing, but it actually helps you create music you never would have thought of.

Many artists today are using their home studios to help write their newest albums. Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, T-Pain are just a few top label artists who begin their hit song writing in front of a computer with just an idea or two. Mike Shinoda  of Linkin Park mentions in an interview that “most of the songs on our first album were written on my Pro Tools setup, and we still use our Pro Tools rigs to demo ideas.” Which brings me to my next point…

Home studios help you demo your songs

 If you are a singer/songwriter or are in a band and are preparing to do an album, your home studio demos can speed up that process and help you get a more polished final product. Demos allow you to try arrangement and production ideas before you really sit down to record the album.

Shinoda says of demoing in Pro Tools. “Demos generally begin…as a basic sketch with a scat vocal. Then we meet once a week to listen and vote on the songs. The good ideas can be quickly bumped over to our communal Pro Tools system, where we develop them further. It’s a very streamlined, organized system, and because we generally have so much music, that’s exactly what we need to keep track of what we’re working on.”

Home studios help you collaborate

 Combine the power of the personal computer, the affordability of today’s DAWs, and add to that the accessibility of high speed internet and you have a perfect storm for music collaboration. More than ever musicians are working on recordings with other musicians around the world…at the same time!

The best example of this in recent years is the “band born online”, Pistol Youth. Bradley Carter (of New Zealand band Steriogram) wanted to collaborate on something new so he decided to write and record a 6 song EP with three other friends in three different countries! The guys never met up during this entire process. You can check a video interview here.

Now this is an extreme example, but it shows the power and opportunities afforded you if you have a basic home studio setup.

This is the year

 If you don’t already have a home studio, or maybe you do and you just haven’t tapped into it’s full potential…make this the year that you step out in confidence that you can have the right tools (for not much money) to create more music in 2010!