Sound Track: Do-it-yourself Music (page 2)

With either type of software package, the end result is a snappy tune playing out of your computer's speakers. But how do you get that music into your video?

Many software packages (especially the digital audio variety) will create a new digital audio file for you to use. You can usually specify whether the final file should be mono or stereo, what sampling rate to use, etc. (Stick with stereo, 44.1kHz and 16-bit.) You can then drag your new music file into your nonlinear editing software and begin editing like usual.

MIDI software may not perform this mixdown step for you, because the soundcard is actually generating the individual notes instead of just piecing together existing digital audio files. If this is the case, you have several options. One is to use your sound card's mixer software to route its MIDI audio output back to its input, then use digital audio recording software to capture the song. If your sound card won't loop output to input internally, you can patch your soundcard's output back to its input with a mini-stereo splitter cable. Be careful to not monitor the soundcard's input, or you'll get feedback. Then, just record into your computer as usual.

If all this computer finagling seems like too much work, there's a simpler solution. Just take your sound card's audio output and run it into a camcorder, VCR or cassette deck. Record your song just like you would any other audio source (a CD, for example). You can then use the audio in a traditional linear editing system, or load it back into the computer through the nonlinear capture software with which you're familiar.

Using computer software to generate your own music does more than just sidestep copyright hassles and buyout library searches, it can even save you money. Some music-creation titles are available for less than $100, and will create an endless supply of new, free music for your videos (see sidebar for more details).

If you have musical abilities, don't forget that you can easily record yourself singing or playing along with any music you create on your computer. Load the finished mix back into your computer if it's not already there, and fire up any of the many affordable multi-track digital audio recording packages available. You'll add even more of a personal touch to your videos.

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