Music Recording and Audio Production

It doesn’t matter whether you're producing your own voice-over demo at home or creating audiobooks for your business, honing your music and audio production skills are a necessary part of any type of voice-over work. Making yourself well-versed in the ins and outs of adding sound effects and music, mixing, and editing can save you the time and expense of hiring professional help. It can also help you stand out in an increasingly competitive market.

Below you’ll find a number of great resources to help you build the skills you need to produce a standout demo, refine and remix your audio recording, and gain an edge over the competition. With just a little help and dedication, it won’t be long before you’re able to add music and audio production to your list of marketable skills.

Audio Production Schools »

For those who want to take their interest in audio production to the next level, there are a number of audio production schools to help you learn everything from the basics to sophisticated concepts, and help you get the certification you need.

Some of our standout favorites include:

OIART

The Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology in London, ON, Canada offers an intensive one-year program, producing some of the top audio production professionals in North America. Tuition for the three-semester-long program is $30,650. For more information on scholarship opportunities, check out the admissions section on the OIART Web site.

Berklee College of Music - Music Production and Engineering

Located in Boston, MA, the Music Production and Engineering department at Berklee College gives you access to 13 professional-grade recording studios, hands-on projects, and career guidance after you've earned your audio production degree. Tuition ranges from $12,350 to $16,730 per trimester, and gives you the heart of downtown Boston as your musical backdrop.

Institute of Production & Recording

This Minneapolis-based audio production school hails itself as turning college into an “experience”, not a process. And they stay true to that. Here you’ll be able take advantage of programs based in sound design for visual media, audio production and engineering, and certification in Apple Logic Pro and Avid Pro Tools. Tuition is $42,630 or $435 per credit for courses taken à la carte.

Music and Audio Production Software and Resources »

Simply earning a degree in audio production and music knowledge isn’t enough. To be competitive in today’s market you need to be able to mix, edit, and add sound effects to your audio recording, as well. And that means schooling yourself in the appropriate audio recording software, music samples, and sound effects.

Resources to help:

Music Composers and Audio Producers

Outsourcing to music producers, music composers and other freelance audio recording professionals who submit competitive bids for your projects at Voices.com

Download Royalty-Free Music and Sound Effects

Add flair to your finished products by adding music and sound effects into your recordings.

Ableton Live

Comprehensive audio production software that allows you to write, produce, and perform music from your home studio.

Sounddogs

Started in August 1996 and online as of May 1997, Sounddogs.com was the world's first online commercial sound effects and production music library long before the Apple iTunes music store. Take that, Apple fans.

Shockwave Sound

Shockwave-Sound.com is one of the pioneers of online royalty-free music, stock music, and downloadable sound effect libraries.

Sound Snap

Search for professional quality sound effects and loops.

Sound Rangers

The first and finest collection of original sound effects, royalty-free music and stock music optimized for interactive media.

Royalty-Free Music

RoyaltyFreeMusic.com presents a wide-ranging collection of royalty-free sound effects perfect for use by all for personal projects.

Sound Ideas

A joint venture with Lucasfilm led to the 1990 release of the highly successful Lucasfilm Adventure Series Sound Effects Library. This marked the first time that well known sounds from a renowned motion picture studio were made available for commercial use. How sweet is that?

Loop Sound

Royalty-free music library offering full tracks, music loops, 30 Second cuts, downloadable CDs, and background sound effects for film and TV broadcast professionals, Flash Web design, and game development.

Music and Audio Production Articles »

Music and audio production isn’t easy. As such, you can almost guarantee that others have experienced the same problems, frustrations, or challenges that you’re facing right now. And because we faced them, we wrote about them! These articles from Voices.com cover topics ranging from audio production jobs to finding the right music for your voice-over demo. If you’re looking for information about how to do something or get somewhere, make this your first stop for an answer. And, of course, if there is a topic you'd like to see covered in the directory that you don’t see, contact us and let us know what you're curious about.

Jobs in the Music Industry

With the right talent, education, training, and qualifications, you can surpass your competitors and become a DJ for a radio station, a radio broadcaster, an announcer covering the news, or an advertisement voice-over artist. This article breaks down how.

Music for Voice Recordings

Music is often a nice touch, and helps to set the theme and tone for your voice-over. One thing to be mindful of when you are selecting music to be used in a voice-over demo is whether or not the music is royalty-free.

Music in Your Podcast

There are several genres of music to consider when selecting music for your podcast. Some of the main styles include jazz, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, country western, pop, rap, techno, and classical, all of which have their own musical branches to explore.

Podcast Production and Mixing Techniques

The best way to start your mix is to think ahead with the end goal in mind. You most likely have an idea of what you want your finished podcast to sound like. Your goal is to maintain that sound from the beginning to the end of your podcast. Learn how.

Audio Compression for Music Production Explained

Audio level compression—also called dynamic range compression, volume compression, compression, and limiting—is a process that manipulates the dynamic range of an audio signal. Compression is used during sound recording, live sound reinforcement, and broadcasting to improve the perceived volume of audio. A compressor is the device used to create compression.

Where to Find Royalty-Free Music and Sound Effects

Where do you find royalty-free music and sound effects? Read about a few of our favorite sources.

Demos: Dry Voice or Music Beds?

Your demo needs to have a balance of elements containing copy only, copy with music, or copy with SFX. And it should never overpower or distract from the sound of your voice.

Recording Software: Some Hard Choices? No, not really.

With the advent of digital recording in the late '80s, and its development into the more sophisticated multi-track programs we have today, the only real time thing you are recording is your voice. The rest is cut and paste. Import and insert.

Angels Sing His Praise and Perform Voice-Overs

The Angels are comprised of six women, four of whom sing at St. Anthony's and St. Joseph's Masses, using their talents to serve others with their voices both through song at church, and through broadcast commercial jingles and voice-overs.

Music and Audio Production Podcasts »

Articles can be powerful resources, but only if you have the time to sit and read them. If you don’t or if audio is more your thing (we wouldn’t blame you if it was), check out these podcasts which all focus on music and audio production.

Finding the Music in Ad Copy

By taking a musical approach to copy, you'll have a better understanding of the music hidden in scripts.

Preparing to Record a Commercial Voice-Over Demo

You don't want stock library music unless it's contemporary and reflects today's commercial market. Just because a studio has 16, 000 sound bites doesn't mean they're appropriate for a demo.

Beyond the Demo Reel

During her years as an agent, Johnna Gottlieb supplied voice-over talent for such high-profile TV programs as ABC's "Primetime Live" and "20/20 Downtown," the "MTV Video Music Awards" series, and specials on VH-1.