The abilities to record may seem to be more recent, especially with the capabilities of technology and the understanding of how sounds are used within a recording studio. However, there is a longer time frame of recording that has been used in order to document audio areas and to put music on track. By understanding the progression of recording, you can also find ways to implement similar characteristics and routines within your own studio.

The beginning of recording dates back to the 1890s. During this time, most of the recording was done through acoustic means. Recording equipment consisted of a tape that would allow for the audio to be documented into the tape. This would then go through a horn which would record the sound frequencies that were being played. This would then be documented by putting grooves into the recording through the waves and how they were translated.

This type of recording also included limitations on the sound rooms and how the sound was recorded. Upper scale recording studios consisted only of a sound proof wall so that the audio noise would not bounce. The ability to mix, master and edit the audio information; however, was not available. Those who were interested in recording would also take the records outside of the studios to do things such as field recordings, where natural sounds would be placed onto audio. This became a second popular means of creating recordings to share with the public.

By the 1930s, different options and equipment began to be popular for recording. This started with amplifiers and microphones that were added to record more sound frequencies. This was followed by a mixing board and by loud speakers so that the sounds could be manipulated and changed while recording. This caused for most of the acoustic recording that was done in the past to be replaced by the new technology so that more accurate recordings could be done.

Up until the 1970s, these combined methods were the popular way of recording musicians and artists in the studio. The acoustic rooms were combined with the microphones and were recorded live through the mixing board and straight into the disc or recording tape. This left little room to re-record or edit. Most of the recording that was done would be done with complete bands, orchestras or groups that would place everything onto the disc at one time.

The change that occurred during this time combined the ability to monitor the sounds more effectively and to move into editing. It was during the late 1960s and 1970s that analog recording moved into the field, allowing for more complex machinery to be at the forefront of recording. The analog recording consisted of a magnetic tape that would carry the sound waves and read them back through the recording. This could then be written over and revised according to what was recorded.

This time period not only allowed for advancement within recording, but also created experimentation with new equipment, sounds and effects that became popular for individual recording studios, now considered to be signatures of various recording industries. Those who were working within the industry found not only new technologies for recording, but also developed sounds that were unique because of the ability to process the mixing and mastering in a different way.

It was the movement into analog recording that changed recording into an electronic and digital set of capabilities as well as industry standards that are now accepted as the normal setting among all recording studios. Because of this experimentation and new technology, those working within the industry came to certain conclusions about what worked better with recording and how the production could be effective.

This progression shows how recording has become a mainstream through innovations, creativity and experimentation. By the recording industry creating the effects of recording, it has allowed for new arenas of development in recording music to be explored.

Even though it seems like we only learn about the actual recording of instruments, then see the result through the CD, there is an entire process that is hidden behind the curtains in order to get the sound of the CD exactly right. This includes a variety of steps that are linked to engineering a CD and producing the right sounds after the instrumentation is complete.

The first step of the process after the recording is the pre-mixing. This is the point in which the instruments will become neutral and even. The main part of this particular step is to determine the sound waves and what their peak points of loud and soft is. This can be automatically set up through a normalization tool, which will average out the sound frequencies for the individual instruments. You can also find mathematical formulas if you want to customize the normalization tool to build the top and bottom peaks of the recording.

Within this part is also the ability to make the instrumentation sound just a little bit better. You can add in the extra sounds as well as the effects that you want with additional instruments. This will take the deadened sound that was created from the recording and move it into a live sounding performance as well as a space which is more effective in defining what is being played.

After this point, you will move into the mixing stage. This will focus on the individual instruments and what they need in order to be completely enhanced. The first part of this is to move through each of the individual instruments and create envelopes for them. These are areas in which they will have lows or highs as an individual instrument. You can add in dynamic effects during this point in time as well as things such as compression, which will help to normalize the peak points of the piece even more. During this time, you want to make sure that everything is even and sounds right when picked out individually.

This will then move you into the pre-mastering stage. During this point, you will move from working with individual instruments and into the arrangement of all of the instruments. You will want to make sure that the low and high frequencies of all of the instruments are balanced at the same level. This should move not only into the peak points of the sound waves, but also into the volume control.

The pre-mastering stage will include industry standards as well as individual preferences for balancing out. Many software packages will come with analysis components so that you can look at the amount of low frequencies to high frequencies and adjust it to balance out. This will depend on the software that you use, as well as the preferences that you have for the blending of the instruments. As long as you keep in mind that the most important part of this is blending together all of the instruments with high and low sounds, you will easily be able to maneuver with the pre-mastering stage.

The last step in putting together the mix for recording is the mastering. This will take the songs that have been made over all of the tracks and make sure that they balance out evenly. Like pre-mastering, this can be done by checking all of the levels and making sure that all of the songs balance out and are even in their volume levels as well as high and low frequencies. You can check your volume levels not only by the mathematical formulas, but also by comparing your volume levels on CD players. The sounds should reach the industry standard volumes, unless you have an alternative preference for your blend of songs and instruments.

Once you know the major concepts for each step of placing a CD together, you can find the best way to blend and change everything that is needed within the CD and songs that you are producing. If you are looking beyond recording, you want to look into the engineering of a CD and how you can effectively put together the instruments, every step of the way.