Audio Workflow on the Surface Pro Windows 8 Tablet - Part 4
Getting Serious about Audio and Creating Music with the Surface Pro
(without breaking the budget)
This is the final entry in this 4 part series about my audio workflow when using the Surface Pro. I often want to be able to easily record things for classroom use but sometimes I also want to create my own music (or have students create music) for use in multimedia projects. The great thing about creating your own music is you do not have to worry about copyright issues since you are the creator.
If you missed Part 1 you can view it here.
If you missed Part 1 you can view it here.
I began this series by sharing how I create my TechTalk4Teachers audio podcast and today I will share some other equipment I am using in combination with the Surface Pro to make music.
This workflow has served me well over the years and what I have learned in the past has been easily transferred to the new Surface Pro x86 tablet. This blog series about audio has proven to me that the Surface Pro really can replace either a desktop or laptop computer for most of my everyday tasks, including multimedia production. I will finish this series by stepping it up a notch and sharing some of the new things I have discovered with creating music on the Surface Pro.
The Surface Pro comes with a built-in microphone so to get started all you need to do is find a recording app, like Audacity, and hit record, this is fine for general classroom use. Audacity is an x86 program and does not work on the Surface RT version so you will need to find a recording app in the Windows Store to record audio if using a Surface RT. I have not explored audio recording apps in the Windows Store since my Surface Pro runs Audacity really well and does everything I need.
But, if you really want to take your classroom audio creations to the next level and create music and sound effects on your own using the Surface Pro, read on.
To go to the next level you will need some other audio gear and software that will improve your sound quality and greatly expand your multimedia production capabilities.
Mixcraft
When I am looking to create music I almost always turn to the Mixcraft program. Mixcraft is a PC program that is kind of like Garageband on the Mac except it will do much more, especially with recording virtual instruments and adding some awesome sound effects. An added bonus is that Mixcraft is very user friendly, unlike some of the more professional audio recording programs. Mixcraft retails for approximately $75.00
USB Audio Devices for the Surface Pro
Because the Surface Pro is a full x86 compatible PC I am able to run Mixcraft and since it has a USB port I can take advantage of the thousands of USB compatible devices that work with PCs, a few of which are designed to help create music.
I have been experimenting with a couple of devices that can put you and your class into the music recording business! I have shared before that I use the Mixcraft program in an earlier blog post and I have now added two more pieces of equipment that takes the Surface Pro into the stratosphere when it comes to creating audio for multimedia projects, including music creation.
Korg USB MIDI Microkey Piano-style Keyboard
The first musical device I would like to mention is a USB MIDI Keyboard from Korg with 37 microkeys, this device costs approximately $80.00 and is kind of like a miniature piano.
If you (or your students) can play piano and read sheet music then you can plug this USB keyboard into the Surface Pro and use it as a MIDI controller when used in combination with the Mixcraft program. I do not think the Korg piano will work with the Surface RT and I know the Mixcraft program will only work on the x86-based Surface Pro, not RT.
MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and has been around since the early 1980’s. MIDI takes the signal from the USB piano-style keyboard you play and translates it into digital signals that can be processed on the Surface Pro. Once you record the notes you have played on the Korg MIDI piano you can manipulate the notes to your hearts content in Mixcraft.
I should note that the Korg keyboard makes no sounds as you play it, the sound is piped into the Surface Pro and you can monitor it from within the Mixcraft program on the Surface Pro.
The beauty of using Mixcraft with the Korg MIDI keyboard is that you can record one track at a time and create layers of music that can eventually turn into your own original songs!
Better yet, because the recorded notes are now in the MIDI format Mixcraft allows you to change the properties of each separate track to a different musical instrument. So on track 1 you can have drums, track 2 bass, track 3 trumpets, track 4 trombone, track 5 saxophone, and so on…..
You can turn your MIDI notes into any instrument you want!
You can play each track separately using the Korg mini piano so you do not have to be a virtuoso piano player to find success.
Tri-Capture USB Mixer
The last piece of equipment I will share with you is a new USB mixer I recently acquired by Roland called the Tri-Capture. The Tri-Capture, as the name implies, allows you to mix three different audio sources and currently costs approximately $130.00
First, a bit of advice about the initial installation of the Tri-Capture on the Surface Pro. The Surface Pro is an x86 computer running the latest Windows 8 Professional software. Some device manufacturers are better than others about updating the drivers to work with new operating systems.
Be sure to go to the Roland website first and download the latest drivers for the Tri-Capture that are certified to work on Windows 8. Download the drivers to the Surface Pro and install them FIRST BEFORE you plug in the USB cable of the Tri-Capture mixer into the USB port of the Surface Pro!!! By doing it this way you will save yourself the headache of getting the wrong drivers that will cause problems. I do not think the Tri-Capture will work with Surface RT, another reason I went with Surface Pro since I produce a lot of multimedia content that the current Surface RT cannot handle.
The Tri-Capture mixer is the first USB mixer I have used with the Surface Pro and so far, so good. I wanted a USB mixer with a ¼ inch input because I was looking for a way to play my Electric Guitar and have it recorded into the Mixcraft program running on the Surface Pro. The Tri-Capture does the trick and by using the ¼ inch plug on the back of the mixer that I can plug my Electric Guitar directly into input #2.
Input #1 is a XLR connection that allows me to plug in a XLR Microphone so I can record my singing (have not done this as I do not want to break the Tri-Capture), and input #3 is a pair of RCA jacks that allows you to plug in a MP3 player if you would like mix some background music. The Tri-Capture also has a headphone jack to monitor your mix.
Another benefit of the Tri-Capture is that it is much smaller and more portable than my regular mixer I use to record TechTalk4Teacers with. The downside is that it can only handle one microphone but this portability will allow me to take the Tri-Capture on the road along with a single Shure SM58 microphone and record high-quality audio recordings in the field. A really nice bonus!
So there you have it, all the tricks I have in my Surface Pro bag for how I create high-quality audio and music.
Thank you for reading our blog.
Until next time.
Keep on Learning,
Tom Grissom, Ph.D.
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