Make music with your computer

Let's make beautiful music together. You, your computer and your musical sense are a match made in heaven. Soon you'll be recording your band, collaborating with musicians across the globe or making soundtracks for your YouTube videos.

On the Record
When it comes to getting music out of the air and into your computer, a few simple tools will get you going. A microphone and recording software are the basics if you want to lay down a track or two of your voice, guitar or other instrument. The built-in microphone input on your computer can do a decent job, or you can upgrade to a fancier audio card or a USB audio interface device.

Audacity is a free open source audio program that can handle your basic recording, editing, effects, importing and exporting needs. When you're on a budget and just starting out, Audacity fits the bill. For more advanced needs, Digidesign's Pro Tools is available for Mac and PC and is the weapon of choice for multitrack recording in many home studios. Two other high-level recording programs are Ableton Live and the Mac-only Logic Studio.

Sharpen Your Skills
Have you always wanted to learn bass? Maybe you're intrigued by the bongos or have a hankering for harmonica. You can glean a lot of music learning by looking around online. Free how-to video site Expert Village has a whole section dedicated to music where you can learn everything from the basics of the sitar to country guitar to building and playing your own theremin. YouTube can be another resource if you don't mind doing a little digging through the search results.

Get ready to exercise your cover band muscles with the paid videos at iVideosongs. This site gets into the nitty gritty on how to play songs on guitar ranging from Beatles hits to Eric Clapton numbers. It's acoustic guitar oriented, but there are also lessons for drums, banjo and electric guitar. Riffeo is a community of musicians who share videos featuring how-to lessons and backing tracks that other musicians can jam along with. You can contribute your own creations or just flex your improv skills.

Share That Funky Music
You don't have to leave the web to make, share, mix and remix music. These sites give you the tools and connections--all you have to do is supply the talent.

• DigitalMusician is an international gathering place for musicians and producers who want to collaborate on music projects. One cool feature is the online multitrack recorder that helps site members share recording projects and put new tracks down on each other's tunes.
• GarageBand is a place to upload your songs to gather user reviews, enter contests and try to climb up the GarageBand charts. Use it to attract new fans to your music.
• Indaba combines community and an in-browser mixing console to create a site where musicians can network and collaborate on projects. Join a virtual band, compete in remixing contests and check out profiles of other musicians around the world.
• JamStudio: There are heaps of music web sites with “jam” in the name. eJamming, Jamglue and JamNow are just a few of them. JamStudio is a fun web program that lets you make music immediately even if you flunked out of band class. You set a few parameters, choose some instruments and play your song though your browser.
• Splice: The advanced online sequencer is Splice's big highlight. It lets you mush, mash, edit, mix and share beats and songs. It's easy for both newbies and advanced users to get into.