This is a guest post that goes over 1 popular FREE tool to record lyrics and 1 popular paid tool.
Ableton
Retail Cost: $999 (Intro Version)
Ableton is a high-quality piece of software that will have you creating music in no time at all, which is why people lean towards it so often. When you have a DAW (or audio recording program) that's going to allow your music making process to flow easily, it's going to be a blessing in every single sense of the word. Ableton does a great job of providing people with the right tools to produce and mix as they please. It's for the mid-level rapper who's also interested in mixing/mastering his very own tracks as well. It's a known fact that mastering can be about 40 to 50 percent of an entire song – which is why you need the right software to do it. Without the right pieces to the puzzle, there's no real way that you're going to find success in the rap industry. Tons of us want to be rappers, but who is going to go that extra mile?
Mixing and mastering isn't always the easiest process to be taking part in, but it's something that needs to happen almost every single time. Trust me, Ableton does an amazing job of providing rappers out there with all of the tools needed in order to succeed. Without Ableton, there are a lot of artists out there that would simply be struggling (to say the least). I've always had an itch to scratch when it comes to making music, and I've been using Ableton for a good three or four years now. There are multiple varieties of the software, so it's pretty much just picking one that you like.
Audacity
Retail Cost: Free! ($0)
Editing your audio with Audacity is not only easy to manage, but it's completely free! There's an option to donate towards the developers future projects if that's something you feel like doing – it isn't a requirement, though. It isn't supposed to just be free in price, they're trying to give musicians the freedom to create their music – no exceptions. If you're a rapper on a budget, this is probably the best piece of software you could consider using. It's a known fact that most rappers don't come from money when everything is starting up, so this just might be your ticket to the big leagues.
It's open source software, and will allow you cut and mix sounds together at will. You can convert tapes and recordings into digital files, as well as just record live audio in general. There are plenty of effects to use on your vocals and back beats, which calls for one of the most innovative free pieces of software we've ever seen. You could easily go about comparing this program to any of the paid ones around, and you'll notice that Audacity still packs a pretty large punch. Making music isn't exactly easy, but its software like this one that has people constantly pushing the envelope.
