Wiley Windows XP Digital Music For Dummies Nov 2004 ISBN 0764575996 pdf

  

by Ryan Williams

Windows

  ®

  XP

Digital Music

  

FOR

DUMmIES

  ‰

  

by Ryan Williams

Windows

  ®

  XP

Digital Music

  

FOR

DUMmIES

  ‰

  ® ® Windows

  XP Digital Music For Dummies Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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  About the Author Ryan Williams is the Digital Multimedia Development Specialist for the

  Indiana University School of Dentistry. He graduated from the Indiana University School of Music with a master’s degree in music technology, along with a bachelor’s degree in communications from DePauw University. In addi- tion, he writes for indianapolismusic.net, a Web site focused on the musi- cal happenings in and around the greater Indianapolis metropolitan area.

  As a bassist, Ryan has played in most known genres of music and some addi- tional ones that seemed invented on the spot. While he was named “Best Bassist In Indianapolis” by shotgunreviews.com in 2002, he will happily provide you with the names of several local musicians who both inspire and embarrass him on a regular basis. He currently shares stages and studios with the members of Mother Grove, a Celtic rock band featured in shows and festivals from Ohio to Colorado.

  Author’s Acknowledgments

  This book would not have been possible without the tireless dedication of Steve Hayes, Colleen Totz, John Edwards, and Erik Scull. Their efforts, advice, and encouragement were essential to this project.

  My sincere thanks go to Matt Fecher and everyone at indianapolismusic. net , Doug Babb and the Indiana University School of Music, and John Gosney, Nadine Florek, Brian Lich, and the Indiana University School of Dentistry.

  During my time in Indianapolis, I’ve been lucky to receive the patience and support of people like Candice Jackson, Matt Chandler, and all the musicians I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the stage with in the last few years. You all have introduced me to new possibilities and views, and I’m a better person for it. And finally, I’ve been blessed with the support and love of my wonderful Jennifer. Here’s to future adventures.

  Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form

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  Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

  Project Editor: Colleen Totz Senior Acquisitions Editor: Steve Hayes Copy Editor: John Edwards Technical Editor: Erik Scull Editorial Manager: Carol Sheehan Media Development Manager:

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  Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director

  Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

  Contents at a Glance

Introduction ................................................................1

  

Part I: Playing Music on Windows XP ...........................7

Chapter 1: Are You XPerienced? ......................................................................................9 Chapter 2: Wiring Your Computer for Sound ...............................................................25 Chapter 3: Basic Operations ..........................................................................................45 Chapter 4: Windows XP Media Center Edition ............................................................57 Part II: Making Windows XP Your Digital Jukebox .......65 Chapter 5: Stalking the Wild Jukebox Software ...........................................................67 Chapter 6: Ripping Music Files from CDs, DVDs, and More .......................................89 Chapter 7: Buying Songs at the 99-Cent Store ...........................................................105 Chapter 8: Radio Station WNXP ...................................................................................127 Part III: Goin’ Mobile: Taking Your Songs

on the Road .............................................................139

  Chapter 9: Choosing an Okay Player ..........................................................................141 Chapter 10: Feed Me, Seymour! Transferring Songs to Your Portable Audio Player ..................................................................................159

  

Part IV: Quiet in the Studio ......................................169

Chapter 11: Building Your Studio ................................................................................171 Chapter 12: Laying Down a Few Tracks ......................................................................189 Chapter 13: Recording, Looping, and Editing ............................................................205 Chapter 14: Mixing the Music ......................................................................................225 Chapter 15: Finishing Up Your Song ............................................................................233 Part V: The Part of Tens ...........................................237 Chapter 16: Ten Valuable Ways to Tune-Up Your Digital Music ..............................239 Chapter 17: Ten Legal Download Sites .......................................................................245 Chapter 18: Ten Download-Friendly Artists ...............................................................249 Chapter 19: Ten Songs You’ll Never Want to Download ...........................................253 Chapter 20: Ten Digital Music Toys for the Truly Geeky ..........................................257 Chapter 21: Ten non–Windows XP Sources for Digital Music ..................................261 Chapter 22: Ten Other Ways You Can Use Windows XP for Music .........................265

  

Appendix A: Glossary ...............................................269

Appendix B: Cutting the Wires to Your Music .............275

Index .......................................................................279

  Table of Contents

Introduction .................................................................1

  About This Book ..............................................................................................1 Conventions Used in This Book ....................................................................2 What You Don’t Have to Read .......................................................................2 Foolish Assumptions ......................................................................................3 How This Book Is Organized ..........................................................................3

  Part I: Playing Music on Windows XP .................................................3 Part II: Making Windows XP Your Digital Jukebox ............................4 Part III: Goin’ Mobile: Taking Your Songs on the Road .....................4 Part IV: Quiet in the Studio ...................................................................4 Part V: The Part of Tens ........................................................................5 Icons Used in This Book .................................................................................5 Where to Go from Here ...................................................................................5

Part I: Playing Music on Windows XP ............................7

Chapter 1: Are You XPerienced? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 The Whats and Whys of Digital Sound .........................................................9 The benefits of digital sound .............................................................10 The tradeoff of better sound (and what you can do to counteract it) ...............................................................................11 Fascinating File Formats ...............................................................................12

  WAV .......................................................................................................12 MP3 ........................................................................................................12 WMA ......................................................................................................13 AAC ........................................................................................................13 Real ........................................................................................................14 MIDI .......................................................................................................15

  Just the Facts .................................................................................................15 Storing and Moving the Goods ....................................................................15 The Nuts and Bolts of Hardware .................................................................17

  Processors and memory .....................................................................17 Sound cards ..........................................................................................17 Speakers ...............................................................................................18 Portable audio players .......................................................................18

  The Softer Side of Audio ...............................................................................18 Media players .......................................................................................19 Download programs ............................................................................19 Editing programs .................................................................................19

  Windows XP Digital Music For Dummies

  Law and Order: MP3 .....................................................................................19 Peer-to-peer file sharing .....................................................................20 Legal setbacks ......................................................................................20 Other drawbacks of P2P .....................................................................21 Copying and burning files ..................................................................22

  Chapter 2: Wiring Your Computer for Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Getting the Right Computer .........................................................................25 Processing . . . processing . . . ............................................................26 RAMming it through ............................................................................29 Wanna go for a drive? ..........................................................................30 Heading to the Hardware Store ...................................................................31 Sounding off .........................................................................................31 Same disc, different box .....................................................................36 Seeing the light ....................................................................................37 Speakers of the house .........................................................................37 Seeing the light ....................................................................................38 Making the Connections ...............................................................................39 Dealing a new hand of cards ..............................................................39 FireWire and USB .................................................................................41 Speak, Spot! ..........................................................................................42 Expanded features ...............................................................................42 Networking ...........................................................................................44 Chapter 3: Basic Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Getting Sound Out of Windows XP ..............................................................45 Finding the Controls .....................................................................................46 Types of Usable Media .................................................................................55 Chapter 4: Windows XP Media Center Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 What Is Windows XP MCE? ..........................................................................57 The similarities ....................................................................................58 The differences ....................................................................................58 My Music ..............................................................................................58 My Radio ...............................................................................................62 Getting What You Want .................................................................................62 Hard drive .............................................................................................62 Memory .................................................................................................63 Processor ..............................................................................................63 Part II: Making Windows XP Your Digital Jukebox ........65 Chapter 5: Stalking the Wild Jukebox Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 Something in Common .................................................................................67 Playback ...............................................................................................68 Organization .........................................................................................69

  Table of Contents

  Playlists .................................................................................................70 Ripping ..................................................................................................70 Burning .................................................................................................71 Visualizations .......................................................................................71 Player appearance ...............................................................................71 Other features ......................................................................................72

  Playing Your Files ..........................................................................................72 Getting Organized .........................................................................................74

  Hitting the library ................................................................................74 Labeling your music ............................................................................76 Other organizational commands .......................................................77

  Writing Your Playlist .....................................................................................78 Feel the Burn ..................................................................................................81 Ripping Your Files .........................................................................................83 Visualize the Music .......................................................................................85 Skinning the Player .......................................................................................86 Other Features ...............................................................................................86 Players on the Field ......................................................................................87 iTunes ...................................................................................................87

  Winamp .................................................................................................88 Real Player ............................................................................................88 Musicmatch ..........................................................................................88

  Chapter 6: Ripping Music Files from CDs, DVDs, and More . . . . . . . .89 What Can I Make, and Where Can I Use It? ................................................89 Music CDs .............................................................................................90 Data CDs ...............................................................................................90 Keeping It In-House .......................................................................................90 Bigger and Better Tools ................................................................................91 Ripping ..................................................................................................91 Burning .................................................................................................92 Recording .............................................................................................92 CD labeling ...........................................................................................92 That’s what you get .............................................................................93 Analog to Digital ............................................................................................93 Making the connection .......................................................................93 Checking the line .................................................................................96 Leveling it out ......................................................................................97 Cleaning up .........................................................................................100 Apples and Oranges ....................................................................................103 Chapter 7: Buying Songs at the 99-Cent Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105 Choosing the Best Virtual Record Store ...................................................105 File format ..........................................................................................106 File protection ....................................................................................107 Selection .............................................................................................107 Software ..............................................................................................108 Price ....................................................................................................108

  Windows XP Digital Music For Dummies

  Shop ’til You Bop .........................................................................................109 Signing your name on the dotted line .............................................114

  Checking Out the Selection ........................................................................117 The search engine .............................................................................117 Listings ................................................................................................117 Radio ...................................................................................................117 What do I do with it? .........................................................................120 Free samples ......................................................................................123 Why would bands give it away for free? .........................................124

  Chapter 8: Radio Station WNXP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127 Gently Down the Stream .............................................................................127 Running it through the pipeline .......................................................128 The station’s format ..........................................................................129 Tuning in your software ....................................................................129 But Wait, There’s More! ..............................................................................131 Turn Up the Radio .......................................................................................131 One-Stop Radio Shopping ..........................................................................132 Live365 ................................................................................................133 Radio@Netscape ................................................................................134 Shoutcast ............................................................................................134 Yahoo Launchcast .............................................................................134 Making Your Own Internet Radio Station .................................................134 Getting started ...................................................................................135 Programming ......................................................................................136 Part III: Goin’ Mobile: Taking Your Songs on the Road .............................................................139

  Chapter 9: Choosing an Okay Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141 One, Two, Three Types of Players ............................................................142 Hard drive players .............................................................................142 Flash media players ..........................................................................144 MP3 CD Players ..................................................................................146 A Three-Album Tour ...................................................................................148 Playing your song ..............................................................................148 Changing your settings .....................................................................149 The Lineup of Players .................................................................................150 Hard drive players .............................................................................151 Flash players ......................................................................................153 MP3 CD players ..................................................................................154 Common Pitfalls and Problems .................................................................155 Starting off on the right foot ............................................................155 My controls aren’t working! .............................................................155 My player doesn’t turn on! ...............................................................155 My computer doesn’t recognize my player! ..................................156

  Table of Contents

  Looking for Music in All the Weird Places ...............................................157 Personal digital assistants (PDAs) ..................................................157 Cellular phones ..................................................................................157 Gaming devices ..................................................................................158

  Chapter 10: Feed Me, Seymour! Transferring Songs to Your Portable Audio Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159 Hooking Up Your Portable Player .............................................................159 Plugging it in ......................................................................................160 USB ......................................................................................................161 FireWire ...............................................................................................162 Transferring Files to Your Portable Audio Player ...................................162 USB connections ................................................................................163 FireWire connections ........................................................................165 Legal Concerns ............................................................................................167 Part IV: Quiet in the Studio .......................................169 Chapter 11: Building Your Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171 Putting Your Studio in the Box ..................................................................171 The processor ....................................................................................172 Memory ...............................................................................................173 The hard drive ...................................................................................175 Dealing the Sound Cards ............................................................................178 Multitracking ......................................................................................178 Internal versus external sound cards .............................................179 The inputs ..........................................................................................180 Before the inputs — the preamp .....................................................181 Bits and Hertz ..............................................................................................182 Setting the Wavetable .................................................................................183 Stuck in the MIDI with You .........................................................................184 MIDI basics .........................................................................................184 Sequencing MIDI ................................................................................186 Oh, THAT Kind of Keyboard ......................................................................187 MIDI controller ...................................................................................187 Synthesizer .........................................................................................187 Drum machines ..................................................................................187 Other input alternatives ...................................................................188 Chapter 12: Laying Down a Few Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189 Common Features and Functions .............................................................189 Multitrack Capability ........................................................................190 Audio recording .................................................................................190 Sound editing .....................................................................................191

  Windows XP Digital Music For Dummies

  MIDI recording ...................................................................................192 Looping ...............................................................................................193 User interface .....................................................................................193 Control surfaces ................................................................................194 Plug-ins ...............................................................................................196 Mixing ..................................................................................................196 Exporting ............................................................................................196 Mastering ............................................................................................197 Burning ...............................................................................................197

  What Do You Want to Do? ..........................................................................197 Just beginning ....................................................................................197 Intermediate/project studio .............................................................198 Professional ........................................................................................198 Loop-based recording .......................................................................199

  Soft Synths ...................................................................................................199 Hooking It All Up .........................................................................................200

  Is everybody here? ............................................................................201 Reducing latency ...............................................................................202 Where have all the files gone? .........................................................203 Removing what you don’t need .......................................................203

  A Comparison ..............................................................................................204

  Chapter 13: Recording, Looping, and Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205 Setting Up Your Project ..............................................................................205 Where’s It Coming From? ...........................................................................206 Leveling It Out .............................................................................................207 Basic Sound Levels .....................................................................................209 Basic Sound Effects .....................................................................................211 This one goes up to 11 ......................................................................211 Did you record this in a cave? .........................................................212 There will be a slight delay . . . ........................................................212 Join the chorus . . . ............................................................................212 All things being equal . . . .................................................................213 What are my limits? ...........................................................................213 The rest of the show .........................................................................213 Using Effects ................................................................................................213 The Click Track ............................................................................................215 Clicking the Record Button ........................................................................216 Layer Upon Layer ........................................................................................217 Repeating Yourself ......................................................................................218 Keeping a steady beat .......................................................................219 What key was that in? .......................................................................220 Repetition ...........................................................................................221 Uh, I Made a Mistake . . . .............................................................................222 Undo ....................................................................................................222 Selective undo ....................................................................................223 Re-recording .................................................................................................224

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 14: Mixing the Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225 Processing . . . Processing . . . ....................................................................225 Finding your place .............................................................................226 Rendering tracks ...............................................................................229 You Can’t Have Two Masters .....................................................................231 No, not a cold compress . . . .............................................................231 Demanding equality ..........................................................................231 Making the cuts .................................................................................232 You’re fading in and out ....................................................................232 Chapter 15: Finishing Up Your Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233 Online Distribution of Files ........................................................................233 Burning Down the Tracks ...........................................................................235 Part V: The Part of Tens ............................................237 Chapter 16: Ten Valuable Ways to Tune-Up Your Digital Music . . .239 Keeping Only What You Need ....................................................................239 Keeping Your Looks Simple .......................................................................240 Defragmenting Your Hard Drive ................................................................240 Using the Disc Cleanup Utility ...................................................................240 Using Only the Media Players You Need ..................................................241 Playing Your Files with One Player ...........................................................241 Keeping Your System Free of Viruses and Spyware ................................242 Keeping Your Files Organized ....................................................................242 Emptying Your Trash ..................................................................................243 Burning Off Your Files .................................................................................243 Chapter 17: Ten Legal Download Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245

  iPod Lounge .................................................................................................245 Hit Squad ......................................................................................................246 Winamp .........................................................................................................246 Source Forge ................................................................................................246 Download.com .............................................................................................246 Version Tracker ...........................................................................................247 ZDNet Downloads ........................................................................................247 Analog X .......................................................................................................247 Vorbis ............................................................................................................247 Archive.org ...................................................................................................248

  Chapter 18: Ten Download-Friendly Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249 The Roots .....................................................................................................249 Charlie Hunter .............................................................................................250 Smashing Pumpkins ....................................................................................250 The Offspring ...............................................................................................250

  Windows XP Digital Music For Dummies

  Steve Coleman .............................................................................................250 Chuck D. and Public Enemy .......................................................................251 Country Joe ..................................................................................................251 The Grateful Dead .......................................................................................251 Phish .............................................................................................................251 Wilco .............................................................................................................252

  Chapter 19: Ten Songs You’ll Never Want to Download . . . . . . . . . .253 Achy Breaky Heart ......................................................................................253 Winchester Cathedral .................................................................................254 How Much Is That Doggy in the Window? ...............................................254 I’m Too Sexy .................................................................................................254 Muskrat Love ...............................................................................................254 Girl You Know It’s True ...............................................................................255 My Heart Will Go On ...................................................................................255 She Bangs .....................................................................................................255 Ice Ice Baby ..................................................................................................255 Too Shy .........................................................................................................256 Chapter 20: Ten Digital Music Toys for the Truly Geeky . . . . . . . . . .257 The BMW ......................................................................................................257 SliMP3 ...........................................................................................................258 LT Laser Turntable ......................................................................................258 Philips MCi250 Wireless Broadband Internet Micro HiFi System .........258 Belkin iPod Backup Battery .......................................................................258 Laks Memory Music Watch ........................................................................259 C. Crane FM Transmitter ............................................................................259 Groove Bag Tote Speaker Purse for iPod .................................................259 Sonic Boom Bag ...........................................................................................259 PlusDeck 2 ....................................................................................................260 Chapter 21: Ten non–Windows XP Sources for Digital Music . . . . .261 Concerts .......................................................................................................261 Conferences .................................................................................................262 DVDs .............................................................................................................262 Video Games ................................................................................................262 Giveaways ....................................................................................................262 Used CD Stores ............................................................................................262 Promotional Offers ......................................................................................263 Satellite Radio ..............................................................................................263 Digital Cable .................................................................................................263

  “Bonus” Tracks ............................................................................................263

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 22: Ten Other Ways You Can Use Windows XP for Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265 Using Google ................................................................................................265 Organizing Your Catalog .............................................................................266 Supporting Independent Artists ................................................................266 Ordering Music ............................................................................................266 Researching Artists .....................................................................................266 Ordering Concert Tickets ...........................................................................266 Customizing Your Sounds ..........................................................................267 Creating Sheet Music ..................................................................................267 Talking to Artists .........................................................................................268 Discussing Music with Fans .......................................................................268 Appendix A: Glossary ................................................269 Appendix B: Cutting the Wires to Your Music .............275 Putting Up Your Antenna ............................................................................275 Network name ....................................................................................276 Configuration password ...................................................................276

  802.11b or g? ......................................................................................276 Getting It All Working ..................................................................................276

  Index........................................................................279

  Windows XP Digital Music For Dummies

  

Introduction