There are a whole host of hardware equipment that can be used in conjunction with your computer to create music. Lets take a look at what equipment to use when starting out producing music.
Once you have selected your music production DAW you can actually produce a track without any additional piece of equipment. Your mouse and typing keyboard are capable of controlling your software in order to perform tasks such as laying down notes, programing drum patterns and adding effects and other tweaks to your song.
With that being said, your life can be made easier by using addition external hardware, referred to as control surfaces, that will make the process of music production more fun and less tedious. A control surface takes physical actions and send instructions to your computer to perform a given task within your software, such as playing on a keyboard or moving a fader.
Here are some of the pieces of equipment that can be useful in music production:
MIDI Keyboards
A midi keyboard is by far one of the most flexible control surfaces in my opinion. It is able to play standard piano notes and chords, as well as play back drums and trigger samples using its standard keys.
Some midi keyboards comes with additional control options such as knobs, faders, buttons, and drum pads. They come in all manor of shapes and sizes. I made that one of my first investments.
Audio Interface
This important piece of kit is like having an upgraded sound card for your computer. It gives you professional input and output option for connecting professional studio mics, guitars and other instruments. This can be hooked up to your studio speakers and headphones to monitor your playback at the highest quality.
Monitor Speakers and Monitor Headphones
Having studio grade speakers and headphones are essential for mixing and getting a true representation of what your music actually sounds like. They are tuned to do this by not colouring or enhancing the sounds unlike their consumer grade counterparts
In conclusion, there are many other control surfaces that suits different workflows. Once you have the essentials you can always see what’s on the market that suits your style and what’s fun for you to use. Some DAWs have control surfaces that work best with them. I would suggest visiting a local music store that allows you to demo these hardware devices and see what works for you.
-An article by Marlon McPherson, Media Producer.
Here are some of my recommendations for music production gear for beginners :
See article on DAW software here: