Optimize your laptop for recording and mixing. If your laptop has insufficient random access memory (RAM), your computer's processor may have trouble with the demands of recording and mixing. For smooth operation, it pays to upgrade to at least 2GB, although more is preferable, especially if you're recording lots of tracks and using a variety of special effects plug-ins. You should also disable or remove any unnecessary programs that can rob your computer of its valuable resources. In particular, make sure that you disable any automatic updates of your operating system. This could be very disruptive in a recording session and could easily result in lost song data.
Choose your recording software and follow the on-screen instructions to install it on the laptop. Some brands will function on Mac and Windows computers, while others will only work on one platform; choose a compatible program (see link #1 in resources for a comparison). This software will allow you to record audio, process and edit it, and then mix your music tracks to craft a multi-track recording. Full, professional versions of recording software can cost many hundreds of dollars, but basic versions are very inexpensive and cover most simple recording and editing procedures. Some of these are even free downloads.
Pick a digital interface. This is a hardware device that allows you to get your audio signals into the recording software and onto your laptop's hard drive. Pre-amplifiers on each channel amplify low-level signals like those from microphones and electric guitars, allowing them to be heard and recorded via the software. The interface will be connected to the laptop via USB or FireWire and your instrument or microphone cables will plug into the front panel of the interface. If you're recording everything by yourself, a simple two-channel interface will be adequate; for ensemble recording, more channels will be needed, which will drive up the cost.
Open the recording software on the laptop. The display will have buttons that represent functions such as "Record," "Play," "Fast Forward" and "Rewind," just like an analog cassette player. Plug in your headphones using the headphone jack on the interface, and plug your instrument of choice into one of the inputs. Prepare your first track to record by clicking the "Record" button. Listen to the input signal and adjust the volume level and tone before you record it.
Click the "Play" button to begin recording, and when you've finished, use the "Stop," "Rewind" and "Play" buttons to listen to your recording. If you're happy, repeat the process on a second track using a different instrument or musical part that complements the first. This process, known as overdubbing, allows you to continue adding instruments and vocals as you see fit, building a complete song all by yourself.
Use the controls on your recording software to create a stereo mix of your tracks as they all play together. In this mixdown stage, you'll use the volume faders to set the levels of each track so that they blend together in a well-balanced and musical way. You can also tweak the equalization (EQ) controls to fine-tune the tone and sweep the panning (panorama) controls left or right to move each track around the stereo field. This will give your song a wide stereo image and help separate tracks from each other, giving them a little more definition. When the song sounds well-balanced, save it as an audio file and burn a copy onto a blank CD-R using the laptop's CD burner.