Create a music studio space that is sound-dampening. Create wall, floor and ceiling surfaces that absorb sound rather than reflect sound. Build a room that is separated from the main walls of the house. Provide insulation between the ceiling, floor and walls. Professional sound-dampening materials are available for placement on the inside walls and ceiling of the room.
Add a computer. The quality and flexibility of a home music studio will be greatly enhanced using a computer. Place the computer outside of the sound-controlled area. Fans inside the computer result in noise that is difficult to remove from recordings. A computer with at least a duo processor and 4 GB of RAM is recommended.
Install a computer sequencer on the computer. The sequencer will allow recording of digital sounds and midi data on a timeline. Once the data is recorded, changes can easily be made to the recording avoiding time-wasting re-recordings. Popular sequencer programs include Cubase, Sonar, Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Digital Performer and Cakewalk.
Add an audio interface. Connect the audio interface to the computer with either a USB cable or FireWire cable, depending on the model. The audio interface connects to the computer to convert analog sounds to digital data. Analog sources of audio include guitars and microphones.
Add a MIDI keyboard controller. A MIDI keyboard controls the MIDI note for compatible software such as a synthesizer. The sequencer program will have basic synthesizer sounds built-in such as pianos, organs, electronic synths, drums and other instruments to allow plenty of options for sound recordings. Add-on software can be purchased to add virtual instruments or new digital instruments and sounds to recordings. Connect the MIDI keyboard to the computer using either a USB cable or to the audio interface using a MIDI cable.
Connect a large condenser microphone to the audio interface. The microphone allows vocals or analog instruments recordings through the computer sequencer program. Connect the microphone to the audio interface using a microphone cable. There are good mid-level large condenser microphones available for very reasonable cost such as Studio Project, M-Audio, Behringer and Audio Technica.