What equipment do I need for a City Lit music production course?
Our digital classroom has Apple Macs, with MIDI keyboards, audio interfaces, microphones and headphones. You may prefer to bring your own peripherals (especially headphones), rather than use shared equipment; this is absolutely fine. Once you have visited our Music production courses: overview and the listing of currently available course times and dates, you may still have questions about whether your current equipment is suitable for the course you're interested in, what equipment you need, and how to find it.
For basic information about requirements, please view the descriptions provided for each course. Below is information about platforms, devices, programs and apps currently available. Ensure you have the right equipment before you enrol on your course, and that you can run the necessary software.
This blog will be updated regularly, but software and hardware change often, so if you discover before we do that information here is out of date, do let us know by email music@citylit.ac.uk.
We hope you will be inspired to start – or continue – your creative journey!
Hardware / Peripherals
Periphirals refers to the hardware accessories needed for the Music Production process. You normally plug these into a laptop or desktop to work with your chosen music production software.
In-person Courses
If you're joining us in our London campus here at City Lit, you'll have accces to the equipment in our digital classroom which has:
- Apple Macs,
- MIDI keyboards,
- Audio interfaces,
- Microphones and
- Headphones
Online Courses
If you're learning from home, you will need to source your own hardware.
- MIDI keyboard Extremely useful for all music tech and audio production courses, and highly recommended. 25 or 32 keys are enough for most purposes; these start at c. £30.
For Ableton, Max/MSP or Logic, a model that includes controllers is useful. These are a little more expensive. - Headphones / Earbuds Good quality earbuds can be adequate for some courses, or you may be running your audio output through amp and speakers at home, so don’t need headphones.
- If you need to use headphones regularly, it’s worth investing in over-ear phones, which provide higher quality sound and exclude extraneous noise better. Decent ones start at c.£40.
- Microphone – Internal Most computers have an in-built microphone, which may be adequate for your purposes.
- Microphone – External If you want to record acoustic instruments and/or voices, you will almost certainly want a better quality mic, and one that will enable you to control and reduce extraneous noise. Decent quality mics start at c.£30, or if you want to record vocals or acoustic instruments, you might splash out £70–£100.
Devices can have 3.5mm or 6 mm jacks, USB plugs, or XLR connectors. Check what input sockets your computer has before you buy anything. - Audio interface, Mini Mixing desk You may need one to connect up your equipment. Computers do not usually have 6mm or XLR input sockets, for example. You will also need one if you want to record multiple instruments / voices simultaneously.
Recommended Periphiral Suppliers
Here are some that have a good range, include tech specs on their websites, and offer advice online or by phone. City Lit does not endorse any particular supplier; these are suggestions only. There are also many music shops in and around Denmark St (just off Tottenham Court Rd), or do an internet search for one in your local area.
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- Studio Spares [external website]
- PMT [external website]
- Rose Morris [external website]
- Thomann [external website] (NB supplier is in Germany, so prices vary with exchange rates)
Related: What is music production?
Music Production Software - Digital Audio Workstations (DAW)
Which software? Before deciding, it is worth reading its Wikipedia entry—which includes development history, versions history, user reactions etc.—and checking online reviews and user forums.
Vendors’ websites often have demonstration videos, and there are many similar user-generated videos on Youtube.
Which version? Software often come in different versions. Intro/Basic versions have fewer features but are much cheaper, or even free. They are often fine for starting to learn, and may have enough features for you.
You can upgrade to a higher version later if you want the extra features. Intermediate versions are aimed at home users, and the top versions, with most features, are aimed at professional users.
How much does it cost? Some great software is free (e.g. GarageBand, Audacity), or has a free but very basic version (e.g. Sibelius, ProTools).
Most other software has a free trial period (30/60/90 days). Check that this lasts long enough for your course, and whether any essential features (e.g. saving) are disabled.
You will have to register and create an account, and you can only download it once per email address. The vendor will of course encourage you to upgrade to a paid-for version as you near the end of your free trial.
Educational discounts are often available, even for students on a short course, so check before you buy. You normally just need your receipt of enrolment on a course that requires the software. If the retailer asks for more evidence, email us at music@citylit.ac.uk for assistance.
Can I transfer files between programs / apps?
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) files can be exported from / imported to most programs, so that you can interchange between digital audio and/or music notation programs/apps.
MusicXML format carries much more information than MIDI, and allows you to move files between Sibelius, MuseScore, Finale, Dorico, Logic and Cubase, and many other programs/apps. Further information is available here [external website].
Popular DAWs: descriptions and suppliers
Ableton Live (Mac / Windows) [external website]
Ableton Live’s intuitive and flexible interface can be used for performing with a laptop, songwriting or composing, and is designed to put fun and experimentation into your music making.
Audacity (free – Mac / Windows / Linux) [external website]
Free and very user-friendly audio editing program, open source
Cubase (Mac / Windows) [external website]
Audio creation and editing software, widely used in the industry
GarageBand (free – Mac only)
Accessible audio creation and editing software, widely used in education and amateur home studios
- Mac desktop / laptop [external website]
- iPhone / iPad app [external website]
Logic (Mac only)
Audio creation and editing software, widely used in home studioes and in industry
- Mac desktop / laptop [external website]
- iPad / iPhone: companion app Logic Remote [external website]
Max/MSP (Mac / Windows) [external website]
Flexible software to create interactive media software, with in-depth tools for audio, graphics, interaction, and communication
PreSonus Studio One (Mac / Windows) [external website]
Flexible, user-friendly software you can use to record, produce, mix master, and perform
ProTools (Mac / Windows) [external website]
Sophisticated audio production software, particularly aimed at professional studios
Reaper (Mac / Windows) [external website]
Suitable for student, home and professional use
Virtual Studio Technology (VST): plugins to simulate traditional recording studio hardware in your software
200 Best free plugins
Sibelius (Mac / Windows) [external website]
Sophisticated but uwer-friendly music notation software, originally designed by musicians who were also computer programmers. You can create publishing-quality scores that generate parts, audio files, graphics and PDFs, and formats for interchange with other software.
Sibelius First: basic functions only, suitable for very simple notation. This might be all you need.
Sibelius/Sibelius Ultimate: monthly subscription is required for the latest version.
If you have an earlier version, there is really no need to update as long as you can still run your version
Sibelius files are backwards compatible, i.e. you can export to earlier versions (e.g. from v.8 to v. 5, or from v.7 to First), and you can open a Sibelius file saved in earlier versions, all the way back to Sibelius 2.
Sibelius Sounds: if you want to generate audio files, take the time to instal the Sibelius Sound libraries as they are much better than General MIDI.
Dorico (Mac / Windows) [external website]
Relatively new notation program, designed by the team that originally designed Sibelius. Not as widely used yet, but highly recommended by those who do use it.
