In my case, I played the songs directly from my PSR-3000 into the PC and recorded the keyboard only. Then, I recorded the vocals on a separate stereo track. I didn't need to do much in the way of editing, but the ability to edit the vocals is there, which for some is a great asset. You cannot do this with a simple, two-track recording system unless everything is perfectly balanced--something that in most instances is quite rare. The beauty of recording in this manner is the ability to not only edit the vocals, but additionally, the ability to just delete the vocal track and do it again if necessary. This is NOT rocket science and DOES NOT require sophisticated software or a high-powered PC.

You can record the song(s) as midi sequence files, edit them either on the keyboard or using PC software, then play they into the PC and record them as audio files. Again, the next step is to record your vocals, which can be fired through the keyboard's vocal processor, or fired through an inexpensive mixer with effects. When the finished product sounds the way you want, save it, then listen to it in your car while driving to work. If it still sounds good, compile the songs on a CD, print a high quality label, and send them out to prospective clients.

Make sure you have your phone number, website, email address, etc on the CD lable so the person listening to the CD knows how to get in touch with you--THIS IS IMPORTANT!

Also, when you record the songs, do full length recordings--NOT snippets of songs that fade from one 10-second segment to another. You would be amazed at how often that CD will be played in someone's car, then passed on to another person that does the hiring for musical entertainment. They want hear the entire song--not just a small sample. At least that has been my experience over the past couple decades.

I'm in the process of making a new CD for sending out to current clients. At this point I really don't need new clients. Sending a new CD to my current clients is just a gesture that keeps me at the top of their performers list.

Good Luck,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy