Before hitting "record" in your DAW, you'll want to make sure you have audio routing configured. Sometimes, this is automatically set - some DAWs and/or interfaces make for a plug-and-play experience. Regardless of whether things were automatically configured or not, it's good to check these settings to ensure they are configured correctly.

Common Elements

Most popular music sticks to the typical 4/4 time signature (pronounced "four-four"). This means each bar/measure will have 4 beats/pulses. Most popular music heard today is in 4/4. There might be situations where another signature is required. Here are a few examples:

There are two common ways to record electric guitar: placing a mic in front of a guitar amp and direct injection (DI). Each have pros and cons. Here are a few points to consider:

Mic an Amp

DI

If you can't decide what is best for you, you can do both at the same time. Using a dedicated DI box makes it possible to record the guitar DI while also capturing the sound of the amp. DI boxes are configured so you take a single input (guitar) and send out 2 outputs (1 to the amp and 1 to an interface or mixing console). This requires twice as much space on the computer because you are recording 2 inputs with this setup, but the potential benefits are worth it. If you want to change something later, or even send the recording back into an amp at a later time, you can do that with this arrangement. 

There aren't as many videos dealing with recording guitar DI. Part of that is due to the fact that most guitarists prefer recording with an amp (it really is more fun). Another reason is because after recording guitar DI, you often apply signal processing - and that's something we'll explore in later modules. 

Recording electric bass DI is far more common and actually sounds great without a lot of effort. It's also very useful and practical in live performance settings. Some player and engineers do record a bass amp along with DI, but this is when they have a particular sound in mind. DI bass sounds good most of the time and often gives a cleaner result compared to a bass amp.

These videos from Reverb.com shows a variety of recording techniques including some that aren't DI. They also demonstrate combining DI and amp signals for recording (this was mentioned earlier). They both come off a little more like a sales pitches - go figure, Reverb.com is a website for purchasing music equipment.

There are two common styles of pianos: Grand Pianos and Upright Pianos. Grand pianos are more expensive and typically found in studios and performance halls, while upright pianos are typically more affordable and common in smaller venues and in the average home.  When recording, you'll want to try a compare a few placements to see what works best. 

In the following videos, a variety of strategies will be displayed (similar to what you saw for the acoustic guitar demos). Take note of the setups you find sound best. I also recommend that you add notes about what genre or style was performed along with these setups - some genres sound better with a specific setup.

A word of caution: brass instruments are some of the loudest acoustic instruments and they primarily direct sound and air in a single direction. When placing a microphone directly in front of the sound hole of a brass instrument, make sure the mic can handle the air pressure intensity. If it can't or you're not sure, try backing away a little or move the mic off-axis, but pointed at the same spot.

Keep in mind that these techniques will work for both ensembles/bands as well as individuals playing multiple parts.

A came across an older article that shared some tips and hints going into the overdubbing process for better results:

Trim

This is for trimming off ends of an audio recording. Sometimes you end up with a long amount of silence at the end (this is common for home producers because you may need time to reach for the stop button if you were performing). This tool works on the start/end of a file only. The image below shows trimming in Logic Pro X.

This is the opposite, or maybe companion, to the Trim tool. Cut or splice is done anywhere other than at the start/end of a file. You may want to remove a part that was wrong or remove silences between sound. This can also be useful when you want to duplicate a part or move a section somewhere else. Cutting/Splicing can make the selection easier to manage. The image below shows a spliced audio region in Logic Pro X.

 

The mixing process mainly consists of balancing audio levels, choosing panning settings, and signal processing with EQ and compression. The following video has a nice introduction to the mixing process.

 

In mastering, the bulk of the music work is done in the earlier phases (recording, editing, mixing, etc.), so what's left is the small details. Mastering engineers would make huge changes to the music. Instead, they will make a series of smaller adjustments to enhance the music. This usually results in more clarity and an overall professional sound.

Mastering take lot's of experience and practice, but there are still a number of typical techniques and procedures that happen every time. The biggest elements are: EQ, Compression, and Limiting. That's roughly the same sequence of effects you would see on the main output channel (aka: master bus, stereo out, main out, or other final stage reference.) We've already talked about EQ and Compression during the mixing module, and those would be used in a similar way. Limiting is the only one we haven't formally covered.

Sounds simple enough and for the most part, it is. However, if you're not careful, you can compress the audio output to the point where it's noticeably terrible. Here's a good video with animations showing how a limiter works