Home Recording: Mix, Release, Promote

This capstone unit brings together advanced home‑recording techniques, finishing processes, and business-ready release workflows. Students learn instrument‑specific mic placement and signal processing, reliable data management and backups, and practical strategies for licensing, distribution, and promotion to prepare audio projects for public release.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze microphone types, accessories, and placement strategies for piano, strings, drums, percussion, and horn instruments and justify recommended setups for specific sonic goals
• Apply signal‑processing techniques including compression, side‑chaining, tape saturation, amp simulation, doubling/overdubbing, and intentional distortion to create two polished mixes that demonstrate control of levels and musical emotion
• Demonstrate professional project workflow by saving and backing up sessions, transferring MIDI and audio data, preparing masters and metadata for digital and physical distribution, and documenting licensing information
• Evaluate monetization and promotion options (digital stores, streaming, CD sales, licensing, newsletters, and free downloads) and develop a basic release plan with promotional assets and an email newsletter strategy