This is a song recorded by the open-source creative commons band Lorenzo's Music using only open-source tools and software.
We decided to create an experimental recording method using GitHub for music to record remotely. We do this with the recording software Ardour and the Ubuntu Studio OS. This is another song from that experiment.
Since Ardour is all controlled by a main code file and distributes the information and audio tracks to folders from that main file we realized that our recording sessions could be version controlled with GitHub.
The band is able to share our recording sessions and create branches for the full Ardour sessions -- with audio and all!
You can read more about how we use GitHub to collaborate on music on our website https://www.lorenzosmusic.com/2024/01/github-for-music-how-we-record-remotely.html
Here is the final recording from this song on YouTube
You can also download the finished song Rainy day friction from our website https://www.lorenzosmusic.com/2024/03/rainy-day-friction-by-lorenzos-music.html
We use the free and open source Linux based operating system for musicians Ubuntu Studio. The Ubuntu studio OS has programs and plug-ins for musicians preinstalled and ready to use.
Tom Ray of Lorenzo's Music explains How the band uses Ubuntu Studio on the Ubuntu YouTube Channel Using Ubuntu Studio, Ardour, and GitHub for music collaboration
Important! You will need to clone this repository locally to use it. Downloading the zip file will NOT work.
Once you've cloned the session click the main Ardour file to open the session and you can start editing :)
Note: Ardour has updated to a new version since we recorded this session, so if you get a message that says "creating a backup do you want to continue?" (or something to that effect) that's perfectly normal. Just click "ok" and the session will open.
The song is recorded with Ardour an open-source digital audio workstation.
Most of the effects used come from the open-source audio effects software projects Calf Studio Gear, LSP (Linux Studio Plugins) or Guitarix virtual guitar amplifier plugins and other effects included with the Ubuntu Studio operating system.
- Ardour DAW https://ardour.org Recording Software that is used for these sessions so you will need to install this!
- Git LFS https://git-lfs.github.com. This needs to be installed to access the large .wav files of the recording on Github or else there won't be any music to hear in the recording :)
"What if I don't use Ubuntu Studio?"
It is possible to just run Ardour on whatever operating system you use to use this repository but it will have limitations. On a different operating system you will be able to listen and edit the session but it will sound different because effects and plugins built into Ubuntu Studio will be missing.
If you would like to try and install the effects - here are some of the main ones used.
Effects
These should be installed to recreate the actual version of the song we made, but the recording is still able to work without them, it will just sound different without these effects.
- Calf Plugins Effects. https://calf-studio-gear.org. These are the EQ and compression effects. These are only available for Linux operating systems but some of them come pre-installed in Ardour. If you can't install them the songs will still play the original files without these efects.
- Guitarix The guitar pedal effects used on the tracks. Sadly these are only available for Linux. You can still play the files without them if you are on another operating system you will just hear the un altered sounds. - https://guitarix.org
- LSP Plugin Effects https://lsp-plug.in/ We also use EQ and compression effects from the LSP Project.
The only thing you you need to install is Git LFS https://git-lfs.github.com to download the large .wav files from the GitHub repository.
If you create anything from this song, remix it or build anything from it let us know! We would love to hear it!
You can message us on Twitter @lorenzosmusic or email us from the contact section on our website here at lorenzosmusic.com
Rainy day friction by Lorenzo's Music is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
