my response - Re: not sure where to ask this question, about the audio, production possibilities...

[G L Romeu]

I am on digest, thought the traffic would be a bit heavier, so i 
combined 3 VERY THANKFUL responses.  I think i will undo digest...

> Hi:  See if you can load Audacity and have it work to record and play
> back from an external microphone.  Have them record a song and play it
> back.  That gives you the lowest cost starting point.  There are good
> tutorials for Audacity to get you started.  In April, the next release
> is supposed to have LiVES (linux video editor) easily install.  Video
> cameras should be available from your nearest public access studio.
> They also are a good resource for recording and editing television
> shows.  Much applause for your work.
> Tom

Tom, that is an interesting suggestion, and oddly enough, i have had 
fairly extensive experience with Audacity transferring a portion of my 
extensive vinyl collection to cd.  This is an excellent approach to get 
my computer literacy students to see an additional aspect of computer 
use that they probably have not thought about.
However, the band is quite sophisticated, and I gave the keyboardist a 
quick look at the Ubuntu studio offerings today.  He was quite taken 
aback, and already started plotting implementation.  He knew of the 
potential capabilities looking at the mouseover description of many of 
the devices, but there will be a learning curve.  I hope to both 
collaborate and document the process (life is an art project it seems, 
for me anyway).

>
> Here's the way I use UbuntuStudio, and I guess everyone is using it in a
> different way
>
> 1. Jack (audio server) is at the heart of an audio system - it lets you
> route all audio and midi signals:
.......
> here's a good Ubuntu Studio link to get you into the things in a more
> technical/detailed way.
> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuStudio
>
> I hope this helps.
>
> Viktor Mastoridis

Viktor, this is excellent direction, gives quite a bit of fodder to 
start with and maintain...gives me quite a bit of homework, and all 
good.  I will print out your posting and give my cohort Sheldon a copy.


> For someone working with audio, you will want to make sure you understand
> how to start the JACK audio server.  Oddly enough, for software that is the
> heart of professional audio in Linux, there is surprisingly little
> documentation on this software.  Here is about as good a guide as there is
> on using JACK:
>
> http://en.flossmanuals.net/Ardour/StartJackUbuntu
>
> That is a chapter in a manual on using Ardour, which is the other
> application that you WILL want to know if you really want to get the most
> out of your Ubuntu Studio install.  The link to the full manual is:
>
> http://en.flossmanuals.net/ardour/
>
> Many people will recommend Audacity, particularly for beginners.  But trust
> me, if you plan on getting into Ubuntu Studio and Linux audio for the long
> haul,  Ardour is the program you'll want to use.

Brian, that certainly reinforces Viktor's posting, and the more links to 
instruction the better.  great stuff, poor Sheldon, it may be more than 
he bargained for....
>
> Speaking of Ardour, I noticed there's a good change they won't reach their
> fundraising goals over at Ardour.org this month.  So, as a reminder to all
> you audio enthusiasts:  If you're on this list and you use Ardour regularly
> and you're not a subscriber, you should seriously consider supporting the
> program financially.

And having been both on boards and now volunteering at a non profit, I 
can certainly concur with this.  It is a really hard time for everyone, 
especially the non profit sector....

thank you all for the excellent advice, i will look forward to future 
postings and keep you appraised of progress in case you are interested.

gabriel




-- 
G L Romeu
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