Questions

[Bran 7]

Do i need a mixer to use Audacity or does Audacity have a mixer. i want to get my music professionally worked on later. i havent used Audacity yet im waiting to get some equipment. can i add a beat and insrument sounds from software to Audacity to match the lyrics that i will record how do i do that. i want to record my songs then add the beat and instrument sounds later, and or i might want to record my lyrics with the beat and instrument sounds playing how do i do those things. and do i need a sound card to use Audacity.

[steve]

Probably the best thing is to download and install Audacity 1.3.6 onto your computer (it has a lot of improvements over the old 1.2 version). It is free, and is available by following the links from the main Audacity site: http://audacityteam.org/download/

Then have a look at the "Tips" and "Tutorials" sections of the Audacity wiki (link at top of page).
You need to have some sort of sound card, though while you are getting to know the program, any old sound card should be ok to get you started. You can always start looking to upgrade your equipment as you get to know he program and have a better idea of what you need.

[waxcylinder]

Do i need a mixer to use Audacity or does Audacity have a mixer.

Audacity is a multi-track audio editor, so yes you can record multiple tracks and use Audacity to mix them

Do I need a sound card to use Audacity.

Yes, as Steve says, you will need some kind of soundcard. You should have one already in your PC - how good or otherwise it is for Audio recording you will be able to ascertain with listening tests. If it's not good enough you can either put an upgraded soundcard into your PC - or you can get an external soundcard. If you are working on a laptop you may need an external soundcard anyway as it is likely that you may not have a line in, only a mic in. Some mic inputs can auto-adjust to adapt to the higher level line input - but many don't.

WC