Using your mobile as a portable recorder

If you're armed with a mobile, the whole world becomes your recording studio. Read our guide to capturing real-world sounds and using your phone to record those moments of musical inspiration

You'll be well aware of many of the 'extra' things you can do with your mobile - take photos, capture video, play games, etc - but what you might not know is that the phone you carry round with you every day is also a portable audio recorder. Or, perhaps you've noticed this functionality on your handset, but haven't really stopped to think about the ways in which it could help you as a musician.

The fact is, though, that having a portable recorder with you pretty much all of the time puts you at a genuine creative advantage.

When they're recording their tracks, most music producers will use acoustic and/or electronic instruments to create the majority of the parts, but you'll find that more and more of them are now spicing up their songs with a few 'real-world' sounds. By this, we mean sounds that aren't crafted in the studio, but discovered out and about in everyday life.

Here's what acclaimed UK electronica artist Scanner has to say on the subject: "Often the cheapest forums of technology - mobile phones for example - can create opportunities in the most unusual situations. I've accidentally hit record on my mobile and ended up recording my visit to the supermarket - which I've then used in a work".

The message is that you can find inspirational sounds anywhere - some might form the basis of a completely new track - and as long as you've got your mobile phone in your pocket, you're in a position to capture them.

Of course, a portable recorder is also fantastic for those moments when a killer melody or lyric pops into your head and you need to get it down before it goes away again. In times gone by, artists were known to ring home and record ideas on their answering machines - and Keith Richards famously woke up and committed the legendary Satisfaction riff to tape when it came to him in his sleep - but these days, you're never more than a couple of button presses away from archiving your best creative moments on your phone.

So, make sure you check out the recording functionality on your handset today. It might be simplistic, but it could help you to write the record that makes you a star.

Here are our top portable recording tips:

1. Inspirational sounds can be found in the unlikeliest of places, so always keep your ears open. When put in a musical context, a sound that initially seems mundane might come alive.

2. Never delete anything. Make sure you transfer all of your recordings back to your computer and keep them stored in a safe place. You never know when they might come in useful.

3. Get a good-sized memory card. The last thing you want is for inspiration to strike, only for you to discover that you haven't got enough space to make a recording.

4. Edit your sounds in software. You'd be amazed how easily you can transform a recording by chopping it up, rearranging it or processing it with effects.

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