Do it Yourself
Sure, you can do it yourself, or have your father hold the microphone....
Q: What equipment is available? You can purchase a low-quality personal audio cassette recorder, but most places you need to send recordings to require Audio CDs.... Well, you could convert the cassette tape to an Audio CD, by recording it's output to a computer and then burn a disc. Or, you could buy an expensive tape cassette to CD burner unit. Besides, audio cassette recorders can only record an analog signal. Isn't this the digital age? So, let's assume you want to record directly to digital. You can purchase a personal MiniDisc recorder. But you will have to buy the top-of-the-line unit because the lower-cost models don't have a microphone input, and if they do, they only record to a compressed, lossy (low-quality) audio signal. Oh, and did we forget to mention, you need a decent microphone. Don't tell me you're going to use the microphone included with your MiniDisc. Any microphone under $100 won't sound good for anything except spoken voice. Oh, and you still need to convert the audio from the minDisc format to an Audio CD. So, let's see... you've spent at least several hundred dollars, and still don't have a recording yet.
Pros: You can use it again and again.
Cons: You have to spend hundreds of dollars, and you still will not have professional equipment. You still have to learn how to use the equipment, and figure out how to get the recording to an Audio CD, before you even record the first note of your recording.
Q: How do you use the equipment? So, now you have some equipment. Great! But now what? Well, you can take a few classes, or read a few books on audio recording. Or, you can just use good old trial-and-error.
Pros: You learn a new skill.
Cons: Learning a new skill takes time. You have to do a lot of experimentation to get a good sound. No guarantees.
Q: Now that I know how to turn on and use my equipment, how do I make it sound good? OH, you want a professional sound with that $100 microphone you bought? Good luck getting the piano to sound like a piano. Why do the instruments in the back sound so far away and the instruments in front sound too close? Easy, you need more microphones. You cannot create a wide-stereo spread with a single stereo microphone, unless it has two capsules. I'll let you go find your textbook to learn more about stereo recording. Besides, now you realize, your MiniDisc recorder only has 1 input, how are you going to connect more than 1 microphone?
Pros: ????
Cons: Your stuck with a low quality, unbalanced, amateurish sounding recording.
Summary: Doing it yourself with a personal audio recorder is great for fun, family-oriented, non-professional uses. It's even great for practice purposes. However, if you ever plan to show that special VIP your work, are you sure you want to send an amateur recording. After all, first impressions are the lasting ones and you might not have a second chance.