This is not a good first project, there is software you can install on a computer that will do this without any hardware required. Just search around on google for it. USB is generally not a good idea to play around with for a hobbyist, it's.... quiet complicated to say the least. A good first project for USB would be using an FTDI serial to USB chip to interface a micro controller or some other digital harware with, those take care of the nasty bits of USB on the IC themselves.