Recording With Audacity

Recording With Audacity In this lesson, you are using Audacity to create a new project and record audio read from a script. The lesson assumes the recording equipment is attached and setup. See the Appendix on page 8 for information on attaching and setting up recording equipment. In the following you will: Create a folder for all new audio projects Create and save a new Audacity project Adjust the recording volume level Record audio from a script Know the difference between using Pause and Stop when recording Know how to append a recording to an existing track Name audio tracks Creating and Saving an Audio Project All files and folders associated with the project should be in a project folder named with the project s name. When working with language projects, the project s folder name should include the language s ethnologue code in square brackets For example, the folder for this project is named Wise and Foolish Builders [eng]. The saved Audacity project will go into this folder. We also suggest that folders for specific audio projects be kept in a master folder named Audio Projects. This method of file management keeps each individual audio project in its own folder with all audio projects in one master folder. Note: The Audio Projects folder and the folder you create for the specific audio project are not part of the Audacity Course Project Files folder. The Audio Projects folder is a separate folder specifically for new audio projects. Creating project folders 1. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the Documents folder 2. Create a new folder named with your name followed by Audio Projects For example, Chet s Audio Projects 3. In your newly created Audio Projects folder, create another folder for the audio project you are about to record, naming the folder Wise and Foolish Builders followed by the ethnologue code for English, [eng] For example Wise and Foolish Builders [eng] Creating and saving an audio project In the following you are saving an Audacity project in the Wise and Foolish Builders [eng] folder 1. Run Audacity 2. Click File menu and choose Save Project As 3. Browse to the Wise and Foolish Builders [eng]folder 4. In File Name: box, type the project name, Wise and Foolish Builders 5. Click Save button 6. Exit Audacity The project, although empty, is named and saved, ready for recording. 1

2 Recording With Audacity Understanding Audacity s file and folder structure Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the Wise and Foolish Builders [eng] project folder, and write below what you see for the Audacity project s file and folder name? When Audacity s Save Project As command is used, a folder is created with the saved project s name followed by an underline and the word data. The recorded audio files are put in this folder. A project file with an aup extension is also created and saved. This is the file used to open an existing project in Audacity. Open an audio project 1. Run Audacity and open the Wise and Foolish Builders project Which file did you use to open the Audacity audio project? Recording In the following you are recording the script Wise and Foolish Builders, located on page 10, Do not worry about speaking mistakes you will fix mistakes in a later topic on editing. Note: If you need to begin recording an entire track again, the defective track can be deleted by clicking the X in the Track Control Panel area on the top left of the track. Record Narrator part A 1. Click in the Input Level meter to turn on record volume display (See Setting Record Volume Level on page 9 for more information) 2. While speaking into the microphone, adjust Audacity s Input volume control until the Input Level meter s peak volume display is around 6dB 3. Click Record button and read aloud Narrator A s text 4. When finished reading Narrator A s text, click Stop button Record Jesus part A To illustrate the difference between using the Stop and Pause buttons, you will record Jesus A s text, pause and then continue recording the Jesus B s text. 1. Position the cursor at the end of the waveform on the recorded Announcer track 2. Click at the end of the Announcer A waveform to position the cursor 3. Click Record button and begin reading the text in Jesus A 4. When finished, click Pause button Record Jesus part B 1. Click Pause button and read the text in Jesus B 2. When finished click Stop button

Recording With Audacity 3 What happens each time you click the Record button? What is the difference between using the Record button and the Pause button? What observation can you make about starting to record with the cursor positioned at the end of a track s waveform? Adjusting Tracks to Fit in the Program Window After recording one or more tracks, the entire length of the waveform may not be visible and all the tracks may not fit vertically in Audacity s window. This can be adjusted using the Toolbar s Fit Project button and View menu s Fit Vertically. 1. Click Edit Toolbar s Fit Project button 2. In the View menu click Fit Vertically Note: The Edit Toolbar s Fit Project button is easier to use and is the same function as the Fit in Window menu option. 3. In the File menu choose Save Project to save the changes Naming Tracks The default name displayed in the Track Control Panel area of each new track is Audio Track. This name is not helpful when later editing and organizing the tracks. Each audio track should have a unique name to help identify the type of material on the track. For example, a track of music for the opening might be named Music Opening, or as in this case, the script s clip name of the recorded text. 1. Click down arrow on the track s Track Control Panel and choose Name (See Figure 2) A box opens for typing a new name for the track 2. Replace the default track name with Narrator 3. Click OK 4. Name the second track Jesus 5. Save the project Figure 1 Figure 2 Fit Project

4 Recording With Audacity Recording onto an existing Track By default, each time the record button is clicked a new track is created. Audacity can also append a new recording at the end of an existing track s recording. The feature is called Append Record and is found in the Transport menu. Practice recording onto an existing track To illustrate appending a recording you are recording Jesus C and D, appending them to the end of part Jesus A and B s recording. Cursor 1. Fit the project in the window 2. Position the cursor so it is within Jesus B s waveform (within the waveform s dark gray area See Figure 3) 3. Click Transport menu and choose Append Record 4. Read the text in Jesus C 5. When finished, stop recording 6. Fit the project in the window Figure 3 What happened when you recorded Jesus C using Append Record? Is Jesus C s waveform part of or separate from Jesus A and B s recorded waveform? Record the Jesus part D 1. Zoom out 2. Position the cursor so it is in the empty space (light gray) after Jesus C s waveform 3. Append Record the text of Jesus D 4. When finished, stop recording 5. Fit the project in the window 6. Save the project Cursor Figure 4 Is Jesus D s waveform part of or separate from the previously recorded waveform? Can the Jesus D waveform be moved horizontally? What difference does the cursor position make when using Append Record?

Recording With Audacity 5 Record Narrator 1. Position the cursor at the end of the waveform on the Jesus track 2. Record Narrator A s text 3. Fit the tracks in the window 4. Name the track Narrator 5. Save the project As more recording is done, you will develop methods that works best for you. You will also find that the methods may have to be varied, depending on the content of the script and the ability of the voice talent. When finished, you should have three recorded and named tracks. Figure 5 Assembling the recorded audio into a program will be covered in another lesson.

6 Recording With Audacity Summary There are several recording options available, depending on what you need to do. Record/Stop Record/Pause Record Append Cursor on waveform Record Append Cursor on space after waveform Creates a new track each time the Record button is clicked Pauses and continues recording on the same track each time the Pause button is clicked until the Stop button is clicked The resulting waveform is one waveform If the cursor is on a track s waveform, the recording is appended to the end. The resulting waveform is one waveform If the cursor is on the space after the track s waveform, the space between the previous waveform and cursor is filled in with silence and the recording is appended. The waveform can be moved separate from the previous waveform Record Button Pause Button Stop Button Figure 6 Transport Buttons Record Append option is found in the Transport menu. Tip: The keystroke shortcut for Record Append is <Shift> R. Append Record Observations The appended recording can either be a part of the existing waveform or a separate waveform on the same track. Whether part of or separate from the existing waveform depends on where the cursor is positioned before beginning Append Record. If the cursor is anywhere within the recording s waveform s gray area, the appended recording will be part of the existing waveform. If the cursor is in the empty area after the end of the recording, the appended recording will be a separate waveform on the same track. (See Figure 7 and Figure 8) When using Append Record, and the cursor is in the empty area following the previous recording, Audacity fills in the space between the end of the track s recording and the cursor position with silence. The silence is part of the appended recording s waveform. The dark vertical line in Figure 8 indicates the appended recording is a separate waveform which can be moved horizontally along the track. End of first recording Cursor Position Added Silence Appended Recording Figure 7 - Before Append Record Figure 8 After Append Record

Recording With Audacity 7 Start Position of a New Track s Waveform Each time the Record button is clicked, a new track is inserted and the curser moves to the right as the recording progresses. What may not be apparent is that the new track s recorded waveform always starts at the current curser position. If the cursor is at the beginning of a previously recorded track, the new track s recorded waveform begins at the beginning If the cursor is at the end of a previously recorded track, for example, at 10 seconds, the new track s recorded waveform starts at 10 seconds on the track Tip: Positioning the cursor at the end time of the previous track s recording, is useful if you want a new track s recorded waveform to begin at the end time of the previous track s recording. Audacity s project folder and files Audacity records in its own unique format that is not useable in another audio player. When an Audacity project is created, a project file with an.aup extension is created, along with a folder with the project s name followed by _data. The.aup file is used to open an Audacity project. Recorded audio goes into the _data folder. Do not be concerned with the contents of the _data folder, as it is determined automatically by Audacity. Figure 9 Important! Audacity s files are unique and cannot be played in another audio program. To play the project s audio files in another audio program, you will need to export the project s audio tracks to a common audio format, such as.wav. Exporting will be covered in another lesson.

8 Recording With Audacity Appendix Using Computer s Built-in or an External Audio Device Computer sound cards can have a high noise floor. The noise floor is the recorded audio created by the computer and sound card when there is no input audio. The higher the noise floor s negative number, the quieter the sounds that can be recorded. Typically a computer s built in sound card will have a -40 to -45 db noise floor. An external audio device, such as the UA-1EX will have a noise floor of -55-65 db. USB audio devices generally have a quieter noise floor, making for a better quality recording. Audacity settings for using the computer s built-in audio device On the Mixer toolbar there is an Input Source drop down box for choosing the import source. (See Figure 10) If a microphone is connected to the computer s sound card s Microphone jack, Microphone is chosen as the input source. If a mixer is connected to the computer s sound card s Line In jack, Line In is chosen 1. Click down arrow on the Input Source box 2. Select Microphone 3. Click the Input Level meter and speak into the microphone 4. Adjust Input volume slider until the maximum volume is around 6dB Figure 10 Connecting an External USB Audio Device A t connection setup is shown below for an external audio device. This device is the Edirol???? which contains a microphone input and volume control. If you are using a different device or mixer with a built in audio device, the connections will be different. Analog Audio Digital Audio Microphone Input Headphone (Optical) USB Audio Device USB Cable USB Port Computer Figure 11

Recording With Audacity 9 Setting Audacity to Use an External Audio Device This example is using the Edirol UA-1ex audio device. The contents of the Playback Device and Recording Device boxes will depend on the audio device you are using. 1. Click Edit menu and choose Preferences 1. Click Devices in the left box 2. Click Playback Device: down arrow and choose the UA1-ex sound card for playback 3. Click Recording Device: down arrow and choose the UA1-ex sound card for recording 4. In Recording Channels: drop down box choose 1 (Mono) 5. Click Ok The Input Source box shows Analog Connector when a USB audio device is connected. Setting Record Volume Level Meter Toolbar Figure 12 The Meter toolbar indicates playback and recording volume levels, marked in db. If the volume level while recording, goes over 0dB on the Input Level meter the recording will be distorted. Tip Clicking the mouse on the Input Level meter activates the meter for setting the input level without recording. Output Level meter (playback) Input Level meter (record) Mixer Toolbar Output volume (playback) Input volume (record) Input Source Figure 13 A good recording volume level is considered to have the peaks between 9 and 3 db on the meter. 1. Adjust the Input volume control until the Input Level meter s peak volume is around 6dB 2. Adjust Output volume control for a comfortable headphone level

10 Recording With Audacity Wise and Foolish Builders Name Part Text Narrator A: Jesus is telling stories and continues with a story about the wise and foolish builders Jesus A: Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. B: Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won t collapse because it is built on bedrock. C: But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. D: When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. Narrator A: When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority-quite unlike their teachers of religious law.