Audio Recording Setup

In addition to listening to audio files for this course, you will be producing your own audio files! You are free to use whatever software you want to do that, provided that it results in MP3 files. If you do not already have a system for recording your voice in MP3-format, here are some instructions on how to do that using a wonderful free piece of software called Audacity.

Microphone

If your computer does not have a good built-in microphone, you may need to buy a microphone. You can get a basic microphone for your computer at OfficeMax, Office Depot, etc. This should not cost more than $10, and you can probably find one for less than that.

Install Audacity

Go to the Audacity website and follow the instructions for installing Audacity on your Windows or Macintosh computer. Note that you have to also install a separate set of files that will make it possible to save your recordings in MP3 format - you can get specific instructions about the MP3 Encoder files at the Audacity website.

Depending on your specific system configuration, here is a step-by-step set of instructions for downloading and installing the program:

Windows

1. With a web browser, go to the Audacity - Windows download page.

2. Save the exe file to your Desktop, and then click on the exe file to run it (or you can just click "Run" when the download dialogue box pops up).

3. With a web browser, go to the Audacity - Windows LAME download page, and follow the Windows link.

4. Save the zipped lame-3.96.1 file (or most current version for Windows) to your Desktop, and then click on the file to unzip it (you probably already have WinZip installed on your computer; if not, you will need to get a copy of WinZip).

5. When prompted by WinZip, save the unzipped file in the Programs folder named Audacity which was automatically created when you installed the Audacity program. (You will have to browse to your hard drive to find the Programs folder, and the Audacity folder will be inside that Programs folder.)

6. In your Windows Control Panel, go to Sound and click on the Voice tab. This allows you to check to make sure your audio input device (built-in microphone or external microphone) is correctly configured. Click on the Test Hardware button if you would like to confirm that your audio input is set up correctly.

7. Go to the Audacity applications folder and click on the Audacity program icon to start the Audacity program. From the Audacity menu, choose Preferences.

8. On the Audio I/O page, make sure the Input device matches what you selected in your System Preferences. Then, click the File Formats tab. For the MP3 Export Setup, click on the Find Library button, and browse until you find the lame_enc.dll file that you saved in your Audacity folder in the Programs area.

9. If you have not already created a folder to save your work for this class, create a new folder somewhere on your hard drive where you can save your audio recordings and written assignments for this class.

Congratulations! You are set up and ready to record.

Macintosh

1. With a web browser, go to the Audacity - Macintosh download page.

2. Save the dmg file to your Desktop, then click on the dmg file icon on the Desktop. This will cause it to mount a drive which contains the Audacity program files.

3. Inside your Applications, create a new folder called Audacity. Click on Audacity drive mounted on your desktop, and Select All the files it contains, and drag-and-drop them into the Audacity applications folder. When you are down, you can remove the mounted drive from the Desktop.

4. With a web browser, go to the Audacity - Macintosh download page and follow the instructions there for installing the Lame Library components.

5. Allow Stuff-It Expander to expand the LAME MP3 Encoder to your Desktop. Drag and drop the resulting file called LameLib to your Audacity applications folder.

6. In your Macintosh System Preferences, go to Sound and click on the Input tab. Choose Internal Microphone if you are using the internal mic (or choose Line In if you have purchased an external microphone and plugged it in).

7. Go to the Audacity applications folder and click on the Audacity program icon to start the Audacity program. From the Audacity menu, choose Preferences.

8. On the Audio I/O page, make sure the Input device matches what you selected in your System Preferences. Then, click the File Formats tab. For the MP3 Export Setup, click on the Find Library button, and browse until you find the LameLib file that you saved in your Audacity applications folder.

9. If you have not already created a folder to save your work for this class, create a new folder somewhere on your hard drive where you can save your audio recordings and written assignments for this class.

Congratulations! You are set up and ready to record.

Record an MP3 File

You should already have created a folder where you can save your work for this class,designated your microphone in the Macintosh System Preferences, downloaded and installed the Audacity program with the LAME MP3 Encoder file (LameLib), and configured Audacity so that it will be able to recognize your microphone and to find the LameLib file.

1. Go to the Audacity applications folder and click on the Audacity program icon to start the Audacity program. (You might want to drag the Audacity program icon to your Dock, since you will be using it on a weekly basis.)

2. Click on the Red Circle to start recording. Click on the Yellow Square to stop recording. You can record anything you want (Testing-1-2-3... or you can read something in Greek if you want!).

3. If you have empty noise at the beginning or end of the recording you want to get rid of, just highlight the empty noise with your mouse and then click the Scissors to delete it.

4. From the Edit menu, choose Select - All. From the Effects menu, choose Normalize and click OK. Then from the Effects menu, choose Amplify.

5. From the File menu, choose Export As MP3. Give the file a name (with .mp3 as the file extension) and save it to a folder where you will be keeping your work for this class. (For example: intro_audio.mp3). Provide any information you wish about Author-Title etc. Go to the folder and listen to your recording.

6. If you want to do another recording, just click on the small X in the upper-left-hand corner of the track you just recorded.

7. When you are done recording, you can exit Audacity, and when it prompts you to "save changes" just click "no" (you have saved your file as MP3 and you do not need to save a separate Audacity project file).

Publish the MP3 file in the D2L Discussion Board

1. Click on the Discussion Board link in Desire2Learn, and choose the Discussion Board area labeled Week 1: Sample Audio Files.

2. Click on the Add Message button.

3. Give your post a good Subject line. You can also type some text in the message box if you would like.

4. Click on the Browse button to upload a file. Browse and find the MP3 file you have saved and click the Submit button. That's it!

When you are listening to other people's audio recordings, you might want to download them to your Desktop (temporarily) so that you can listen to them several times without having to download the file multiple times.

Do the Declaration for this assignment

Please do not do this Declaration until you have successfully published an audio file at the Discussion Board. This may mean you will have to do some troubleshooting with the instructor to correct any problems that you are having. You should get started on this assignment as soon as possible to give yourself time to correct any problems that come up.