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Using Audacity

So let's dive in to how to actually use audacity. So audacity, if you goto audacity that source forge dot net and you could just google audacity to find it it's very simple. And you can click download for a pc or a mac. And when we get into that that open, let me go back for a second. That's what the logo looks like. She'll know that you found audacity. So when you download that onto your computer, it'll just downloaded in a file. Okay, so what happens is the next thing that we want to do that is we want to go into downloading the lame plug him. So what happens with audacity is and I'm going to show some screen shots of what it actually looks like in a second when you download it. But what happens is audacity when you record just on audacity, it's going to create an a you defile it's, their audacity format file what we need, though, in order to podcast youto have an mp three file upload into lips and that we're gonna be talking about in order for that to stream through your feet. So wh...

at happens is the lame plug in you want to go to libraries and I'll show you in a screen shot. I think I have it on here, but you download um the lame mp three plug in and when you download it, I think there's a reason why they call it the lame plugin what happens? And sometimes it doesn't pop up nothing shows up you have no idea if it happened or not. So the way that you test this is that you go so this is what it looks like, so you're gonna click on download audacity on that link that'll download onto your computer and then you're gonna have the three different options is what I was looking for so you'll have for windows or for your mac and you want to pick the current current version audacity for whichever version that you're working on, that when we get to downloading the lame plug in, let me show you how this works. So here's, what happens so under download, you'll see the plug ins and the libraries that's where you want to click now what happens is then you're going to come into her it's a scroll, the library's this used to be right on this site, but they've actually moved it out. So when you click on the lane plug and it's going to take you over to the sight of where you actually khun download the lane plug and it will be the re windows or maxim pick the version that makes sense for what operating system that you're working on now this is what I'm talking about where the lame nous comes, and so what happens is if when you download it, if a window doesn't pop up, what you're gonna want to do is you're going to want to go into record you're so this is what I'm trying to slow down here a little bit. So when when you open up audacity, this is what it's gonna look like. It'll have a window like this where you can see the recording set up and then this won't be here because you haven't started records, it'll be like a black are misusing a blake grace scream. So what happens in order to test before you start recording this masterpiece? And then you're not able to export that into an mp three? I want you to test it first, so open up audacity click the record button and we're going to go howto just testing the supper right now, you could just do a simple test on your on your laptop, push the record and then what happens is I want you to go up, but the top we all know the menu bar at the top is you want to click on file. And then scroll down to where it says export now you'll know automatically if the lane plug and actually works because export will be that dark where you can click on it if it's not, it didn't download, so what I suggest then is to close out of a dass ity okay, and then restart your computer and then open it back up, do the same test, do a sample record, go to file an export and if it still doesn't work, then just go back and re download the lame plug him I like to proffer is that because so many people have actually gone and recorded and then they don't they lose their contact. We don't want that happening for you. So what happens here is let's go about howto exporters he's behind a set up your mic studio when you actually open up audacity. So if you notice here the first one to configure your microphone, so if you go over and you can see where it says the built in output and the built in microphone that's going to actually be what your computer standards already set up with now, when you we open up our nasty, make sure that your microphone, whatever you have, is already plugged in and sync up with your computer the reason this is important is because audacity won't just recognize the new mike for fun. You would already have that on there. So if you open this up and it wasn't in there and you plug it and now it may not recognize it. So then what you want to dio is then that drop down menu will tell you the different microphones that you have plugged it. Maybe you have your lodge attack, or maybe have your balloon blue yeti. However you have that set up, then you go to that microphone. You want the input and the output sat on the same microphone. So that's, the first step to make sure, because the last thing you want to do is go record this great audio. And then it's got it's just recording off of your computer. And the audio isn't as strong. Okay, next, what we want to do is record your gain on your microphone. So you have it here on this one that allows you to do that for these others. You want to adjust that in the settings of when you're recording. So here this is see the microphone where it has the the second arrow on the right where it's got the little microphone. You want to adjust that I move that down towards between foreign six. Okay, you can have it a little bit higher. You're gonna have a little bit lower depending on your vocals but you want to test that? The reason I do this is because if you have it all the way to the top of your microphone and you record when somebody has their earbuds and listening to you, they have no ability to turn you down as much if it's super super loud even if they turn it down it's still really loud so you want to be really careful of that the other one where it has like the maker phone that's your that's what you here so that one isn't as important, but I always like to settle both in the middle so it makes it easier you don't have to worry about it so that's setting up your gains on that now next this is how you record and this is really as simple as just like how we're used to with devices, so the red button is record and the green button is play, so when you push record and you start testing, see how that purple starts to talk this talk that's actually your voice so it's great is you can actually see when you go really high and when it goes really high and you have like a pea or you had something that pops, it'll have red at the top in the bottom so you'll be able to recognize that now this is what I'm talking about when you first opened this up and you're doing your solo show it's goingto probably be a little bit weird where you're gonna be like, oh, you'll see it kind of going and you'll be watching it and you're trying to read your script or not your script, but you're talking so you want to make sure that you you are comfortable with that practice that have that sort of okay, so when you have one, so when you push record, you'll see how this how this starts, how this starts to look and how you're talking, how you're interviewing things like that. So then how you add it? This is the only two tools that you really need to worry about here are going to be the tool with eye that allows you to select it's the tool selector we actually select where your audio start somewhere your ends. So when you put your cursor on that and this this you have to play along with. So once you are able to download this tonight, you'll see how easy this really is once you get in there, but when you click on that I tool, you can actually click let's say at the one second mark and dregg to the two second mark and then delete that or you can cut that, so then you could move it out till later so that two allows you what I want to make a point. I'm just going to come over here again, so when you're recording here and you're speaking, you're you're content when it stops, this automatically always defaults to right here where a lot of recording does that this tool as you just put your marker right back here where you want to start, so if you don't re record over the same content, does that make sense? Okay, so then what happens here? See where it's lined up that's where it's it's set out right now so let's say that this was the piece of content that I wanted to move over to here you can take this tool, which is the double arrow tool, and that actually is what you khun slide and move your content around, and you'll notice that sometimes you might like not like that ensure you wanna redo it, you want to move things back. So then what you do is you select this and then you can move this whole track back and forth so you can pick this one up and move it up here and move this one over there do a lot of different things with it to make it easier for you to record did you have a question? Okay, perfect. So let me see him. Yeah, you. So you've got, like, sort of the three swim lanes there, uh, on top of each other. Is that, like, one is music. One is your voice. One is something else, or it could be. So what? This is just showing you different things that I recorded for examples. But when what'll happen is when you bring in. So what I like to do is I like to record my content first. And then I like to bring in the intro and the out sure. That's already recorded in package that already has the music with it already set up the way I want. So then all you have to dio is okay. Let me explain that because it's a great question. So let's say this is the content you recorded when you import your music. It's going to set up another truck. It's always going to go down below the next track that you bring in. But you could easily move that up and then line this up and then line up your you're out truck. Does that make sense? Exactly yeah then you could move well what will happen is if you're recording solo shows you could have a bunch of these and I tried to stop that so I tryto okay this was great if you need to take a break, come back or we re gather your thoughts and then get back on the mic after that's already edited I would cut this and I would move that right up there so there's no confusion because then you'll have so many tracks you almost want to start over because you'll just be so overwhelmed and then you're trying to scroll back and forth so that's really important and then yeah and then any other tracks you bring in on the other audio's you just go up into file and you can in port that music or that file really simple okay, so I'm turning if there's anything else I wonder yeah if you cut out that dud space between like three and five but can you undo it if you accidentally didn't? Absolutely so there is I don't think I have it on the toolbar here you can actually go up into undue on on file or you there's a little arrow right over here that actually has a undo and a radio to make it very simple for you so I have some familiarity with garageband yeah and what's the difference then you you you were alluding to between the two will the one they like about audacity has already has in built in meta data where you don't have to have another plug in or anything tto tto add into it but also it's so simple it's just very simple fact that what do you mean by metadata? Okay looking into so we'll get into that in a second we export our audio alright they do have it but you have there's another thing that you have tto add into it and I did three take toe actually add more data so what I mean by that is your audio when you save your mp three files you can say that with a keyword just like what you do with your album art all that type of contents that helps give more clout to your key words to be found. All right, so like what jason's talking about with search you want to have the new your title and your description in your podcast but you also want to have these files saved us well and so you were saying you cannot do that in garage you can do it and see if there's an extra stop make sure that it's really set up right? Yeah and grass man's great I mean I think it's a fantastic it's just a little bit more advance I find it's easier for people to use this when they're first starting, but if he already familiar with garageband totally that's a great platform teamwork from okay, so let me see if there's anything that I wanted to show you, so you're going to see when you're talking, you'll know right away that you're mike's iran and that that it's moving based on that so then the next thing then is this is how you can actually add it your type of music so we were talking about earlier with your intro with your fade in and your fade out this is how you can select what you just record so let's say you just imported your music and you want to actually make it fade and so goes from soft in tow loud you could actually select it with the select tool and then you go up in a fact which is at the top menu bar and then going on to here and it's us fade in or it's a spade out and that's all you click and it just makes it look beautiful. You can already see it, you actually see what it looks like. So then you could do that on the intro and the outro so that's how you can mix your own musically what I was talking about before finding that track framing so you record your intro and then put them drop the music and line that up where it looks nice and then faded and faded out and that's your mp three now so what you do want a deal? Is that act export that like I just showed you earlier? Goto export save that file is your intro and now you've got that can so it's already done and ready to easily at him? Okay, now this is if you want to actually let's say that you had you were talking on one track and the one where you got really excited on or one you talked to soft and it wasn't coming up right? You can actually select that audio and then you can go over to amplify and you can move it up move it down now what's great about this is well, is that this amplifier? It won't let you go to where it distorts the audio. We've all heard that audio were just too loud it's you know and you still can't actually understand what the person same so this actually won't let you go up any further. It will just let you move it up just enough to adjust that so it really helps with that um there are quite a few other things in here that you could work with, but those are the main ones that people need to know how to actually at it effectively, now, again, you could always outsource this. You could always record the audio and then send this over into dropbox and have an audio editor put this all together for you. You can have your intro in your outer already recorded. That you can have is a system in a process so that all you're having to do is record the content and then boom. Ship it off to somebody else and get out of that kitchen. If that is not where you're comfortable.