Recording MY voice in a wav file.

You said ' I have the headphones, mic and all the other "stuff" but can't get a file big enough to hold a 15 minute children's story.' Can you be specific as to what problem you are having?

Are you saying that:

You don't know how to record into the computer at all?

Or you know how to record a short piece of audio but not a 15 minute long one?

In either case we need to know which audio recording program you are trying to use. (If you are using Windows Sound Recorder it has a pre-set 60 second limitation, but that can be changed.)

Jim

I'm not sure which program is best for recording these stories.  What do you suggest?

You said ' I have the headphones, mic and all the other "stuff" but can't get a file big enough to hold a 15 minute children's story.' Can you be specific as to what problem you are having?

Are you saying that:

You don't know how to record into the computer at all?

Or you know how to record a short piece of audio but not a 15 minute long one?

I'm sorry but you need to say what the problem is that you are having.

Jim

Pat,

'Sorry I wasn't more concise '. Rather too concise I'd say. Ever see the Seinfield episode where they 'yada-yada-yada' over all the juicy details?

OK, let's 'say' you don't know anything. Then you may as well start with Windows Sound Recorder (WSR). It's the only recorder that is on all Windows computers and it is the easiest to configure. To find out what other programs you have now on your computer go to Start/All Programs to see a list of them.

To open, configure and learn the basics by using WSR:

Open Windows Sound Recorder under Start/AllPrograms/Accessories/Entertainment/.

Click on the Edit menu, then on Audio Properties.

Click on 'Volume' under 'Sound Recording' (not Sound Playback).

Click on the 'Select' box underneath the 'Microphone' control.

Push the mic volume slider all the way up.

Click on 'Advanced' under the microphone select box. Check the mic boost box.

That's all there is to be configured for mic recording. Close all of the Windows boxes except WSR.

Click on the red Record button and then speak into the mic. If the green line moves then the mic is working. To hear the recording click on stop and then the 1st arrow to go back to the beginning. Click play.

If the sound is distorted then the recording level is too high. Go back to the Audio properties and lower the mic recording level. You can judge the level by the green line in SR. If it jumps beyond the bounderies of its window then the level is too high.

Sound Recorder will only record for 60 seconds but it can be made to go for as long as one likes. I can give you instructions for doing that or you can use a different program. But first make sure you can use WSR without difficulty.

As for whether or not you already have another recording program, that depends on what software you have, which I don't know. You might have MusicMatch Jukebox (basic) which has a mic recorder. Also it can make mp3 files which are the kind you want for e-mailing. (Normally you would make .wav files for making a cd, but you can also use mp3 for that purpose.)

After you have successfully made a recording, you click on the File menu and Save As. You would name it and save it somewhere in the computer in any folder. An easy to remember location is the 'My Music' folder inside the 'My Documents' folder. To make a cd, you open one of the cd burning programs, and select 'music' cd (not data cd). Then you browse to the file wherever you saved it and burn it onto a cd.

If you want to e-mail a file, you open your e-mail program and click 'attach' and browse to the file. If you have a dial-up modem then you will want to have made the file rather small, probably under 1Mb in size. An audio file which is only voice material can be squeezed down in size quite a bit without affecting quality too much.

Jim

I configured WSR for mic recording and have already created a sixteen minute wav file.  I also went ahead and created the wav file with the story and it went out in the mail today.  YOU are an ABSOLUTE GENIUS!!!  Thank you for this VERY valuable information.

Now, you mentioned that MusicMatch Jukebox (basic)has a mic recorder.  I do have MMJ (basic).  How do I go about creating mp3 files that I can email?  Or creating several mp3 files that I can then burn to a CD?

Again, thank you for getting me through that first project.  I will be keeping your email with my earphones as a "refresher" course for the next recording.

Pat

 

 

 

Pat,

Open Musicmatch Jukebox (MMJ) and click on the View menu at the top and select 'Recorder'.

On the recorder click on Options. The settings dialog box opens.

At the bottom is a Recording Source dropdown box. Make sure 'Mic In' is selected.

Near the top is the Recording Quality area. Select 'mp3' as the format.

Select the quality. 128 kbps is the default for music, but you can go much lower for voice. You'll have to experiment by ticking 'custom quality' and moving the slider to the left. Experiment with different settings to find a compromise between size and quality. A 15 minute file is going to be several Mb's in size no matter what. Uploading a file this size on a dial-up will take awhile.

Click on the button 'Tracks Directory'. Click on the button labelled '...' and browse to the folder where you are saving your recordings. Click ok (twice).

Locate the box 'Make track clips' and make sure it is NOT checked.

I think you can leave all the other settings as is. Click ok.

Now you can record as you did in WSR. When you hit the Stop button a name will appear in the window that you can click on to change. Play the track in the player.


As you can see, the basics with any recording program are the same but the details differ. You have to first find the settings and do some configuration before you can record the first time. The setting shouldn't have to be re-visited unless you want to change something or are having a problem.


MMJ has another feature you might want to use. It can quickly convert your pre-existing wav files into mp3. Click on the File menu then on Convert Files. A dialog box opens with the Source Directory settings on one side and the Destination Directory settings on the other. In the Source Directory browse to the folder where you have saved your wav files. In the dropdown box 'Source Data Type' select wav then click on the file you want to convert. In the 'Destination Data Type' dropdown box select Mp3 and then choose the quality you want (the slider). Click on the start button.

Jim