Adding a music track under another sound file greatly increases the impact of the original presentation. To get the best finished product, you should work at the highest level of quality while recording and editing the original files (music and interview), then mix and reduce the quality of your completed file for a smaller file size. This smaller size will decrease its download time over the Internet. Remember: music files must be in the public domain to be legally used-otherwise you need the composer's or arranger's permission. Sound Forge made by Innovative Media Corp. is a good sound editing program for the PC. There are two shareware sound editing/recording software programs available, GoldWave & CoolEdit.
If you want audio clips (sound effects and music), but don't want to produce them yourselves, then contact Nell Chenault of Cabell Media Resource Services at VCU (e-mail: nchenaul@saturn.vcu.edu, phone: 828-1088).
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Example: |
A. Recording with a microphone into your computer:
On the bottom right corner of the screen is a speaker icon. Click on it with the right mouse button and a menu will appear. Choose Volume Controls from the menu by clicking on it with the right mouse button. Another menu will appear. Choose Options by clicking on it with the left mouse button and then choose Properties. In the Adjust Volume For box, select Recording. (Make sure Recording Control, Microphone, Line-In and CD Audio are checked in the Show the Following Volume Controls box at the bottom of the window.) Click ok. Select Microphone (if you're using the built-in microphone) or leave as is.. Adjust the volume and close the window. Now you have designated your type of input for recording (microphone, line-in or CD).
Click on the red record button from the main controls at the top of the screen. A window will appear and select New to bring up a selection window. There will be a few options to choose from. Select 8 or 16bit sample size and choose mono or stereo then click ok. Now check to enable the Monitor Input box to display the recording level. Click the record button in the current window and speak into the microphone and click the stop button when finished. Close the window and click play from the main controls at the top of the screen to hear what you just recorded.
B. Editing sound that you have recorded.
Highlight the portion of your recording that sounds best and choose Edit, trim/crop to get rid of everything that was not selected.
Highlight the recorded sound with your mouse. Now you can choose any effect from Effects at the top pull down menu. To increase the volume of your selection, choose Process from the pull down menu and select Volume from the bottom of the menu. Adjust the volume level and close out the window.
To fade in your recording, select the beginning portion of your sound file and choose Process, Fade. Then choose fade in or graphic to control your fade. You can do the same for the end portion.
C. Importing music from a CD into your computer:
Switch all input settings from microphone to CD the same way as you set them for microphone (see step #1 under recording with a microphone). Using the cd audio player that came with the computer, play a music selection and jump back to the Sound Forge program and record the same way as you did for the microphone. When you have finished recording, close out the CD audio player and return back to Sound Forge.
To combine the recorded music with another recording you can mix them together or designate a left or right channel to later edit the two tracks independently. Select the top or bottom portion of the music and copy it. Click on the other recording and select the same portion then choose paste from the Edit menu. A window will ask left or right channel or both. Both work the same as a mix. Left or right will allow you to edit each channel independently.
D. Mixing two sound files.
Record another file and select the portion you wish to import into the original sound file. Copy it by choosing copy in the Edit menu. Choose a section in the original file that you wish the copied file to be pasted into. Mix the files by Choosing Mix from the Edit menu. Adjust the volumes in the window that appears and click ok.
A. Recording with a microphone, into your computer:
Make sure your microphone is plugged into the microphone port on the back of your computer.
Under the Apple menu in the upper left of your screen, choose Control Panels and then Monitors and Sound. Select Sound. For the Sound Monitoring Source, choose Sound In.
Open SoundEdit. If the Controls window is not open, go to WINDOW and choose CONTROLS.
Go to MODIFY and SOUND FORMAT. Choose 44kHz and 16 bits.
Hold the microphone about 4-5 inches from your mouth. Click the red record button on the Controls window. Click the square stop button in the Controls window when you're done. A visual representation of the sound will appear on the screen as a wave form.
Save your file at the highest format (44 kHz and 16 bits) as a .wav file. (You should always save the original files in the highest format. Later you can save the file with a different name to reduce the size.)
If the volume needs changing, go to EFFECTS and AMPLIFY and type in a percentage.
B. Importing a sound from a tape recorder into your computer:
Plug one end of the audio cord into the MICROPHONE port on the back of your computer and put the other end into the HEADPHONE jack of the tape recorder.
Under the Apple menu in the upper left of your screen, choose Control Panels and then Monitors and Sound. Select Sound. For the Sound Monitoring Source, choose Sound In.
Open SoundEdit. If the Controls window is not open, go to WINDOW and choose CONTROLS.
Go to MODIFY and SOUND FORMAT. Choose 44kHz and 16 bits.
Click the red record button on the Controls window. Make sure that the volume is turned up on the tape recorder. Click the square stop button when you're done and press the stop button on the tape recorder. A visual representation of the sound will appear on the screen as a wave form.
Save your file at the highest format (44 kHz and 16 bits) as a .wav file. (You should always save the original files in the highest format. Later you can save the file with a different name to reduce the size.)
If the volume needs changing, go to EFFECTS and AMPLIFY and type in a percentage.
C. Importing a music track from a CD into your computer:
Put the CD into your computer.
Under the Apple menu in the upper left of your screen, choose Control Panels and then Monitors and Sound. Select Sound. For the Sound Monitoring Source, choose CD.
Open SoundEdit. If the Controls window is not open, go to WINDOW and choose CONTROLS.
Go to MODIFY and SOUND FORMAT. Choose 44kHz and 16 bits.
Click the red record button on the Controls window.
Double-click on the CD and and double-click on the track you want to record. Click the square stop button when you're done. A visual representation of the sound will appear on the screen as a wave form.
Save your file at the highest format (44 kHz and 16 bits) as a .wav file. (You should always save the original files in the highest format. Later you can save the file with a different name to reduce the size.)
If the volume needs changing, go to EFFECTS and AMPLIFY and type in a percentage.
D. Combining tracks:
In SoundEdit, go to FILE and OPEN to bring up the first track (the primary or voice track) and adjust the amplitude so that the highest peaks extend almost to the edge of the waveform, but do not touch the edge. Increase amplitude by selecting the entire track and choosing EFFECTS and AMPLIFY from the menu. Remember: when you use AMPLIFY, anything below 100% reduces volume, and anything above increases it.
SAVE the file at the highest level (44kHz and 16 bits) after you've made your edits.
Choose INSERT and TRACK. An empty track will appear below the primary waveform.
OPEN the music track, SELECT and COPY it. Go back to the first window and PASTE the second track into the empty track. You should save at this point.
You can now begin to edit the combined tracks. You may want to add a few seconds of silence to the primary track so that the inserted music can be heard before the speaking voice begins. Use features such as FADE OUT to bring the background down once the voice comes up, FADE IN to bring the music up at the end, and ENVELOPE to increase and decrease the volume in specific areas. (You can also use AMPLIFY for this.)
When you're ready to mix the tracks, go to EDIT and SELECT ALL. Then go to EFFECTS and MIX to a new document. After the document is mixed, you should reduce the file to make it more manageable in size. Go to MODIFY and select SOUND FORMAT. Select 11kHz and 8 bits.
Save the mixed file as two files - an .aif file and a .wav file. Some sound player applications read .aif while others read .wav, so having both formats available is wise.
Revised 6/29/99
