Audacity-How+To

Step one – How to create your audio file?
You can download Audacity at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/ This is a screenshot of the Audacity download page


 * [[image:http://www.castwiki.com/images/5/59/Audacity.jpg width="394" height="295" caption="Image:Audacity.jpg" link="http://www.castwiki.com/index.php?title=Image:Audacity.jpg"]] ||
 * Image:Audacity.jpg ||

**Installing and formating Audacity**

 * [[image:http://onlineconnections.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/pdf.png width="32" height="32" caption="external image pdf.png" link="http://onlineconnections.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/Audacity+tutorial+LAME+directions.pdf"]][| Audacity tutorial LAME directions.pdf]
 * [|Download Audacity]
 * Download the [|LAME MP3 Encoder]

Set up Audacity***//Thanks to Mobile Technology in TAFE//**//*//
http://aquaculturepda.wikispaces.com/Podcast4 I recommend you always have your headset plug in before opening up Audacity.

You normally only need to do this the first time you use Audacity because when you save your audio file you will be saving it as an .mp3 file and you can not do this if you have not installed the Lame Encoder. NOTE: There are lots of different audio file types but the most common two are:
 * .wav - a format developed by Windows and used extensively on Windows operating systems
 * .mp3 - audio format that compressed sound with minimal loss of quality (i.e. audio file size is a lot smaller as an .mp3 compared to a .wav). This is the most popular sound format for music.

The other change we make when adjusting Audacity is to reduce the .mp3 export bit rate because the default setting in Audacity for .mp3 is too high; 64 is adequate for podcasting. The higher the bit rate the better the quality but the larger the size. When we are creating audio podcasts we need the smallest .mp3 file size that is still of a reasonable quality.

Follow the instructions below to set up Audacity.



 Back


 * Installing Lame in Audacity - Mac (OS X and OS 9)**
 * Download the the .sit file from the site above, and open it in Stuffit Expander
 * Take the LibLame.so file and extract (uncompress) it to a directory on you hard drive. The directory in Applications where you installed Audacity would be a good idea.
 * Open Audacity and go to File > Preferences.
 * Go to the 'File Formats' tab.
 * In the bottom of the window there is a section tabled 'MP3 Export Setup'.
 * Click on the link tabled 'Find Library'
 * This will ask you if you want to locate the lame encoder. Click 'yes'.
 * In the dialogue box, go to the folder where you put the LibLame.so file earlier, and select it.
 * Click OK.
 * You should now be able to export files to the mp3 format.

**PDF Version:**


 Back

4. Recording Audio using Audacity
1. Open Audacity (make sure your headset is already plugged in)

2. Press record and say a few words to test the recording volume. Ideally for podcasting you want your audio to fluctuate between +0.5 and -0.5. If it is a lot less than ± 0.5 you have to either:
 * spoken too softly
 * or your microphone volume needs to be increased

Most people when they first record with Audacity tend to talk **too softly**. Remember to talk **reasonably loud!**

3. If your microphone volume is too low you will need to adjust it as per the instructions below:



Back 4. Once have ensure your recording volume is correct you can now speak into your microphone and record the audio for your podcast by pressing the record button. Don't worry if you make mistakes you can remove mistakes by highlighting the part you do not like and then pressing the delete button on your keyboard. **NOTE: You can not delete a selection if you have paused play, you must have pressed STOP!**

Back  5. If you really do not like the audio you can **delete the track** by pressing on **the cross.**

 Back 6. You can also **record multiple tracks**. However if you do this it is good practice to **name each track**.



7. You can move the position of each track so they play in your preferred audio by using the **Time shift tool.**



 Back 9. While you are working on your podcast make sure that you save it **as a project**. This will save it as an audacity project file which means that you can open it up again and re-edit any time. (Remember to regularly keep saving the project).

 Back 8. You can also add music or audio recorded from another source (e.g recorded using a PDA or ipod with recording accessory). You are only allowed to use copyright free or podsafe music (try [|Podsafe Music Network])

 Back 9. When you are finished save your Project then export as an mp3 file. You use mp3 format for podcasting because it reduces the file size of the audio without losing quality and will play in most players.



 More tutorials: http://etc.usf.edu/te_win/movies/audacity.html