Using Audacity for recording voice

 

The latest version of this document can be found in the ‘Related Links’ section of the JHU Language Lab Website (www.langlab.jhu.edu)

 

i. Install Audacity (This section for Home or Office Only)

 

Audacity is free and can be installed on your own computer. A link to the Audacity download page is available in the ‘Related Links’ section of the JHU Language Lab Website (www.langlab.jhu.edu) or you may go there directly at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/ . Please note you will need to download the ‘Lame encoder’ which is a file needed to create mp3s from your recordings.

 

Downloading and installing the Lame Mp3 encoder.

Windows

  1. Go to the LAME download page. (http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~raa110/audacity/lame.html)
  2. Click on any link from the list of identical "lame-3.96.1" links.
  3. When you have finished downloading LAME, unzip it and save the file lame_enc.dll anywhere on your computer.
  4. The first time you use the "Export as MP3" command, Audacity will ask you where lame_enc.dll is saved.

Mac OS 9 or X

  1. Go to the LAME download page. (http://spaghetticode.org/lame/)
  2. Download the version of LameLib for your operating system.
  3. When you have finished downloading, use Stuffit Expander to extract the files. (This may happen automatically.)
  4. Save the file called "LameLib" anywhere on your computer.
  5. The first time you use the "Export as MP3" command, Audacity will ask you where LameLib is saved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Run Audacity.

 

Audacity can be run from the desktop on any of the PC’s in the Language Lab.  It can also be run from the dock on most Macs in the lab. If you are at home double click on the Audacity icon that you created.

 

 

 

2. Record something.

 

Assuming your microphone is correctly hooked up and enabled in the Volume Controls you should be ready to record.

 

Click on the ‘Record’ (Red Circle) button to begin recording. Click ‘Pause’ (Two vertical lines) or ‘Stop’ (Square) to cease recording.

 

 

You should see something similar to the above if everything is working properly. If it did not record anything you will most likely see a straight blue line (similar to the last part of the sound recorded above). Check your microphone connection and volume settings (Speaker icon on right side of task bar). If you are in the Language Lab you can also ask a language lab employee to check the microphone settings.

 

Please Note: Using ‘pause’ to halt recording allows you to resume recording in the same track. If you press ‘stop’ then when you begin recording again it will create a new track (as seen below) which will then need to be appended to your first track in order to play properly.

 

 

3. Appending tracks

 

Using the selection tool, select the parts of the second track that you want to append to the first track by clicking at the beginning of what you want and then dragging to the end. Then ‘Cut’ it by pressing CTRL-X or by selecting ‘Cut’ from the ‘Edit’ drop-down menu. This is similar to cutting and pasting in Microsoft Word. To paste, click at the end of your sound in the first track and press CTRL-V or select ‘Paste’ from the ‘Edit’ drop-down menu. It should paste the contents of your second track into your first track (see below).

 

 

 

4. Saving your project and saving as a Mp3 file.

 

When you are finished with your recording you will want to export it as an Mp3 file in order to e-mail it or post it to WebCT.

 

 

 

You can also ‘Save Project’ if you have multiple tracks that you want to work on later. Remember, if you have multiple tracks and you export to mp3, it will combine (not append) all the tracks. This will most likely create an undesired result (three of your voices all talking at once).

 

 

 

Also, the file created when you ‘Save Project’ does NOT contain your audio file. Do not e-mail an .AUP file or upload to WebCT. It will not play for the recipient. Export to Mp3.

The Language Lab has a folder ‘Save Here’ where you can save your files temporarily while you e-mail them. It is located on the Desktop and is cleared out once a week.

 

 

 

 

 

When the ID3 tag editing screen appears, make sure you click “Ok”. Do NOT click cancel as this will create an mp3 file that contains no data.

 

 

              

 

5. Locating Lame_Enc.dll

 

If you receive the following error, you will need to point to the Lame_Enc.dll file which is most likely in the audacity program folder or in the folder where you placed it after you downloaded it. If you are in the Language Lab please notify a Language Lab employee to fix this problem.

 

 

Lame is most likely located in C:\Program Files\Audacity\ or in the location you placed it after you downloaded it.