1. FREE OPEN SOURCE AUDIO RECORDING AND EDITING SOFTWARE USING AUDACITY

2. WHERE TO FIND IT Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Or Google “Audacity audio” Audacity manual http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/ Audacity tutorials http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorials.html LAME encoder (for exporting.mp3s) http://lame.buanzo.com.ar/ Audacity provides a link the first time you attempt to make an,mp3

3. AUDIO FORMATS Lots of formats.wav – very common, uncompressed (big files), lossless, nearly universal playback ability.mp3 – very common, compressed (little files), lossy, nearly universal playback ability.wma – Windows audio, may have Digital Rights Management for copy protection m4p – ITunes format – WILL have Digital Rights Management for copy protection (probably won’t play back on another computer)

4. OPEN AUDACITY Start>All Programs>Audacity

5. CHOOSING YOUR MICROPHONE AND SPEAKERS Edit>Preferences>Devices Set your mike, speakers, stereo or mono I need to choose a different mike than the Connect mike Use a moderately priced headset for best results

6. RECORDING AND PLAYBACK Just like a tape recorder or VCR Pause, play, stop, rewind, fast forward, record Recording shows up as a waveform Useful to find silence, pauses or extraneous noises if editing

7. EFFECTS MENU Effects>Amplify May have to enable “clipping” to apply the effect Effects>Fade In Effects>Fade Out Effects>Remove Noise

8. EDITING TRACKS Playback to find the spot you want to cut Use the waveform to find the silences Use the selection tool to select the cut Left click and drag Hit Delete or Cut to make the edit Ctrl + Z to undo an edit You can also replace the selection with silence cut Replace with silence Selection tool

9. EXPORTING (SAVING) FILES You don’t save sound files, you Export them File>Export>Choose folder, filename, and format MP3s require a download of a LAME encoder Audacity guides you though the process Because.wav is lossless, I edit and combine in.wav, and convert to.mp3 when I’m done

10. IMPORTING AND COMBINING TRACKS Record and export all your clips Import all your clips Don’t click Open, as they will open up in different windows Import opens them all up in same window Copy and paste second clip onto end of first track Close clip Copy and paste third clip onto end of first track Close clip Repeat until al the clips are on one track Save the whole thing with a new filename when you’re done

11. LAME ENCODER (SHOULD BE INSTALLED) Export as MP3 You’ll get this prompt the first time Click Download Follow the links (there are 2) Download LAME Click the.exe file Export the file!

12. MIXING TRACKS Import tracks you want to mix If music, make sure you have rights LOTS of public domain music out there http://www.mfiles.co.uk/ is where I got the Bach http://www.mfiles.co.uk/ Edit tracks to same running time Use Effects menu(Amplify, Fade In, Fade Out) as needed Export Will automatically mix tracks together