Free way to create and package an audio product

There is a free audio software that makes it SO extremely easy for anyone to create an audio product. It’s called Audacity.

Goto

http://audacity.sourceforge.net 


 
Download the software and install it on your computer.
To create an MP3 go to

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3

Download the Lame MP3 encoder.  Install it on your computer.

You’ll use this file to create an MP3 from your audio recording from Audacity.

Depending on whether you already have one of those cheap headsets (headphones/microphone) that some dealers bundle with PCs, you can record an audio without spending a dime. If you don't have a bundled microphone, the ones at Circuit City or Best Buy costs between $8 and $15.

From here onward, I'll count on your having Audacity and Lame installed on your PC.

Before You Record

A few basic setup configurations are required in order to record a podcast. First, connect your microphone to the microphone-in connection on the PC. Connect headphones to the stereo line out or headphone jack (generally the green audio connection). Don't forget to put those headphones on. A laundry list of audio optimizations for your PC are recommended to keep your system running smoothly during recording.

After you launch Audacity, make sure Microphone is selected as the recording source in the drop-down menu on the mixer toolbar.
 


Figure 1. Configure Microphone as your recording source


Open the Audacity Preferences window from the File menu. On the Audio I/O tab, verify that your sound card is selected as the device for both playback and recording. In the Channels drop-down box under Recording, choose 1 (Mono). Unless you are using two microphones, the Stereo option simply duplicates the track, making the file size bigger without a resulting improvement to audio fidelity. 


 

Figure 2. Set the audio recording Channels selection to Mono


Switch to the Quality tab, and choose 44,100 Hz as the Default Sample Rate and 16-bit as the Default Sample Format. Audiophiles will argue that higher sample rates and formats are better, but for spoken word, 44,100 Hz and 16-bit sampling works admirably, especially considering that the resulting output will be MP3. Ignore the rest of the settings on the Quality tab. 

 

Figure 3. Set the sample rate and bit rate


The File Formats tab configures output options. Choose WAV (Microsoft 16 bit PCM) as the Uncompressed Export Format. Leave the OGG Export Setup untouched. Then, find the location at which you extracted the Lame codec to add it to Audacity by clicking on the Find Library button and browsing to the file location. I generally unzip the Lame codec to C:\LAME so I can find it easily, but there's no "right" location. Once you've added Lame support, close the Audacity Preferences window by clicking on OK.
 


Figure 4. Configure output options


Ready to Record


Click on the microphone icon in Audacity's Meter toolbar to turn on monitoring. You should see a red level indicator moving slightly as it picks up ambient room noise. Talk into the microphone and make adjustments to the volume until you get a level that rises close to the right edge of the meter without turning the far-right section solid red. If you get a solid red bar at the far right, the audio is clipping, which means your finished file will sound distorted. Once you've adjusted the level, you're ready to record.
 


Figure 5. Activate volume-level monitoring


With all the preparations out of the way, it's time to create your first audio. Push the Record button and start talking. When you finish recording, press the yellow square Stop button and save the file in .wav format. Saving is an important step, in order to make sure you don't accidentally delete the file. 


 
Figure 6. Audacity recording controls

It's time to edit the audio file or save it as an MP3 for distribution as your first audio. Editing can be as simple as eliminating all the places you said "um" by highlighting them and deleting them, or as complex as adding a music bed and inserting other audio clips into the recorded file. To keep this simple, we'll assume you're a one-take wonder and you recited a golden monologue for your first audio.

To save the file as an MP3, open the preferences again, choose the MP3 bit rate on the File Formats page. (Generally for voice audio, somewhere between 32 and 64 is good enough without making the file size too big.)

It is THAT simple to create an audio… and completely for free.

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