Hi, I am a total newbie to Audacity. I have looked at the Manual, the wiki, and the tutorials, but have not found explanations that I understand.
I am using Windows 7, Audacity 2.0.2, and have not been able to determine if it is .exe or zip. I’m also in Chrome and using a Logitec webcam, FWIW.
When I tried to test my equipment, I clicked in the Input Level area and got red bars. At one point I saw green bars in the Output Level area. So something was definitely happening. However, when I click Play, I do not hear anything. I have selected Realtek, which I believe is my Logitec webcam, on the Output and Input device areas. My speaker volume is up.
I’m also having a hard time getting a handle on basic things:
Does the file save automatically or do we have to do a Save Project As deliberately, like with a Word document?
If it does save automatically, where do we access it and how can we delete the test recordings?
Once we record and save a file, how do we put it on a website? I am hoping to use Audacity in an online Foreign-Language class. Specifically, I would like to record small segments of dialog to test students’ Listening comprehension. I would post them to the Tests section of BlackBoard.
Web cams are usually connected by a USB cable. They are a recording device, but they are not a playback device for the computer. You want to select your Realtek speakers or headphones as output device in Audacity’s Device Toolbar . Also see: http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/faq_playback.html#usb .
Web cam microphones are not usually of high quality. If you want to upload professional audio to sites you may want to consider a standalone USB microphone.
If you don’t save a project, temporary data is deleted when you File > Close or quit Audacity (everything in Audacity is a “project”, even if not explicitly saved as a project using File > Save Project…) .
If this is the site you mean http://www.princeton.edu/bb/faq/content/#dm , I had a look but they don’t specify what format the audio should be in. If in doubt I suggest you contact the BlackBoard e-mail address or 'phone number given on that page.
Also be aware that every time you Record, Stop, then Record again, Audacity creates a new track underneath the last one. To keep segments on the same track you can press the blue Pause button while recording and release it to resume recording. If you already pressed Stop, you can hold SHIFT then press Record to record at the end of the selected track.
I uninstalled the older version and reinstalled 2.0.5.
I selected Realtek speakers as output device.
I appreciate that temp data deleted when I quit Audacity.
I added LAME to my computer, recorded, saved, and posted to my test on Bb. I was able to hear the recording there. I will consult with our Bb Administrator if anything else comes up on that end.
I’m not sure I understand about Audacity creating a new track underneath the last one vs. keeping them on the same track, but I am also not fully decided on how I want to segment the passages and questions, either, so maybe experimentation will do the trick.
Thank you, again, for your swift, clear, and very helpful response.
The temporary data is also deleted if you File > Close, which gives you a fresh, empty project.
If you try it, it will be clear. The point is that if you pressed Record, Stop then Record for each new phrase you would accumulate a large number of Audacity tracks stacked on top of each other, which could get difficult to see or work with.
I am trying to Split a recording into separate tracks, following the directions provided in the last message “Step 2 Label the Songs,” and I am stuck.
I successfully labeled the first track, but not the second one. The directions say
“Using the selection tool, click near the beginning of the second song
Repeatedly click the Zoom In button The Zoom In tool until you can see just the first few seconds of the song
Click as closely as possible to the start of the song”
But when I clicked at the start of the track, I didn’t see anything happen.
However, when I went back to the beginning of the first track, I saw two small purple boxes above the first label and I am able to write labels in them. But I do not know how to move them so they are under their tracks. I was able to delete them though.
When they were there, I tried to move them below the label for the first track, but they wouldn’t go anywhere.
After recording but before labeling the tracks, should I have File>Save Project As? I did not, b/c I am going to want to export multiple files into an MP3 and thought I should divide the tracks before sending them anywhere. Nevertheless, I feel that might have been a mistake b/c the recording is perfect and I would not want to have to re-record b/c I’m doing the labels wrong.
But you have to follow the instructions and click at the point where each track begins, which moves the editing cursor (the black vertical line) there. If for example you pressed Play, pressed Pause when you reached the start of the second track, then pressed CTRL + B, you would only label the start of the entire Audacity track (0.0 seconds), because that is where the editing cursor still is. So in that case, having paused, you need to click at the pause point where the green vertical playback cursor is, before CTRL + B.
Or you can stop playback at the start of each track by using SHIFT + A, which sets the editing cursor at the point the playback stopped at. So with that method you don’t need to click, just SHIFT + A then CTRL + B. If the editing cursor is not quite in the right place, you can use LEFT or RIGHT arrow on the keyboard to move the editing cursor slightly.
File > Save Project… is not necessary unless you want to quit Audacity and come back to your work later.
However if you have a perfect recording, it is a good precaution to export it as a WAV as soon as you finish recording, so that it is a backup against any disasters that may strike. Don’t export a backup to MP3. It is a lossy format which should only be used for the final “production” file.
Saving a project is more useful once you have got most or all the labels done, because exported audio files like WAV or MP3 can’t store label positions, but projects can.
The point is that if you pressed Record, Stop then Record for each new phrase you would accumulate a large number of Audacity tracks stacked on top of each other, which could get difficult to see or work with.