Re-recording at Higher Volume

[hecate]

Audacity newbie here (1.26 on XP Pro): A while back, I created a playlist on my IPod of .mp3s for sleeping to. The first is a spoken "induction" followed by 6 kind of sleepy music files. The spoken file as I downloaded it is VERY soft compared to the six music files; if I turn up the volume on my iPod so I can hear the spoken words clearly, the next song BLARES waking me back up . Is there a way I can use Audacity to re-record the spoken file at a higher volume, so I don't have to turn up the iPod volume so high, or, less-desireable but next best, to re-record all the music files at a lower volume? In other words, make sure they all play at the same volume? Thanks so much!

[steve]

I've not got an iPod, but apparently they have a feature called "Soundcheck" for making tracks sound a similar volume - can you use that?

[hecate]

I've not got an iPod, but apparently they have a feature called "Soundcheck"

Great minds think alike , Steve, but my mp3 player (not actually an iPod, used that generically, it's a Sansa Fuze 4G) doesn't seem to have that. I know when I make a CD in WiMP, there's a way to do that, but even when I tried that (making a CD) it didn't work perfectly. So it hit me that maybe if I "re-recorded" it in Audacity, I could set a volume level that was higher. On the mp3 player, this file is fine if I set the volume up, but then when the next (music) track in the playlist comes on, it's blaring! Since I'm still trying to learn what Audacity can do, figured this might be one feature!

[steve]

Yes you can change the volume of tracks using Audacity, but the problem with editing MP3 files is that Audacity always works on uncompressed copies of the MP3 file (uncompressed data is required so that Audacity can do all of the fancy things that it does). That means that the file will be re-compressed when you exported back as an MP3 file, and each time the audio is (re-)compressed to MP3 there is some loss of sound quality that can never be repaired. What this means in practical terms is that each time an MP3 is recompressed, the sound gets a bit more zingy, bubbly and metallic.

Changing the volume of tracks is just a matter of importing the file and using the Amplify effect.
If the voice cannot be amplified enough you may also need to reduce the volume of the music tracks by "amplifying" by a negative amount.

I would highly recommend that you use Audacity 1.3.12 as the 1.2.6 version is now ancient.
You will also need to install LAME to be able to export MP3s.
If you look at the top of this page (or below my post) there is a link to "Tutorials" which may help you to become familiar with Audacity.

Audacity 1.3.12: http://audacityteam.org/download/
LAME: http://audacityteam.org/help/faq?s=install&i=lame-mp3

[hecate]

Thanks so much! I will try that tomorrow---I was struck with your suggestion about amplifying the voice track and negatively amplifying the subsequent music tracks; I understand you meant to do this to the consecutive files, but it also suggested to me another possibility: the first file is voice, yes, but with a music background, and I suspect that if I just amplify the whole thing, the background music will become too loud, so I'm guessing I might be able to experiment with amplifying just the voice track on that mp3 and NOT amplifying the background music? And I do understand the risk of degenerating the quality---I will work on a copy and see if the amplification creates a usable file or not. It's certainly worth a shot!

I do already have LAME installed and have exported mp3s before. I will also install 1.3.12 and check out the tutorials...there's a lot to learn and I'm looking forward to it! Thanks again.

[hecate]

Just got an email saying there was a new reply, but not seeing one here. But figured it was a good time to update AND say thanx. Instlled the beta version and checked that I had the latest LAME (I did). The amplify effect was interesting; once I figured it out, it did seem to make the voice track significantly louder with no distortion, so I exported it and tried it out. Inside Audacity, playing the original file and then the new file I can hear a definite difference. But outside Audacity, it doesn't sound different from the original! I play both of them one and then the other and they sound the same. Will continue to experiment.

This is going to come in handy very soon. I'm planning on recording my own voice track, reading a story, merged with a bit of "sleepy" music for my favorite 5 year old. I know that when I try to record so it's loud enough to hear (poor microphone in my headset, I guess), the music then comes in very loud. So now I know how to amplify, etc. (what's the reverse, if there is one, to make things softer?). I tend to learn best trying things out anyway!

Once I get pointed in the right direction, that is. So many thanks for the help, and I'm open to any other suggestions you might have!

[steve]

now I know how to amplify, etc. (what's the reverse, if there is one, to make things softer?).

The reverse of the "Amplify" effect is ..... the Amplify effect
The same effect, but amplify by a negative amount to make the waveform smaller (lower amplitude).

[hecate]

The same effect, but amplify by a negative amount to make the waveform smaller (lower amplitude).

Well, duh! Makes perfect sense! Thank you so much. Although I'm a geek when it comes to things I use, I'm never going to be a "pro" at this (don't need to) but I'm having fun learning just enough to hopefully make that "bedtime story" mp3 I'd like to do. So far, voice way too soft and music way too loud, but now I'm on the right track! It would be great if there were a step-by-step tutorial for doing just this (recording voice over a music track) with Audacity, though it IS kinda fun messing up and learnng . Thanks again!

[steve]

There are quite a few tutorials now (see link at top of page or below this message), some of which will cover many aspects of what you are wanting to do. Unfortunately I don't think there is one specifically for recording bedtime stories, though by the time you have done a few you may have gained enough expertise to write one for the Audacity tutorials section.

[hecate]

Steve, you must know how tenacious I get when I'm trying to learn something ! Downloaded the manual and will check out the tutorials for recording voice over music, and do my usual "mess around until you either get it or mess it up" thing! Thanks so much again for your help.