ADDING TO A RECORDING.

[sakima]

I have written a book and want to make it into an audio book. So, 2 or 3 chapters will be recorded at a time, so I need to add to the recording over time. How do I do that exactly?

[kozikowski]

This is actually two questions, or at least it has two answers.

Live Performance Captures should be Exported As WAV at the conclusion. tuesdayMorning.wav Copy the WAV file to a backup device like thumb drive. Lock the thumb drive in a closet.

Audacity "Save" will not produce a sound file.

Then you can open up each performance and "touch it up" (I know of no-one happy with their performance the first time through) and use the copy/paste functions between work windows to construct the final show, adding appropriate silence stretches or beeps or whatever your final production requires.

Export As WAV to get the final show. Copy this file to your backup thumb drive (after you unlock the closet, etc.)

Then and only then, export as MP3 or other deliverable format.

The actual production content of your show is completely up to you. I have done productions using the above process (including closet) and I have never lost or damaged a show.

Koz

[sakima]

?????????????????????????????????? I dont understand any of that and what the hell is a thumb drive and a closet???????????????????????????????????????????

[steve]

Thumb drive = USB memory stick / pen drive


closet = wardrobe / cabinet / enclosed recess for linens, household supplies, or clothing.


The safe way to avoid loosing your data is to make multiple backup copies of your recordings by Exporting the recordings as WAV files. These can be stored on CD, USB ben drives, external hard drives, internal hard drives, any combination of the above.

WAV files can be imported into an Audacity project, then you can use the "time shift tool" to slide each "audio clip" left/right so that they will play in the correct order.

See here for useful tips about how Audacity handles data: http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... ement_Tips

Note that Audacity projects can be easily destroyed by inadvertently deleting, renaming or moving a file that the project depends on. That is the main reason why you should back up as WAV files - they are transportable, robust and reliable.

See here for general information and help with Audacity: http://audacityteam.org/help/

[kozikowski]

<<<?????????????????????????????????? I dont understand any of that and what the hell is a thumb drive and a closet???????????????????????????????????????????>>>

Ah, well. The comedy routines don't always work out.

What he said. See above.

Many people capture a live performance and Save, thinking they're making a safe sound file for future reference and use. They're not. Audacity only saves Projects and those are complicated, brittle, and easily damaged.

Once you capture a performance and Export your WAV sound files, you can use those to reconstruct, edit, add to, or rearrange your deliverable show however you want.

Also remember MP3 type sound files are really popular, but they always damage the work and should never be used inside a production.

<<<I dont understand any of that>>>

If all of that is a complete fuzz, then you should be recording little sound files to get used to Audacity and the editing tools. Actually creating a full-on show may take a bit of learning first. Don't tell your publisher that you'll be delivering next week.

http://audacityteam.org/manual-1.2/tutorials.html

Good luck,

Koz