LAB SIX IN AUDACITY

RECORDING IN AUDACITY
Recording sounds into the computer can be done using an audio
editor or Audacity. Because Audacity can function as both an audio
editor and multi-track program, recording is straightforward.
Before you can record in a program like Audacity, you will
need to make sure certain things are set up correctly. This section
assumes that you are using a microphone connected to a mixer, and
the mixer is connected to the Line In of the computer.

SETTING THE SOUND PREFERENCES

To select the record source, select Preferences from the
Audacity menu (Mac) or the Edit menu (Win):

Selecting Preferences on the Mac versions

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Selecting Preferences on the Windows version

This brings up the (very wide) Preferences dialog box.

A portion of Audacitys Preferences dialog box, Mac

Click on the Audio I/O tab, then make sure the Playback
Device is set to Built-in Audio, and that the Recording Device is
set to Built-in Audio. If you are recording from a microphone, set
Channels to 1 (Mono). Then click OK.

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A portion of Audacitys Preferences dialog box, Windows

On the Windows version, click on the Audio I/O tab, then
make sure the Playback Device is set to Microsoft Sound Mapper Output, and that the Recording Device is set to Microsoft Sound
Mapper - Input. If you are recording from a microphone, set
Channels to 1 (Mono). Then click OK.
When you are ready to record, press the Record button from
the transport controls:

The transport controls within Audacity

Audacity will begin updating the screen as it is recording.
Press the space bar to stop recording.

IF YOUR LEVELS ARE NOT IDEAL

A major difference between analogue and digital recording is the
ability to see your recorded levels immediately; you can instantly
tell if your recording is distorted or has very low levels.
In the case of distortion, once the input signal has been clipped,
there is nothing that can be done to correct the problem; you will

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have to record your source again either by using lower levels on the
mixer or by moving the source further away from the microphone.
In the case of low levels, it depends on how low they in fact
are. Remember, the signal-to-noise ratio is much higher on digital
recordings (96 dB), and there is no background noise being added.
Therefore, when you view your audio file, it isnt necessary for the
maximum amplitude to be close to the edges after you record.
For example, the audio file below is a good recording:

Viewing the amplitude of a soundfile

Notice that the maximum displayed amplitude doesnt appear
to be much higher than 50 per cent. However, a visual gauge of the
amplitude is not necessarily the best indication of the recording
levels. Remember that there are thousands of amplitudes (samples)
taken per second; in the above example, the five seconds of audio
contain over 200,000 samples. The display on the computer can
only represent a limited number of samples, based upon the
resolution of your monitor. For example, even a setting of 1280 by
854 pixels will, at most, display 1280 of the 200,000+ samplesone
pixel per 156 samples. Furthermore, a spike or transient, which
amounts to a sudden jump in amplitude for a short duration
(perhaps only a hundred samples), may not be represented at all.
Therefore, viewing the entire audio file can give you a rough
estimation of the relative amplitudes but not an accurate measure
of the maximum amplitude.

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NORMALIZING AN
AUDIO FILE IN AUDACITY
To normalize a recording, or any open file, select Normalize from
the Effect menu. This will open the Normalize dialog box:

Audacitys Normalize process

Note that you only have two choices within Audacity in terms
of ifs normalization: 0 db (uncheck the selection box), and -3db.

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