We’ve all heard of Audacity, haven’t we? We know it’s free and we’ve got it downloaded on the school’s computers. Ah, but do we really know how to set it up and get the best from this valuable music resource?

Recently, I was speaking to a teacher from another authority not too far from Warrington LEA. She was asking me about the music software I used within my school. When I mentioned Audacity, she informed me immediately that her school made use of it too.

A few weeks later, she came to visit and I spent an hour or so explaining and demonstrating the software used by the children at Old Hall Primary School. When we reached Audacity, it became clear that she didn’t know how to make best use of it as her training had consisted of being told where to find it and that it was free! No tutorial or further guidance.

What follows is a rough guide to setting up the computer for Audacity to ensure you get the best results. I hope it is of particular benefit to ICT consultants who haven’t got the time to do the web research.

Audacity Screen

Just in case you have no experience of Audacity, here are some of the many tasks you can use it for:
•    Record live audio through a microphone
•    Record multiple layers of sound
•    Import and export Wav. and MP3 sound files
•    Edit and add effects to your recordings
•    Obtain high sound quality for podcasts

Go to the Audacity web address, http://audacity.sourceforge.net. You will be given a choice of downloads depending on how advanced your music software knowledge is.

I’ve always made use of the stable version Audacity 1.2.6.

• Select Download Audacity 1.2.6
• Now click on Audacity 1.2.6 installer in the first bullet point
• A yellow security bar may appear at the top of the screen – click on this and select Download File > Run and then follow the setup instructions

Once you are more familiar with Audacity, you might want to convert your sound files into MP3s. To enable this you will need to download another file called a LAME MP3 Encoder. (It looks like this - lame_enc.dll)

As you are in download mode at the moment, you might as well do this now:

• Go to www.free-codecs.com
• Click on LAME MP3 Encoder under Audio Codecs and then download

The file size of your recorded work is very important considering it might be placed on the Internet. Adjustments can be made to limit the size of the sound files and so reduce the download time when they are accessed.

• Open up Audacity and go to Edit > Preferences > Quality
• Make sure the sample rate is set to 44100Hz and the sample format is set to 16-bit. (I’ve been informed that this is the setting the BBC use for their Podcasts so if it’s good enough for them it’ll be OK for us)

Quality Sound Set-up

Nearly there but not quite. A further setting to make if you intend to record the voice is to set the bit rate for MP3 Export.

• Go to Edit > Preferences > File Formats
• In the section headed MP3 Export Setup, lower the bit rate if you are recording the voice and other sounds with a microphone. You can experiment here to see which rate sounds the best. Lower bit rate = lower quality. I’ve been setting this at 80
  

Microphones
I’ve been using a normal audio microphone as found in most schools (Phillips SBC MD150) plus a USB microphone (Logitech AK5370) that I bought from Amazon.

It is very important to set the USB microphone up before its use.

• Go to Edit > Preferences > Audio I/O, click on the Recording > Device tab and select the model of the microphone you are using if shown. I’d recommend that you plug the USB mic into the computer before you turn the computer on
• Now right click over the speaker icon in the bottom right corner of the computer screen and select – Open Volume Control
• Make sure the volume is up and not muted on each channel. Now click on Options > Properties > Recording
• With the Microphone box ticked, click on the Mixer Device tab at the top and select the name of the microphone you are using. Click OK and then raise the input volume of the microphone if needed

Boosting Microphone Signal

I know all this prep seems a little tedious but you only have to do it once (honest!). You can sort of understand why my colleague was left to her own devices and not given the support needed. I’m sure your friendly technician will be delighted to sort all this out for you!

• To ensure a strong recording signal when using a normal microphone, such as the one mentioned above, right click over the speaker symbol in the bottom right of the computer screen. Click on Open Volume Controls
• Go to Options > Properties and tick recording and microphone if not already ticked. Then click OK. Check that the volume control is high and then click Advanced. Tick Number 1 Mic Boost then close

I have held two Inset days in Warrington during the last academic year involving Audacity. During the second of these sessions, I learnt the value of the next tip.

• With Audacity open, go to Edit > Preferences > Audio I/O
• Ensure you tick the box for Play other tracks while recording new one 
  
• Once you have made all these settings you should now go to Start (bottom left of screen) and select Control Panel. Click and open Sounds and Audio Devices > Voice > Test- Hardware > Next

You are now ready to begin...

Microphone Test