Sound Recording & Editing Techniques in Adobe Audition - SAVE EARLY, SAVE OFTEN! (it can freeze!!!)

Before doing any sound assignment, spend some time in pairs practicing recording and editing sound files, as outlined below and demonstrated in class.

· Run Adobe Audition – it’s in Classroom Applications, under the Start Menu.

· Immediately switch from Multi-track to Edit View, as shown below.

· Then choose File, New. The settings should default to the ones shown below in the New Waveform window – if not change them…

Now you’ve got a space set up to record in.

Get your sound source ready to go, and then do a trial recording:

• If recording from an IPod or anything with a headphone output, use a male mini to male mini cable to connect from the headphone jack on the Ipod to the Microphone input jack on the front of the computer.
• If you’re planning to record from a source that’s already playing in your computer, such as Windows Media Player playing a CD, or the Internet (e.g. music playing on YouTube), get it up and running.
• Start playing the sound (on the Ipod, Win Media player or whatever)
• Switch back to Audition and click the Red RECORD button at the bottom.
• If all is well, you should see the volume meters at the bottom going most of the way to the right, and 2 stereo waveforms like the one below being drawn. If so, great, you’re ready to record; if not, play with the source and levels in the RECORDING and VOLUME SETTINGS until you see the meters moving. Don’t forget to turn up your IPod!

• 

  
  To play back, click play or the spacebar. If you highlight a certain area, only that part will play.
• If the sound is distorted, or the waveform is a solid block, your recording level is too high – go the Record settings program and adjust the level slider.
• Click at the beginning to record over top if you want to redo it
• Zoom in and out with the magnifying glasses (experiment!)
• Highlight and delete parts you don’t need , such as the silence at the beginning in the example above.
• Save the file - choose File, Save As.
• Make sure you change the File Type to MP3 (the most compressed type).
• Give it a meaningful name, and save it in the specified assignment folder.

• Use Effects, Amplitude, Amplify to change lower or raise the volume of a selection (“Constant Amplification”) or FADE to fade it in or out. Sound clips sound much better if they fade out at the end rather than just cutting off.

What else? If you’re just trying to produce an MP3 file to insert into PowerPoint or Flash, you don’t need to do much besides recording, deleting and fading in/out. But for other purposes, you can…

• Use effects such as Echo, Reverb, Time and Pitch changes – it’s amazing what you can do!
• Copy/Cut and paste, to repeat clips or move them around
• have several files open at once, switching using the Window menu. Try to copy a selection of music and Edit, Mix Pasting it on top of your voice (or vice-versa).
• mix in sounds from other sources (try Edit, Mix Paste).