Eric's Audacity Tips & Tricks Handount (PDF format): Audacity Tips and Tricks for Podcasters.pdf

Audacity is a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. You can use Audacity to:

• Record live audio.
• Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
• Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files.
• Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together.
• Change the speed or pitch of a recording.
• And more! See the complete list of features.

Downloading/Installing Audacity

Download Audacity and install on your computer at the following URL: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/

(You'll probably want to download the stable 1.2 version, although if you are an experienced Audacity user, you might want to try the Beta version and participate in the feedback and troubleshooting.)

Downloading the LAME encoder

You'll also want to download the LAME encoder (yeah, I know this acronym sounds funny!) which will convert your Audacity file to an mp3 file, for easy onine uploading and listening.

Here's the link to download the LAME encoder: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3

File Management with Audacity

It's always a good idea to save your file before you start working on it in Audacity and then save it while you are working on it. That way, if your computer happens to shuts down unexpectedly, all of your hard work is not lost. So, make sure you SAVE your file at the beginning and SAVE it often.

Audacity saves your file in its native file format (aup), which can only be opened in Audadity. It will save the aup file extension and also a folder with the same name_data, which holds data. (For instance, if I name my Audacity file "Barbara," Audacity will save a Barbara.aup file and a folder called Barbara_data. Keep both the file and the folder in the same place if possible, as you'll need these to encode to an mp3 file.

To save your Audacity Project, select File>Save Project As and then name your project.

To export to an mp3, select File>Export as MP3 and then name your file. (You'll need to have downloaded, installed, and set in your preferences in Audacity where the LAME file is located. Here's how you do this:

After you download the LAME file, you'll need to unzip/uncompress the file. Put it on your desktop, so you can find it easily. Then, open Audacity and select Preferences from the Audacity menu. Click the File format tab and then the Find Library button in the MP3 Export Setup section. You will then navigate to your desktop and keep opening the folders until you find a file called "libmp3lame.dylib" This will set up the MP3 encoder in your Audacity program so you can export your aup file format to an mp3 file format.

(Another option you have is to try the Beta version of Audacity, which does not require the separate download and identification of the LAME encoder. This might even be simpler for you!)

You'll eventually want to convert your Audacity file to an mp3 file, so you can upload it to iTunes or to an audio/video blog, such as http://blip.tv

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