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Basic Home Recording and Editing Workshop

Basic Home Recording and Editing

This page contains links to some websites that will provide more information about the topics covered during the Basic Home Recording and Editing workshop.

Additional Resources

Audacity is a free open-source audio editor that is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

There are a number of forums online that are dedicated to the art and science of home recording. The ones listed here are active and full of people with various levels of recording knowledge, from neophytes to professional audio engineers. They can be great places to ask questions and discover new techniques.

Some extra background information on subjects related to audio recording.

If you'd like to build some of your own gear, there are websites that will show you ways to do it.

The Winnipeg Public Library carries a number of books about audio recording, mixing, mastering, and other related subjects. The books most directly related to audio recording can be found under the subject heading "Sound - Recording and Reproducing". The books listed below are ones we particularly recommend.

The slides and handout from the Basic Home Recording and Editing workshop are available to view online or to download, if you wish.

Answers to some questions asked at previous Basic Home Recording and Editing workshops.

Which iOS apps would be good for recording interviews and conversation on an iPhone?

The iPhone comes with a built in app called Voice Memos which can do a fine job of recording conversations and interviews. It saves in the m4a format. You can email the m4a format to yourself, or you can import the audio to your computer via iTunes. Audacity can import m4a files if you download one of the optional libraries available for free from the Audacity website.

There are a number of free and paid recording apps available for iOS as well - I added a link to one free and well-reviewed app below that can save in WAV format and has multiple ways to transfer the audio to your computer.

Some apps on iOS allow you to edit the audio files, but I've always found it easier to do any serious editing on a computer. The screen on an iPhone or iPod Touch is too small for many to work comfortably.

Can you use Audacity to convert records and tapes to digital audio?

Yes, absolutely. The Audacity Manual includes a tutorial on doing exactly that, and it goes into a fair amount of detail on the subject. I've also linked to another tutorial which includes a 20-minute video going over the various steps involved.

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