View source for Guía Básica Para Audacity

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Esta guía le enseñará a instalar y configurar Audacity.

== Bajar e Instalar ==

(Siguen pasos básicos para instalar Audacity. Para un tutorial mas completo, por favor vea [http://www.guidesandtutorials.com/audacity-tutorial.html esta guía (en inglés)].

# <b>Audacity</b> <br/> > '''Baje''' el programa '''Audacity''' de esta página: [http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/ Audacity Sourceforge Download] <br/>  > Siga las instrucciones para instalarlo.
# <b>Lame Encoder</b> (Esto le permitirá exportar sus fichas en formato mp3)<br/> > '''Baje''' el '''lame mp3 encoder''' de esta página: [http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3 Lame Sourceforge Download] <br/> > '''Instale el Lame encoder''' siguiendo las instrucciones en el enlace previo, o las instrucciones en [http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Lame_Installation#Windows_Instructions esta página]

<div class="note">Nota: Recomendamos que se instale la version Beta de Audacity. Esta versión tiene un proceso para quitar ruido de fondo superior a la versión anterior. La versión Beta es muy estable, con tal de que no haga clicks demasiado rápido (e.g. doble-click en la onda). Algunos lectores usan la versión anterior para grabar, y la versión Beta para quitar el ruido de fondo. Otros usan la versión Beta para todo sin problemas</div>


== Configurar ==
: <i>Artículo principal: [[Tech Specs|Especificaciones técnicas]]</i>
{| align="right" class="infobox"
!bgcolor="#DEDEDE"| Resumen de las especificaciones técnicas
|-
|<b>Tipo de pista</b>: Mono <br><b>Frecuencia</b>: 44100 Hz <br><b>Formato de muestra</b>: 16 bit <br><b>Formato de archivo</b>: MP3<br><b>Calidad</b>: 128 kbps
|}

You might need to change the default settings in Audacity. This is to ensure that all our recordings are as technically uniform as possible.

# Before opening <b>Audacity</b>, plug in your mic. (always plug in your mic before you start Audacity) 
# Open the Preferences Dialog Box: '''Edit''' > '''Preferences''' (or Ctrl + P)
# Under the '''Audio I/O''' tab: 
## Under <b>Recording Device</b>: select your mic from the pull-down menu;
## Select '''1 (Mono)''' in the '''Channels''' drop-down menu (top right). 
# Under the '''Quality''' tab: 
## Check that the '''Default sample rate''' is '''44100 Hz'''
## Change '''Default sample format''' to '''16 bit'''
# Export setup:
:* If using <b>Audacity 1.2.6</b>: Under the '''File Formats''' tab:
:# '''Uncompressed Export Format: WAV (Microsoft 15 bit PCM) '''
:# Under <b>MP3 Export Setup</b>, select <b>Bit Rate</b> of <b>128</b>; click <b>Find Library</b> and locate and select the Lame encoder you saved: 
::: * '''PC''': in your <i>Programs</i> Folder, find the <i>Audacity</i> folder, and select the <i>lame_enc.dll</i> file
::: * <b>Mac</b>: in your <i>Applications</i> Folder, find the <i>Audacity</i> folder, and select the <i>LameLib</i>; press OK.  
:* If using <b>Audacity 1.3</b>: Under <b>Libraries</b> tab:
:# Beside <b>MP3 Library</b>, click <b>Find Library</b> and follow instruction #2 above.
:# (You will have to define the other settings when exporting the files, by click <b>Options</b> in the Export dialog box.)

==Get Acquainted with the User Interface==
More great information:
* [http://www.guidesandtutorials.com/audacity-toolbars.html Toolbars and controls]
* [http://www.guidesandtutorials.com/audacity-editmenu.html Using the Edit Menu]
* [http://www.guidesandtutorials.com/audacity-tracks.html Tracks and Waveforms]
* [http://www.guidesandtutorials.com/audacity-mp3.html Exporting MP3 files] (remember we record in Mono channel)

Please note that all those tutorials are illustrated with screenshots from the stable 1.2.6 version of Audacity. There are slight variations in the beta version but the same settings need to be set there, too.

<b>Help! my mic is missing!</b> -- See last section on this page.

== Test ==

<div class="tip"> <b>TIP</b>: audio is a lot of work for many computers. Always, <i>always</i> give your computer a little time to catch up -- whenever you click a button, whenever you stop, whenever you save, be a bit patient with your computer. <b>Most crashes happen when commands are given too rapidly.</b> Save early, save frequently. </div>


=== Barest Basics ===
(Note: a short video is available here: [http://librivox.earthcallingdavid.com/tutorials/db_audacity_edit_1.mov Audacity vid] )

Here we create and save an Audacity file: record, look, listen, and delete. (3 minutes!) We presume that you have already configured Audacity correctly (see above).

# <B>Plug in your mic</B> (always plug in your mic before you start Audacity)
# <B>Start Audacity</b> (quit and restart it if it was already open when you plugged in your mic)
# <b>Record</b>: Click the <b>Record</b> button (red circle) and read this into your mic:
## "<i>Peter Piper packed a paper pumpkin. Thank you thirty thousand thanks. Fine fun on the forums, fortunately.</i>"
# <b>Stop</b>: Click the <b>Stop</b> button (square).
# <b>Save your project</b>: 
## <b>File</b> > <b>Save Project</b> and '''look''' at the save window
## Select the folder you want to save your project in (create a folder on your Desktop called LV, and a folder inside that called "testing" -- unless you have a better idea) and save. 
# <b>Play</b>: Click the <b>Play</b> button (green triangle) and listen for a bit, then press Stop. 
## now press the spacebar ... press it again (it toggles play on, off)
# <b>Position the cursor</b> at the beginning of a word (can you find the beginning?)
## leisurely press the <b>spacebar</b> four or five times.<BR>each time, it begins where you had placed the cursor)
## click the <b>Play</b> button (green triangle) and then the <b>Pause</b> button; press Pause ...again...<BR>(each time, it resumes from where it was paused)
## <b>highlight</b> an inch or two of waveform and hit the <b>spacebar</b>; press it again.<BR>(it plays the highlighted section and stops)
# <b>Zooming</b>: Look at the <b>waveform</b>. 
## click the <b>+</b> magnifying glass 3 times; 
## click the <b>-</b> magnifying glass 2 times; 
## highlight an inch of the waveform and click the 3rd magnifying glass <BR>(it fills the screen with what you've highlighted)  
## now click the final magnifying glass. <BR>(it fits the whole file on the screen)
# <b>Delete your track</b>: At the far left side of your track, click the <b>X</b> in the upper left corner. 
## press <b>Control-Z</b>. Your track is back (because it undid your delete). 
## press <b>Control-Z</b>. Your track is gone again (because it just undid your recording). 
## press <b>Control-Y</b> (to redo your recording). 
# Now click the <b>X</b> again to delete the track.


====Volume====
:How did your trial sound? Did you have to turn up the volume on your computer to hear it? Or turn the volume down so it wouldn't distort?

[[LibriVox]] files should sound very comfortable to listen to when your computer's volume control is set about halfway between the mid-point and the max-point -- that is, if you're listening on headphones or speakers. If you're listening to built-in speakers, it's much harder to judge the sound level.
* If a sound file requires maximum volume to be comfortably heard, it is <u>Too Faint</u>!
* If a sound file must be played at mid-volume to be comfortable, and feels uncomfortable or begins to distort at 3/4 volume, it is <u>Too Loud</u>!

To record with good volume, learn (right now) about <b>input levels</b> (the level at which your voice is put in to your recording).

* <b>Set your input levels on your computer</b> <br>(the single greatest aid to audio quality)
** on a Mac:
*** <b>Applications > System Preferences > Sound</b>:
*** select your microphone under <b>Choose a device for sound input</b>
*** and slide the <b>Input volume</b> up, usually to 3/4 or 5/8 mark. 
** on a PC:
*** <b>Start > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices </b>
*** click the <b>Audio</b> tab. 
*** Under <b>Sound Recording Default device</b> select your microphone from the drop-down menu and click <b>Volume</b>
*** most folks need to slide the volume higher to about 3/4 or 5/8 mark.

=== Mystery of the Missing Mic ===
Sometimes your mic goes missing. It might have been unplugged while you were doing some editing in Audacity, and now Audacity doesn't know it exists. Even though you plugged it in before you started Audacity, things happen.

<b>If you ever start Audacity while your mic is unplugged...</b>
you can try to simply restart Audacity after you've plugged in the mic. Sometimes that works. But if your recording quality isn't looking so hot, follow these steps:
# quit Audacity
# plug your mic in
# select your mic on your computer and set its input levels (usually 3/4 or 5/8)
# start Audacity
# and check that Audacity has your mic selected:
:* In Audacity's menu bar, Audacity > Preferences...
:* Audio I/O tab, under Recording, Device: select your mic* in the pull-down menu.

(*If your mic isn't listed, start over at step 1, and be sure you've done step 3 properly. If that doesn't work, restart your computer with the mic plugged in, and begin with step 3.)