Answer Geek
QUESTION: Where can I find information on recording my voice for Web-based or computer-based training?
About.com offers a good beginner's guide on turning your computer into a recording studio. You'll find basic information on choosing software and equipment, tips for recording, and steps for saving your files.
The streaming media process allows audio and video to be played over the Web as it's downloading, rather than having users wait for the entire file to download first. Streaming Media's mission is to serve and educate the streaming media industry. Their Website provides tons of information: newsletters, discussion lists, tutorials, and more. A tutorial (part one and two) about creating audio on the Web doesn't include information on recording, but it does offer tips on making audio sound better once it's recorded. The articles do a good job explaining technical processes to the layperson, sticking to descriptions of various effects rather than getting into the nitty-gritty of how to achieve the effects in specific software programs. Links to (what else) recorded video presentations offer more information on creating and streaming audio.
According to their Website, RealAudio introduced the first streaming media product for the Internet. The audio chapter in their production guide includes tips on how to capture, optimize, encode, and deliver audio. The guide will help you select equipment, set input levels, edit sound, and so forth. The information is of mid-level difficulty; not hard to understand, but it does assume some prior knowledge. Additional information on bandwidth, broadcasting, and advanced production techniques is available elsewhere in the guide.
Canada's University of Waterloo offers helpful tips on creating audio, although the information is not extremely current. (They mention Windows 95 and Internet Explorer 3.0, but most of the information should still be useful.) Scroll down to "Recording on Your Own" for step-by-step instructions on recording WAV files using basic Windows and Mac tools. They also offer more tips on
Although somewhat dated, as well, Recording Sound Files and MIDI Enhances the Music World provide good background information on the difference between musical MIDIs and WAVs/SNDs and the recommended equipment for each.
A set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) from an audio newsgroup includes information about recording techniques, speakers, acoustics, and sound. The Website Howstuffworks explains the differences between various types of microphones and how they work.
Last, but certainly not least--if you've bought recording software, be sure to check out its help resources or visit the publisher's Website for more information.
Published: April 2001