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| Spend long enough editing audio and you'll have the same blank stare John Cage has here. |
On Thursday we'll take a brief detour from our studies to spend a little time going over the basics of audio editing. In particular, we'll be discussing the very powerful freeware editing software Audacity (which you can download here; you'll also need to download the LAME encoder here to be able to process MP3 files), though you can use any other method or program for editing audio that you're comfortable with. This will hopefully give you enough of a foundation to start playing around on your own in preparation for your midterm audio projects (described below), which will be due just shy of a month from Thursday's class.
As part of your audio experimentation, you might want to use some of Audacity's built-in effects, and I encourage you to play around with them. You'll find Wikipedia pages for various effects here and more detailed descriptions of some of the basic types of effects you'll encounter here. Another helpful resource is Audacity's own tips wiki, and of course, you can and should also feel free to use our Facebook group to troubleshoot any obstacles you face.
I've been editing audio and recording digitally for more than six years now (through Adobe Audition, Audacity and Apple's Garageband), and before that spent many years working on 4-track recorders and regular tape decks. Programs like Audacity are relatively user-friendly, but that doesn't mean you won't run into difficulties along the way, especially if you've never worked with audio before. A few general pointers before you get started:
- The best way to learn is through trial and error. You will make mistakes, accidentally erase tracks, and maybe even lose projects, and it's better to do that this weekend than a few hours before the midterm project's due.
- Always be sure to save backup copies of your recordings, work with safety copies, and export new mixes as new versions rather than overwriting your originals. Copy rather than cut, and open a new project or window if necessary. Redundancy is key here, but don't forget that you can always download a new copy of online recordings (from the sources below or your SoundCloud account) if needed.
- Thoroughly document your efforts: use descriptive file names and keep a log of the various steps you take while manipulating your audio, including settings for effects, filters, etc. This will make it easier to recreate processes if you want to apply them to multiple samples or to start over when needed.
- Undo (ctrl/command+Z) is your best friend. If you screw something up (and you will), it's better to undo it and try again rather than take further steps to try to fix it.
- Wear headphones while working and remember that you have the whole stereo field to work with. You can go a long way towards making cleaner, uncluttered recordings if you aim for dynamic range and balance: pan two voice tracks left and right for separation, keep higher and lower frequency sounds apart for greater definition, give quiet sounds room to breathe away from louder signals.
- Try to have fun with the process and remember that nobody expects perfection.
You'll create your own 30 second audio project that's inspired by the techniques employed by the writers we'll be reading during weeks 5–8 —namely cut-ups, collage, repetition, found sound, etc. — using Audacity and/or any other audio recording and editing software or hardware that you like. You have a tremendous amount of leeway here, both in terms of source material and techniques employed, however your finished projects should show some signs of being guided by "poetic" processes (what exactly that might mean will be in large part determined by our upcoming classes) and it should also demonstrate some manner of complexity, juxtaposition, texture, grain, etc. More importantly, it should embody a sense of discovery and experimentation (or show that you've gotten your hands dirty working with your source audio) though it need not be polished or perfect for it to be worthy and interesting. Your audio project should be uploaded to our class SoundCloud group prior to the start of class on the 17th, with [Poetry and Sound Midterm] added at the end of the filename and your name at the start (for example: "Michael Hennessey, (title), [Poetry and Sound Midterm]").
In addition to the audio composition, you'll also write up a brief analysis of your project (approximately 300-500 words) in which you discuss the specific source materials and techniques you used and frame your work through your readings during weeks 5–8 as well as our foundations readings (Chion, Cage, Barthes, etc.). You'll hand this in at the start of class on the 17th.
We'll spend our class session on the 17th doing very quick round-robin sessions listening to each student's composition in turn with two minutes for comments after each. We'll have to be succinct, but this will give everyone a chance to share their work and get feedback from their peers. For this reason, you'll also want to make sure you stick to the 30 second limit, because any time you run over will come out of your comment time.
My hope is that this project won't just be a great way to wrap up the work we'll have done during the first half of the semester, but also will help you get comfortable editing audio in anticipation of your finals, where you'll be producing a longer and more involved version of this sort of audio project/essay combo.
We'll spend our class session on the 17th doing very quick round-robin sessions listening to each student's composition in turn with two minutes for comments after each. We'll have to be succinct, but this will give everyone a chance to share their work and get feedback from their peers. For this reason, you'll also want to make sure you stick to the 30 second limit, because any time you run over will come out of your comment time.
My hope is that this project won't just be a great way to wrap up the work we'll have done during the first half of the semester, but also will help you get comfortable editing audio in anticipation of your finals, where you'll be producing a longer and more involved version of this sort of audio project/essay combo.
Sources for audio:
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