Software

Sound editing software

In order to record oral history on your computer you will need some sound editing software. This software will also allow you to manipulate and edit sound recordings. You will be able to cut out sections of the recording that you do not like, select extracts that you do like, adjust the volume and even improve the quality of the recording. Most of the following software has versions for both PC and Mac, although if you have a Mac, Garageband will do most of what you need.

There are a variety of programs available for editing sound on your computer. You can download Audacity, a good sound editing program, for free (this site also has good instructions on how to use the software).

Among others, Acoustica provides mid-price options which are available on the Internet for a trial period and then cost in the region of £35, and your local computer shop is likely to sell something similar in this price range. Another example is Amadeus. Other options include Hindenburg Journalist which, as the name suggests, is aimed at radio journalists.

If you have more money to spend you might want to look at Adobe Audition or Sound Forge . For basic tasks these products do not offer many advantages over the freeware alternatives. However they do offer a series of useful ad-on modules that allow you to do hiss removal, work with multiple tracks or apply a variety of effects to your sound.

Once you have your software you should see a window that looks something like this:

You are likely to recognise most of the controls from other Windows programs you have used and from hi-fi equipment that you own. All the usual 'play', 'stop', 'record' buttons are there, but you will also be able to see the soundwave which is playing.

Be careful not to permanently change your master recording. You may want to create a copy and edit this.

For further information about how to get started using sound editing software, try the Vermont Folklife Centre's Digital Editing of Field Audio or the JISC guide to digitising analogue media

Once you have learnt to manipulate the sound as you wish you can 'burn' (copy) this to a CD via a CD burner in your computer. A CD burner will look like an ordinary CD drive, but is a special piece of hardware that you will need to buy from your PC retailer.

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