Tips, Tricks and Tutorial

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Monday

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival October 3, 2011

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Audio:

HBAJAKE presents Should You Use Compression In Audio Recording? posted at Home Brew Audio

Martha presents Katy Perry Ties Michael Jackson's Record; Will She Break It?, saying, "Katy Perry is no one-hit wonder. This week, her latest single reached number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The track is her fifth number-one single off her latest album, which ties her for the most all-time off of one record. Michael Jackson was the only other artist to ever reach that number."

Danielle MacInnis presents Podcasting for small business posted at Flying Solo

Kelley Wilson presents 10 Reasons that iTunes is So Popular posted at MacApper.

Ken presents Top Audio Editor Even More Affordable In September posted at Pro PC Audio Recording on a Budget

Lisa Hood presents 10 Groups That Need to Be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame posted at ZenCollegeLife, saying, "Each year when the nominations are announced for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, people often pay more attention to who's not on the list than to who actually might be inducted."

bristolstudios presents Recording: Home Quality vs. Studio Quality posted at bristol recording and voice studios

Marie Kazalia presents Making Music From Everyday Objects, saying, "Sound artist R. Weis created his new Excitable Audible CD over a period of more than two years using recordings of many commonplace sounds found in his home."

You might also be interested in:

That concludes this edition of Do More with Audio. Be sure to Submit your audio articles for the next edition.

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Audio:

Noble presents How Learning Music Theory Made Me A Better Musician posted at Publisher's Vault.

Francis Vhon presents Why You Need To Have DJ Software posted at Gizmos and Gadgets.

How To Choose Audio Recording Software For Your Mac or PC posted at Computer Tips And Tricks.

Musician Coaching presents Advice from a Producer/Mixer posted at Musician Coaching.

Hsiangni Wu presents Podcasting in Language Classroom posted at Alive and Kicking.

You might also be interested in:

That concludes this edition of Do More with Audio. Be sure to Submit your audio articles for the next edition.

Making A Music Video

Over on Review Explorer Chris McGivern posted a detailed interview with Singer-songwriter Andy Fosberry of Ironlight River about making a music video. Fosberry took a do-it-yourself attitude and made a great video without sacrificing his creativity or breaking the bank. And we were particularly thrilled that Fosberry turned to NCH Software using Switch Audio Converter, Prism Video Converter and VideoPad Video Editor to help him along the way.

"As a musician, I use a piece of software call Switch by NCH Software which converts audio formats. And it’s brilliant. To convert these video files I used their A/V equivalent which is called Prism. When it was downloading, I had the option on loads of other things and saw something called VideoPad, which was billed as editing software. I figured it would be like WavePad and, therefore, just for clips etc, but it’s a fully working, kind of mid-level piece of editing software ... Its just so beautifully usable. So much so that I had a working edit in about 8 hours. All the effects, are nicely editable in themselves. So you can really make significant changes to what you are working on."

– Andy Fosberry

If you're interested in making your own music video(s) we would encourage you to go over to Review Explorer and read How To Make A Music Video – For Free for more details on what Fosberry did for his video, and to see the results.

Record DJ Mixes Live

The ability to not only save a playlist but record a DJ mixing session to an audio files was a highly requested feature for Zulu DJ Software for a long time running. Now that this feature has been added, we want to give you a quick look at how you can put it to good use for recording your DJ mixes:

Between the two decks there is a Recording indicator, just above the cross-fader. If you click on this indicator with nothing queued in the deck it opens the Recording Options dialog where you can set the output format, destination folder and file name. With your options set once you are ready to start recording click the indicator again to start or stop recording. The recording indicator will blink while recording is in progress. Note if you don't use the date-time stamp to name your recordings you will need to specify a new format, folder, or file name to avoid overwriting your previous recordings.

That is all there is to it. For quick access to your recordings you can open the destination recording folder from the file menu. Then you will be all set to share, save or edit your recorded DJ mixes with WavePad.

Music Editing for Language Lessons

We recently found a series of videos made by a WavePad user as a guide for people just getting started with audio editing, and for using sound editing software to support use of music in language lessons. While many of the basics are covered in our WavePad video tutorials as well, if there is one thing I have learned, it is that sometimes hearing the same thing in a slightly different way can really help you pick it up. If you are looking for another source to help you ease into audio editing, you should check out this series of 7 videos covering some WavePad audio editing basics:

Select and cut
Splitting and trimming
Saving files in different sound formats
Changing audio track speed
Changing audio track pitch
Using slower speeds and looping to teach sections of a song
Copying edited clips to a new file

So whether you are teaching or learning songs in another language, or you have any other audio projects, be sure that you have WavePad Audio Editor on hand. You never know when it might come in handy.

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival April 4, 2011

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Audio:

Erik presents How Transcribing One Solo Can Entirely Change Your Approach To Improvising posted at Jazz Advice.

Stephen Fortune presents Making Automatic Music With The Audio Environment posted at psfk.

Cory Doctorow presents Measuring radio's penetration in 1936 posted at BoingBoing.

Rose Minz presents The 50 Best Blogs for Music Theory Students posted at Match A College.com.

Bryan Keithley presents Guitar, Meet iPad posted at Finally Fast, saying, "Review of Apogee's new JAM plug in and play interface for the iPad. A great little interface device for folks looking to use their iPad as a portable studio."

Mr Audio Books presents The Essential Guide to Downloadable Audio Books posted at Audio Book Downloads.

U2TOURFANS presents On the road with U2 - U2 360 Tour News, U2 Videos, U2 Music, U2 Concerts, U2 Lyrics, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube posted at U2TOURFANS, saying, "On the road with U2 is dedicated to providing the best U2 experience from around the world. U2 Fans can follow via twitter, facebook, youtube channels and more."

You might also be interested in:

That concludes this edition of Do More with Audio. Be sure to Submit your audio articles for the next edition.

Become a DJ: Learning the Software is Half the Battle

Zulu Virtual DJ Software is an easy-to-use dj software program for mixing track after track during live performances, or you can simply let Zulu be the DJ for you.

To make getting started even easier, we put together this introduction to Zulu DJ Software video tutorial to help aspiring DJs learn their way around the Zulu interface. The video covers the music list, auto play, using the deck, setting the beats per minute (BPM) and using auto-sync, the pitch slider and speed controls for smooth transitions between tracks. It also covers setting cue points, looping, applying effects, and using the headphone output.

Once you've learned some of the basics covered in this video, then all that's really left is picking out the songs to play and keep things moving at your next party.

Getting Started With Music Transcription

TwelveKeys Music Transcription Software is a unique tool for musicians who want to learn how to play a piece of recorded music without the sheet music. If you recorded a piece of music and want to turn it into a personal composition or improvisation, you can use TwelveKeys to pick out the notes, along with Crescendo Music Notation Software to write your transcription out. Or maybe there is song you've been listening to on your iPod that you would love to learn how to play on the piano, guitar or any other instrument. You can use TwelveKeys to create a visual representation of the notes in that song, pick out the notes using the TwelveKeys keyboard, and slow the music down and loop the phrases you want to learn while you play along.

Transcribing music can be a great way to both learn songs and improve your ear. Download TwelveKeys to help you learn your next song, and watch the tutorial below for tips and tricks to make your transcription process faster and more accurate.

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival February 7, 2011

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Audio:

Florine Church presents 20 Incredible TED Talks for Both Music Students and Lovers posted at Bachelor's Degree.

Jennifer Lynch presents 20 Soulful Blogs for Vinyl Fans and Collectors posted at Top Online Colleges.

Bobby Owsinski presents Bobby Owsinski's Big Picture Production Blog: 5 Steps To Prep For Mixing posted at Bobby Owsinski's Big Picture Production Blog.

Jena Ellis presents 11 Greatest TV Theme Songs of All-Time posted at Online Certificate Programs.

Katie Tellefson presents 40 Blogs for the Cajun Enthusiast posted at Accredited MBA, saying, "With Cajun culture and history comes amazing music and even more amazing food. It isn’t every day that you get to nosh on gumbo or dance to the sounds of a fast-paced accordion, but with these Cajun enthusiast blogs, you’ll gain a better understanding of the culture and appreciate its quirks."

Steve Guttenberg presents Does lossless audio guarantee good sound? posted at The Audiophiliac.

Nathan Madsen presents Tips for Creating Audio for the iPhone posted at The Sonic Spread.

You might also be interested in:

That concludes this edition of "Do more with audio." Be sure to Submit your audio article, story or success to the next edition.

Mix Up Your Valentine's With A Sweet Gift

Valentine’s Day is a day for love but it can also be a day of great stress. Finding just the right gift for the one you care about on a tight budget can be mind boggling and quite taxing.

Make this Valentine’s unique by bringing back the puppy love from ’85 and making your sweetie a mixed CD. Fill it with songs from your memories together, or revive your passions with new songs that tell how you feel.

Use Express Burn CD Burning Software to copy your heartfelt songs to disc so your beau can listen in the car or upload your creation to their iTunes. Get crafty and make a CD label with Disketch Disc Label Software to completely customize your one-of-a-kind gift.

Browse more NCH Software to find your own creative gift ideas.

Solving A Musician's Tuning Stress

string instrument tuning software for musicians

As a musician for 16+ years, I encountered many challenges while learning to play the violin. One of the most frustrating and embarrassing aspects of learning an instrument was learning how to tune it. As a child, I was given a few tools to experiment with but none compare to PitchPerfect Tuning Software.

I started out with a pitch pipe, which was really more like a quiet whistling toy than an aid for tuning my instrument. It was especially difficult to use, because one must simultaneously blow into the pipe, play a soft smooth note and adjust the violin pegs to tighten or loosen the strings accordingly - all at the same time. This tuning approach was incredibly time consuming and somewhat inaccurate. I would typically give up after struggling with this method for about 5 minutes and proceed to play my violin in tune or not; much to the dismay of the audience who suffered through concerts.

My next tool was an electronic tuner, which was a pretty nifty device. You fed it a couple of AA's, bowed across the strings softly and it showed little indicator lights telling you when you were too sharp or flat. It was a nice enough contraption, but I'm sure you can see where the problems began when the batteries would wither. The machine would gradually begin to point you in the wrong direction and your strings would no longer match up with the person in the chair next to you. Eventually the poor gadget would cease to work altogether and it would OF COURSE happen to be on the day of a big competition or a show and you would flit about minutes before stage time, begging everyone nearby for their tuning device (heaven forbid they still used a pitch pipe; sharing spit with strangers is never pleasant) and frantically tune yourself before going on stage.

As you can tell, it was very stressful growing up in the age before laptop computers and smart phones, but now it's as simple as a quick (and free!) download to my iPhone and laptop and I have an easy and accurate way to get my violin in tune wherever I may go. The PitchPerfect Instrument Tuner has a clean interface and easy-to-read note identification that comes in handy not only for tuning, but perfecting and identifying individual notes.

If you like PitchPerfect, you should try out TempoPerfect metronome software and our other software for musicians, so you never miss a beat.

Put a DJ in da House (Next to the Christmas Tree)

Give DJ Software to the music lover on your holiday shopping list

Do you know someone with tons of music, opinions on how it should be listened to, and with a desire to share their music with others? It might be time to give them the opportunity to become a disc jockey.

At first thought, it sounds expensive. Think of all the records, the turntables, the earth-moving speakers, the disco ball—then calm down. You don't need any of these to get started! All that you need is Zulu DJ software, and your existing music collection. Designed for beginners and professionals alike, Zulu gives any DJ-in-training the tools to start out with a basic setup and will grow with them as they begin to buy and use all that hefty equipment later on.

Beginners can practice transitioning between songs loaded on virtual decks, and with automatic beat detection, cross-fading, live effects, and synchronization between tracks, Zulu will make any DJ newbie sound like they know what they are doing. Soon, they'll be cueing up the next track and applying effects on the fly for a completely customized music experience.

Zulu also works great as an auto-DJ for those who want control over the music without the maintenance. Simply pre-load a playlist into the program, and Zulu will keep the music coming all night long, with seamless transitions between each track so you'll never hear a pause in the music at your holiday parties or upcoming New Year celebrations.

So if you're struggling with those last-minute gifts, consider Zulu for the music lover on your list. Then throw a party and put them in charge of the tunes!

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival December 6, 2010

Audio is everywhere you look, or listen. Add a little time a dash of creativity and you will be surprised at what you can find out there to listen to. Take for example the discovery that you can get the Google translate tool to sound like a beat box. But be warned playing around with the different language combinations will suck away a chunk of your day before you know what happened.

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Audio:

Corinne Reidy presents 10 Signs You’re an Insufferable Music Snob posted at Web Design Schools Guide.

Nils J. Sandback presents Piano Humour: A Victor Borge Tribute posted at Piano Street's Classical Piano Blog, saying, "A tribute to the Danish pianist and humorist Victor Borge."

Bart Bryars presents First Time Success Making A Music Video, saying, "This is my first video, and the opening number the musical, Joey, that my wife and I have been working on."

Corinne Reidy presents Top 10 Dance Videos on YouTube posted at Web Design Schools Guide.

Gregg Fine presents Getting Started in Advertising Music-The Video Reel Pt. 1 posted at Hidden Tiger Music Blog, saying, "This blog focuses on the art and craft of making music for advertising and television commercials. Additional topics include mixing, recording, audio engineering, composing, arranging."

You might also be interested in:

Boost Audio Quality for Radio and Podcast Production
Make your own haunting halloween soundtrack
More awards for NCH Software including a new award for the audio editing favorite WavePad
Showing that Good Things Do Come in Small Packages since the last edition we announced the WavePad Audio Editing iPhone App, and have had a stellar user review

That concludes this edition of "Do more with audio." Be sure to Submit your audio article, story or success to the next edition.

User Spotlight: First Time Success Making A Music Video

Bart Bryars recently purchased PhotoStage Slideshow Software and put together his first video. The opening number for their musical, Joey, is a take on everything New York City.

"It turned out so good and has had such a positive response, I thought I'd send it to you so you could see what's possible for a first time novice like me, who has no training whatsoever in video arts or production. We don't even have a camcorder. The action parts were shot on a regular Sony digital camera that happens to have a basic recording feature.

Thank you so much for your product. Very simple and easy to use."

– Bart Bryars

As we've mentioned in the past we strive to make all of our software easy to use. So it is great to not only hear that we are doing a good job, but to see the results as well. We really enjoyed watching the musical number they put together with the help of PhotoStage Slideshow Creator and wanted to share it with all of you fine readers:

We hope you enjoy their video too. Maybe it will inspire you to put together your own musical video montage after seeing what couple of beginners were able to do.

Do More With Audio - Blog Carnival October 4, 2010

I recently saw a great example of someone doing something just a little bit off the cuff with music and audio in this wonderful video: Violin Hip-Hop. The video is of two guys, one playing the violin and another mixing it up as a DJ, and is well worth a watch. Not only is it entertaining, but it is an a fun example of combining different musical styles and playing with all kinds of audio by making a mashup of hip hop and violin, which is traditionally more classical. When it comes to audio, the sky is the limit, and traditions aren't written in stone so why not do something new and make it your own.

Here are this editions entries to Do More with Audio:

Steve presents Tutorials | NI Massive synth patches & tutorials posted at NI Massive synth patches & tutorials Synth patches and tutorials for Native Instruments Massive.

Mike Vogt presents Top 10 Wedding Songs of All-Time posted at Christian Colleges Online.

vic mori presents How to Convert Mono MP3 to Stereo posted at Multimedia Software Tips.

Naomi Seldin presents 10 Rock Stars Who Went to an Ivy League School posted at Online Colleges and Universities Education Database.

peterselby7 presents Purchase your Digital Audio Speakers, Plans and factory direct speaker posted at Home Speaker Blog, saying, "Home Theater and Speaker building information for the beginner, intermediate and advanced enthusiast. Learn more about how home audio works."

mmrz presents Are There Copyrights On Downloaded Music? posted at Free Ipod Songs, saying, "Copyrights for downloaded music."

Jordy Clements presents loom Weaves Omaha posted at Omaha Arts and Culture, saying, "Loom: a hand-operated or power-driven apparatus for weaving fabrics. Or loom: one of Omaha's most respected dance parties. With the recent White Party, and the upcoming loom Weaves the Joslyn Sculpture Garden, we talked with loom's DJ Brent Crampton."

Carol Vertz presents 10 Most Popular Bar Songs of All-Time posted at Liberal Arts Colleges.

Corrine Smith presents 10 Must-See Fall Music Festivals posted at General Studies Degree.

Tom,C. presents Turtle Beach Wireless Review - Rating the Ear Force X31 Wireless Headset Audio posted at Shopping-and-Product-Reviews:Electronics Articles from EzineArticles.com, saying, "A review of the Turtle Beach X31 Wireless Gaming Headset"

You might also be interested in:

That concludes this edition. Be sure to Submit your audio article to the next edition.

Zulu DJ Mixing Software Gets the Gold

We are steadily collecting more Gold here at NCH—Michael Phelps might need to look out. The latest Gold is for the always fun Zulu DJ Mixing Software. The good people at TopTenReviews just gave it the number one spot in the DJ Mixing software category, going so far as to declare "You can't lose with Zulu DJ mixing software." And that is just the beginning of this very good review for Zulu. They went on to say:

"In an extremely competitive field of DJ mixing software, Zulu stands just a bit taller than all of the rest. The intuitive and advanced features of this program, including a user-friendly, simple and straightforward interface, help them rise to the top of our rankings. The software is compatible with most, if not all, audio formats, including wav, mp3 and wma."

– TopTenReviews

You can read the complete review of Zulu DJ Mixing Software on the TopTenReviews website. Or, simply download and try it out for yourself, take your DJ skills to the next level and try being the DJ at your next party.

What you need to know about copying or editing someone else’s music

You might find yourself editing music and wondering, am I allowed to do this? Whether you’re making your own music mashup with the MixPad multi-track mixer, adding a soundtrack to your home videos with VideoPad video editor, or making a new ringtone for your phone with WavePad audio editor, there are some rules you need to know about your music, and how you’re allowed to use it.

What’s mine isn’t yours and what’s yours isn’t mine

What you need to know about copying or editing someone else’s music

That is the legal stance as far as copying or editing someone else’s music is concerned. With the increased popularity of the MP3 music format in the late 1990s, the sharing of copy written music without authorization became much more prevalent, causing an increase in concerns about copyright infringement. Today, copyright infringement isn’t something to take lightly. If you’re caught copying or editing someone else’s work you may be forced to pay heavy fines. Just ask former Boston University student Joel Tenenbaum - he had to pay $675,000 in fines for illegally downloading music.

Copying Music

According to The Copyright Act of 1976, you are allowed to copy someone else’s work if it falls under fair use. Fair use is described as using limited portions of a work, including quotes, comments, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports.

Editing Music

Since it is legal to create software to edit music, shouldn’t editing music be legal? There is a lot of talk about reselling and downloading copyrighted music, but not too much about edited music. The most important thing to know is you can edit music as long as you do not intend to use it for commercial use. Also, once you purchase music you inherit the rights to share that music with your friends, and you are also allowed to edit that music as long as you keep a copy of the original.

For more information see the following articles:

Using Edited Music on YouTube

For quite some time now, posting copyrighted or edited music to original videos on YouTube has been a problem. However, as of June anyone who wishes to put music behind their videos can, you just have to follow these simple rules. First, it is important to know that YouTube has signed a deal with Rumblefish, allowing users access to a library of music. Therefore, if you use music from this library you can edit it any way you like without worrying about YouTube removing your video. All you have to do is purchase the song for $1.99 and you will have a lifetime license to use and edit that song on YouTube.

Basic things to remember

Always purchase music legally either at a music store or online
If it’s not your original music, using it may be violating someone’s copyright
If you aren't sure something is copy written, check with the US Copyright Office
Selling or redistributing music without the copyright owners permission is a violation of the owner's rights
If you edit or mix song you’ve purchased, you have to keep a copy of the original song
Only the owner of copy written work has the right to prepare or authorize someone else to create a new version of that work
When using someone else’s work, even just a portion of it for a video or any other project, it is always a good idea to credit the original artist(s)

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival August 2, 2010

Welcome to the August 2, 2010 edition of Do More with Audio.

Jack Josey presents How to Sound Like a Pro When Podcasting posted at Audio Production Advice.

How To Record Better Bass posted at podcomplex.

Mike Ross presents The 12 Greatest Costumed Rock Bands Ever posted at Star Costumes Blog, saying, "Rock and Roll has had its share of larger than life characters. Some were born with an innate charisma that just demanded attention. Other artists fully embraced rock and roll’s shared sense of rebellion and theater to create new personas through costume."

Phil Lopez presents Top 10 Christian Hymns of All-Time posted at Christian Colleges and Universities.

Collecting Vinyl Records posted at Recording Video.

peterselby7 presents Jun 30, Used Audio Cables, a great way to save. The Best Speaker Wire and Audio Cable posted at Home Speaker Blog.

You might also be interested in:

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Do More With Audio using our carnival submission form.

Welcome to the June 7, 2010 edition of Do More with Audio.

Angelita Williams presents 10 Amazing College Marching Bands On YouTube posted at OnlineUniversities.com.

Laura presents Tone Generation Software and Sound Therapy, saying, "Perhaps the most intriguing application of sound frequencies is in sound therapy. Health problems ranging from cancer to asthma, allergies to influenza can reportedly all be treated with sound therapy."

Sushant Das presents iPhoneProgramming Resource for Developers and Entrepreneurs posted at The iPhone Developer Resource, saying, "iPhone Development and iPhone Programming Resource for developers. Sign up to get daily coding tips and tricks straight from the gurus. Get free source code snippets in weekly packs. Access experts and ask them any questions or issues you are facing."

If you are interested in audio and have an iphone, you should also check out NCH Software's free iphone apps. WavePad will be available for the iphone soon, so be sure to check back for updates.

Ferrari Dude presents 50 Free Android Apps Every College Student Needs posted at Online University Reviews, saying, "Saving money is paramount in college, as most students don’t have a lot of that commodity to throw around. So, you may welcome some free Android apps that can push your productivity, creativity and communication always seem welcome."

Garth presents Creating Unique Sounds with MixPad and WavePad, saying, "I like to use MixPad to create a variety of unique sounds I can use as sound effects or to play on my synthesizer. These sound effects can be used in commercials, movies, videos, music, audio programs, or by DJs on the radio."

Pierson Group presents Agile Development- 10 Principles posted at Companies Improve ROI in Software Development, saying, "Pierson Requirement Group has trained various business analyst, corporate project managers, quality assurance managers, and professional consultants. The training format used by Pierson group includes on-site classroom training, instructor-led public classroom training, and virtual instructor-led training."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
Do More With Audio using our carnival submission form.

Announcing NCH’s Blog Carnival: Do More with Audio

As part of the continuing effort to publicize the NCH Blog, I have recently become familiar with blog carnivals. A blog carnival is a cross between an event and a magazine in the blogging world. Editions of blog carnivals are periodically released perhaps every month or every quarter, and cover just about any topic you can think of. Any blogger can host a carnival, which entails reviewing posts and articles relevant to the topic submitted by other bloggers for inclusion, and then publishing the carnival on their blog with summaries and links to the blogs chosen for inclusion. blogcarnival.com is the largest blog carnival community, where bloggers can submit their posts to these carnivals, or where active Blog Carnival lists can been viewed.

A few months ago, I started submitting posts to some of the blog carnivals out there, and we've since been featured in quite a few:

Our Audio Suite laid the foundation for the rest of the software products we have today, and WavePad is still one of our best known and most loved applications. Because of this I have decided host a carnival about audio: production tips, tricks, and projects. The Do More with Audio Blog Carnival will bring diversity, user experience, and deeper knowledge to the NCH Software Blog. The success of our audio carnival will depend on how many great submissions we get. So, if you've done anything with audio from creating ringtones to podcasts, band demos to soundtracks submit your posts about working with audio here and share your experiences with other people who are serious about audio in our first edition. I look forward to reading all about your audio escapades.

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What’s mine isn’t yours and what’s yours isn’t mine

Copying Music

Editing Music

Using Edited Music on YouTube

Basic things to remember

Monday

Wednesday

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