Lab Assignment 2

Recording and Importing Audio Files

Content from Lab Assignment 1

Preparation of a mobile audio recording app of your choice on your personal mobile device:

Select and install an app that has the ability to record uncompressed audio - this includes wav, aiff, Apple Lossless, FLAC or caf files. Apps that record only in mp3 or AAC are prohibited.
Test recording of uncompressed audio.
Test file transfer from mobile device to computer. If you do not own a mobile device capable of recording audio (iPhone, Android, or other portable standalone recorder), one will be provided for you at the lab meeting time.

Review the following document from our course materials:

Field recording using a mobile recorder
Importing audio from a device
Event-based audio editing techniques and tools within the arrange window
- Creating and editing Fades with the Arrow Tool
- Optional: Strip Silence

Before starting, ensure that you are using a mobile app that is set to record in an uncompressed format (see file types in Prerequisites) AND, if the options are accessible, that it is set to use a bit depth of 16 bits or greater and sampling rate of 44,100Hz (44.1kHz) or greater.
Take the first half of lab time wandering around the building and immediate vicinity looking for interesting sounds. Remember to be respectful of those around you. Capture one example of each of the following on your portable recording device:

natural sounds - sounds that occur in nature (birds, water, tree leaves, wind, etc)
environmental sounds - sounds made by other humans or machines around you (talking, running, traffic, espresso machines, etc)
intentional sounds - a sound you make yourself that you find interesting (knocking on a metal handrail or locker, stomping in the stairwell, squeaky shoes, etc) Return to the lab with enough time remaining to import and edit your files.

Open your DAW, create a new song/project with the title “YourFirstNameYourLastName-Lab2”. If prompted, use the following settings:

Import your newly recorded audio files into a location on your computer. The process for getting files off of your recording device will be a little different depending on the platform (iPhone, Android, or other). Once the files are on your computer, drag them onto new separate tracks in the arrange window.

Android instructions (Skip the installation step - the Android File Transfer application will already be installed on your lab computer.)
Apple Music Memos Instructions (You can use either the Share via email or Share via iTunes on a Mac options, though the latter requires an iPhone USB cable and knowledge of iTunes.)

Look for interesting moments or sections in your files and isolate them by splicing and deleting undesired content. Tighten up the remaining audio regions by adding short Fades to the start and end of every region.
Optional: Depending on the source material, the “Strip Silence” function may work well to automate the first stage of this process. You will still need to manually clean up the regions that it leaves behind.
When you are finished, submit your project using the procedure in the Basic Submission Instructions document.
As always, save a backup copy on your personal storage media.