DenmasterPlease note, we are a little overwhelmed at CSWHQ right now, so won’t be able to purrvide individual help at this time. A group has been set up to crowdsource support. And, most of your questions will be answered in the workshop.
There are a couple of things you’ll need to make this happen:
- Audacity software (it’s free!). Click here to download.
- Earphones/microphone. It’s easiest if you get a headset that comes with a microphone, but you can also use a standalone mic with separate earphones. Here’s a link to the sort of rig you need.
- The background music track. Download it here. or download a zip version of the file here.
- Optional: A voice track to sing along with. Download it here. Or download a zip version of the file here.
When you click the link, it will display the page with the music file. If you’re downloading through Chrome, click the three dots on the bar and you’ll be prompted to download.
How to Record
(Click to biggify any of the screenshots below.)
When you first open the Audacity program, you’ll see a workspace that looks something like this:
There are two volume settings. The first (the one you see below on the left circled in red) controls the volume at which you record. The one on the right (circled in yellow) is the playback volume. Start by setting both of them at the halfway points, then adjust as needed. Usually, you want to keep the playback volume (the one circled in yellow) at the halfway point, and adjust the recording volume.
STEP 1: IMPORT THE MUSIC TRACK
You will need to import the music track. Optionally, you can import the track that contains vocals (it helps if you hear cues on when to sing). From the File menu, select File->Import->Audio and navigate to the place where you have downloaded the music track from the links above.
You can see in the example below what the tracks will look like when imported. Each track has two parts that look identical — they are in stereo. To the right of each track you can Mute and Solo each track. Muting mutes just the selected track and greys it out. Clicking Solo automatically mutes all tracks EXCEPT the selected track.
STEP 2: Add blank track
You’ll need to add the blank track onto which you will record. From the Tracks menu, select Tracks–>Add New–>Stereo Track
STEP 3: Set up mic
When you record, you must record your voice ONLY. That’s why you need to listen to the music through the headphones. That way, the microphone will not pick up the background music. The music track will be added later when the whole choir sings together. The file you produce for your audition must be a voicetrack only.
WARNING! TRICKY PART!
This is where it’s easy to mess up. You have to make sure your are recording your voice through the microphone and not through your computer’s default speakers. Recording through your computer’s speakers results in a tinny-sounding, echo-y sound.
So, you have to make sure that Audacity recognizes the plugged in microphone. To do this, from the Transport menu select Transport–>Rescan Audio Devices.
Once you’ve rescanned, you should see your microphone listed in the microphone array. Select it. (Usually, the brand of the mic is listed in parentheses).
STEP 4: Record
Press the red circle under the Generate Menu. It will probably take eleventy tries to get it right.,.
For the audition, you’ll sing a song with which you are already familiar: The Cat Scouts Anthem. You can sing just the chorus, the chorus and a solo part, or the whole thing. Here are the lyrics:
I grew up a stray.
I lived on the streets.
I never ate Friskies
or got any treats.
But when I joined Cat Scouts
My life was transformed.
Now I fly a red helo and lead my own troop
in my scout unform!
————–
CHORUS
————–
We are the Cat Scouts, my friends,
and we’ll keep on scouting till the end.
We are the Cat Scouts.
We love the Cat Scouts!
No place for snoozers cuz we are the best cats
in the world!
————–
At school I was bullied.
I didn’t fit in.
I was beat up at recess,
‘n’ made fun of in gym.
But then I joined Cat Scouts
at CatScouts.com,
Where I learned to tie knots and go hiking and camp
Oh my life is da bomb!
————–
CHORUS
————–
We are the Cat Scouts, my friends,
and we’ll keep on scouting till the end.
We are the Cat Scouts.
We love the Cat Scouts!
Hooligans are losers cuz we are the best cats!
We are the Cat Scouts, my friends,
and we’ll keep on scouting till the end.
We are the Cat Scouts.
We love the Cat Scouts!
Hooligans are losers cuz we are the best cats!
STEP 5 (Optional): Delete Track
If you know the track is a klinker, you can delete it by clicking the X in the menu at the left of the track:
You can add many tracks and record them, then select the one you like the best. To listen to only a selected track, click “Solo” on the menu on the left side of the voice track.
STEP 6: Export Voice Track
When you are satisfied with your recording, you’ll need to export it as an MP3. ONLY EXPORT THE VOICE TRACK. Click the Solo button for the selected voice track, then select File–>Export–>Export as MP3 from the File menu.
STEP 7: Upload
Upload your audition recording AND a full face photo in a form that will be purrvided (don’t have that ready quite yet; will post in the choir group).
Me furgot what we were s’posed to do with our recordings when they were finished. Are we s’posed to email them to you Den Master @catscouts? Sorry me’s been such a pain tryin’ to get this done. Mommy’s feelin’ better so she helped me with it tonight. Me’s afraid we’re not furmiliar with the song this come sfrom or the peeps who sang it. We listend to the original and so we may need to adjust me’s recordin’. We just need somepawdy who knows the song to tell us where we’re not right and what we need to change to make it right. Fanks.
Gave it a try this afternoon. Was unable to export the track as a MP3 file. I must have done something wrong or my computer just doesn’t like audacity program.
Ali, can you describe what happened when you tried to download it? Like, did you get an error message? If you can, attend the workshop on Thursday and that might help…. don’t worry, we’ll get you through this! — DM @angela-butz
it asked me to download LAME so it could export file as MP3. I cannot attend on Thursday as the human works and won’t be able to get to a computer. Getting Audacity on Windows was easy. Getting it to download on my Chromebook wasn’t. I don’t know which version to download because the windows version won’t download.
I think Chromebooks only use apps from the cloud (I could be wrong), which would explain why you can’t download to your Chromebook. If you want (and you’re able to do it), if you can save the Audacity project file (In Audacity, just go to FILE — SAVE), and then email it to me (denmaster@catscouts.com), I can extract your track from that. @angela-butz
I’m glad we have some time to get this done. Mom went cross eyed when she read it. And since she can only do those squeaky quacks right now, things aren’t looking good for me to be able to try out. Angel Hermie and I have both been looking forward to the choir. Mom has had no voice for thirteen days now. It’s looking like it’s going to be a while. Sniff, sniff. We will do our best.
There’s no specific time limit so no worries. Hope your mom is yakkin it up soon.
Audacity won’t work with chrome.
Ali, do you mean that you are unable to download it with chrome? I use nothing but Chrome and had no trouble. Once it’s recorded, you have no reason to use chrome other than to upload the file (and I don’t have that set up yet.) I’ll send you a mic.
I was able to download audacity on my lenovo which runs windows and was able to download the audio track. Thanks for the headset Denmaster. I will be using it this weekend.
which verson of audacity should I download for Chrome? Windows version didn’t work for Chrome.
Audacity is an application for your computer, it’s not a chrome extension. I’ll have a video to explain the download in detail. –DM
I don’t have a microphone is there any other way to record without it sounding bad? I do understand the directions and can easily do the rest of it.
Scout Ali, I’m sending you a microphone. @angela-butz
Got it! Thanks bunches Denmaster!
We didn’t really understand one word of the instructions, and are worried that we were not able to download the music. We clicked the link, but nothing happened. Maybe once that happens, it will become clearer.
@felix, I’ve added a screenshot above. When you get to the music download page, click the 3 dots on the right. It will launch a popup that prompts you to download.
This sounds really complicated, but our dad has recorded lots of voice overs and has the equipment, so I sure hope he can help Mau and me. Is there a deadline for our audition tape?
No there isn’t. I anticipate that a few of the scouts who are not as well-versed in recording as your dad will take some time to master it. I’ll post a deadline after the Jamboree. The workshops will give me a better idea of how much extra time is needed.