[COMPLETE]From Ritual to Romance by Jessie L. Weston-mtf

Solo or group recordings that are finished and fully available for listeners
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Happiness1
Posts: 59
Joined: March 25th, 2021, 7:19 am

Post by Happiness1 »

Hi everyone. Just an update. Iv fixed most of the errors and its sounding good but now my Audacity keeps hanging. I think Im going to have to uninstall and reinstall it. I thought switching my pc on and off would work but it didnt. Im so keen to get this finished. Hopefully I'll be able to resubmit it tomorrow. i've learned a ton meanwhile :D
mightyfelix
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Post by mightyfelix »

Thanks for the update! I hope you can fix the issue. It may be worthwhile posting in the Need Help forum. There is a thread near the top for Audacity questions. I'm glad that you are learning in the meantime! There is a lot to figure out at first, but soon it becomes easier.
Happiness1
Posts: 59
Joined: March 25th, 2021, 7:19 am

Post by Happiness1 »

Thanks, I'll post on the forum and see if there are suggestions.
Happiness1
Posts: 59
Joined: March 25th, 2021, 7:19 am

Post by Happiness1 »

https://librivox.org/uploads/mightyfelix/fromritualtoromance_14_weston_128kb.mp3 - 40.34 mins. Audacity v3 Microsoft Office 10.

I REALLY hope its much better now and look forward to your comments. There are still plosives I didnt manage to fully improve but I think when I record a new piece I'll be much more aware of them. Please let me know asap if I can continue with the next piece, thx Devorah. :D
mightyfelix
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Post by mightyfelix »

Happiness1 wrote: May 12th, 2021, 5:14 am https://librivox.org/uploads/mightyfelix/fromritualtoromance_14_weston_128kb.mp3 - 40.34 mins. Audacity v3 Microsoft Office 10.

I REALLY hope its much better now and look forward to your comments. There are still plosives I didnt manage to fully improve but I think when I record a new piece I'll be much more aware of them. Please let me know asap if I can continue with the next piece, thx Devorah. :D
Thank you! Can you confirm exactly which chapter(s) this recording is? I listened to just the first few seconds, and it sounds like you are starting in chapter 1, which has already been recorded. :?

Since we have unfortunately lost our DPL, I will try to find a time to check the rest, but it's unlikely before the weekend.
Happiness1
Posts: 59
Joined: March 25th, 2021, 7:19 am

Post by Happiness1 »

Hi Devorah

I think I've found the mess I made. I've just been through the Gutenburg book. What I did was go to the summary of Chapter 14 about pg 15 vs the actual chapter 14 which starts on 129. My chapter that I read starts with:

The Author
Provenance and authorship of Grail romantic tradition.

sooooo..... The actual Chapter which is on pg 152 seems to have been what I was supposed to be reading. No wonder there is so much confusion. It's all been great practice etc but what now. Don't waste your time listening to the recording. All I want is a comment on the quality so I know I'm finally on the right track. I have beautifully corrected the introduction to Chapter 14 at the beginning of the book :hmm: this is called a severe learning curve. How does one make sure before the time that you're reading the right piece. Can we not refer to page numbers? I will happily do this. Im not giving this up, its what I love and I want to get it right. I've found the correct Chapter 14 . Let me read it . :roll:
mightyfelix
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Post by mightyfelix »

Oh no, I'm sorry that this has been such a comedy of errors for you!

Honestly, I think you just had the bad luck to choose as your first project a text that isn't formatted that well. :? Most Gutenberg texts that I've seen actually have hyperlinks embedded in the table of contents that will plonk you down right at the start of the chapter you click on, so that you don't have to scroll and find it. This one does not, which makes it just that little bit harder to find your spot. Then, the text itself is also challenging and the chapters are fairly long. I'm impressed that you are sticking with it!

I will check on your file tomorrow or the next day. From the few seconds that I heard, it seemed really good!
Happiness1
Posts: 59
Joined: March 25th, 2021, 7:19 am

Post by Happiness1 »

Hmm...I wondered that myself, where is the clickable table of contents....anyway, it was all for a good cause. I challenged myself to do this and by George, I think I've got it. :D the new file is read, the same volume throughout and plosives down. It should hopefully land on your cyberdesk later my time tomorrow morning. :clap:
mightyfelix
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Post by mightyfelix »

Happiness1 wrote: May 12th, 2021, 5:14 am https://librivox.org/uploads/mightyfelix/fromritualtoromance_14_weston_128kb.mp3 - 40.34 mins. Audacity v3 Microsoft Office 10.

I REALLY hope its much better now and look forward to your comments. There are still plosives I didnt manage to fully improve but I think when I record a new piece I'll be much more aware of them. Please let me know asap if I can continue with the next piece, thx Devorah. :D
Ok, I had a listen to this last upload, and as I said before, since you read both chapters 1 and 2, we can still use it for chapter 2. I did find a few technical issues that you'll need to fix for your next upload. Your first file was fine as to settings, but it looks like something changed since then. This one has a variable bit rate, whereas the bit rate should be constant at 128 kbps. This is set when you export your file, so just double check the settings in the export box. It's also now a bit too loud. The whole thing should come down by about 5 dB.

Now, I'm willing to cut out chapter 1 and upload your recording of chapter 2 myself with correct settings so that you can move on. All I need from you is confirmation that you do indeed want Sonia to record the non-English portions, rather than reading them yourself. If so, I will insert those myself, too. But I don't want to ask her to record them until I know for sure that that's what you want.

In the meantime, yes, you are certainly clear to work on chapter 14, as I believe you said you are indeed doing! :clap:
Happiness1
Posts: 59
Joined: March 25th, 2021, 7:19 am

Post by Happiness1 »

Thank you so much Devorah. Im absolutely fine with someone else reading the french and german bits in, whatever makes it sound best. I have completed Chapter 14 (the right one :wink: ) and it mostly sounds on the same tone and level. I'll check the export settings when I do export it. However, before I upload it, I just need some advice on bumps. My mic (or me) seems to keep creating plosives and or bumps. Is that something one can edit out. I've reinserted quite a few pieces but thought I'd check with you. Is it possible that I can ask some silly questions about Audacity effects and the way it works which possibly are obvious to others but Im not understanding. I find the settings so technical, thresholds in minus vs plus decibels and how that changes sounds etc. i agree that I can watch another 20 audacity videos but it's alot to go through if you're just looking for some specific help. the Forum is slow to respond and I want to get this in and get it right without creating extra work for anyone.
Happiness1
Posts: 59
Joined: March 25th, 2021, 7:19 am

Post by Happiness1 »

https://librivox.org/uploads/mightyfelix/test_sample_for_bumps_and_plosives.mp3

I also see that there are mono or stereo settings for the export, I don't have to worry about those? Please explain to me what happens when i don't export it at 128kb. I've found the video link to noise-cleaning. I'll also go through that and see what I can learn there.
Happiness1
Posts: 59
Joined: March 25th, 2021, 7:19 am

Post by Happiness1 »

Right, TARA!!.... https://librivox.org/uploads/mightyfelix/fromritualtoromance_14_weston_128kb.mp3 37.59 minutes. Recorded on Audacity 3 on pc using Microsoft 10.

Here it finally is. I've looked at dozens of videos trying to fix the plosives and odd bumps and Im sorry but I cannot get it right. I devoted my whole afternoon to it but the videos and versions of audacity vary and its very confusing trying to put the two together. Im happy to redo any sections and if you tell me how to fix the plosives and bumps but it passed the checker and I think I managed to get the volume equal throughout. I also think I must get a filter for my mic so that the plosives are less and I seem to speak very loudly althought I've set my mic higher than my mouth :) . comments welcome.
Happiness1
Posts: 59
Joined: March 25th, 2021, 7:19 am

Post by Happiness1 »

Oh, one last thing. When I start going through my recording, I highlight the entire file and normalise it on -3.0 then I use compress dynamics on the recommended settings to get it to the same volume throughout. However, it will not change the whole file. It changes only small sections and then as I go along, I still have to reselect sections and redo the compress dynamics. I would have thought that selecting the whole file would automatically put the same settings throughout but obviously not. Any suggestions on that please?
mightyfelix
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Post by mightyfelix »

Happiness1 wrote: May 19th, 2021, 4:43 am https://librivox.org/uploads/mightyfelix/test_sample_for_bumps_and_plosives.mp3

I also see that there are mono or stereo settings for the export, I don't have to worry about those? Please explain to me what happens when i don't export it at 128kb. I've found the video link to noise-cleaning. I'll also go through that and see what I can learn there.
I only heard one bad plosive here. I think you mentioned that you will be getting a pop filter, and that will help. The only other advice I have is to move your microphone slightly to one side. What you want is to talk "past" the mic, so to speak, not directly into it.

As far as your settings, they are good as is. Audacity will remember your settings for future recordings, so as long as you don't change anything at this point, you are good! I'm not sure that I can answer your specific questions well. I'm not an expert on the tech side. I've just figured out (mostly by trial and error) which buttons to click to get things working right, not why it works that way. The reason we require 128 kbps is because that is what the Internet Archive, who hosts our files, requires. They take our 128kb files and create files in other formats. But again, I don't know specifically why they need that.
mightyfelix
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 11103
Joined: August 7th, 2016, 6:39 pm

Post by mightyfelix »

Happiness1 wrote: May 19th, 2021, 10:52 am Right, TARA!!.... https://librivox.org/uploads/mightyfelix/fromritualtoromance_14_weston_128kb.mp3 37.59 minutes. Recorded on Audacity 3 on pc using Microsoft 10.

Here it finally is. I've looked at dozens of videos trying to fix the plosives and odd bumps and Im sorry but I cannot get it right. I devoted my whole afternoon to it but the videos and versions of audacity vary and its very confusing trying to put the two together. Im happy to redo any sections and if you tell me how to fix the plosives and bumps but it passed the checker and I think I managed to get the volume equal throughout. I also think I must get a filter for my mic so that the plosives are less and I seem to speak very loudly althought I've set my mic higher than my mouth :) . comments welcome.
Thank you! This is in the MW. As I said, your settings and volume are good here, according to Checker. I haven't listened to any portion of it yet.

To be honest with you, I wouldn't worry too much about plosives at this stage. You should hear some of my first recordings. I had some pretty bad plosives and bumps myself! But the more recordings you make, the better you will get, as you start to learn what works best for you. :)

As to your question about the compressor (and again, I'm not a tech expert), I suspect that it is in fact compressing the whole file. But the way that compression is designed to work, it treats different parts differently. The loudest parts will get reduced, while the quietest parts will be untouched. The only advice I can give you is to try out changing up different settings. But I don't know what all the settings do, personally. As I said, I've done a lot of trial and error to see what works for me!
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