The all-new "HELP! I have an Audacity problem" thread

Post by **TriciaG** » July 8th, 2018, 4:26 pm

deakle wrote: ↑July 8th, 2018, 4:18 pm OK—new here and trying to upload my 1-minute test. following the directions, when I click on "SAVE" I get a window that says Audacity needs the file libmp3lame.dylib to create mp3's. Where do I go from here? My Mac won't open LAME and there's nothing about this in the instructions on LibriVox.

(1) Don't SAVE, but Export.

(2) The 1-minute test wiki page doesn't talk about LAME, but the Audacity 1-2-3 wiki page (which discusses installation and setup) does: https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php?title=Audacity_1-2-3
(I haven't copied the formatting - links, etc. - please go to the wiki page to see all links.)

Download and Install

(The steps below are a short outline. For a more complete tutorial, please check out this guide.)

Find the correct Audacity version for your operating system from this page: http://web.audacityteam.org/download/
> Follow instructions to download and install.
Lame Encoder (This will enable you to export your files in mp3 format)
> Download the lame mp3 encoder from this page: Lame Download
> Install the Lame encoder by following the instructions given in the previous link.

deakle · Post by **deakle** » July 8th, 2018, 5:30 pm

Thanks, looks like I've figured it out...if I make it through the nest steps.

Nedge · Post by **Nedge** » July 18th, 2018, 4:07 pm

Hi all,

I've been learning as I go along -- trial and error, but mostly by watching Phil Chenevert's YouTube videos.

There is one on editing which is very helpful. However, when I have a small snippet that needs to be rerecorded, although I can do that, it does NOT show up as a second track as his does -- it shows up at the END of the current track.

It can still be managed, but it's more awkward. What am I doing wrong with this?

Also, how do you scan through your completed file, from beginning to end, rather quickly? I think I'm missing something there, too. (I know how to go from beginning to end in the blink of an eye -- just tap my heels together THREE times and ...) Nah, just joshing. The arrow keys at the top.

Thank you for your help,

Nan

Post by **TriciaG** » July 18th, 2018, 4:17 pm

Nedge wrote: ↑July 18th, 2018, 4:07 pm Hi all,

I've been learning as I go along -- trial and error, but mostly by watching Phil Chenevert's YouTube videos.

There is one on editing which is very helpful. However, when I have a small snippet that needs to be rerecorded, although I can do that, it does NOT show up as a second track as his does -- it shows up at the END of the current track.

It can still be managed, but it's more awkward. What am I doing wrong with this?

I think that the newer versions of Audacity do things a little differently than the version Phil has in the video. Then, the default was that it recorded in a new track. Now, the default is that it records at the end of the current track.

To record in a new track under the current one, hold down the SHIFT key while pressing Record.

Also, how do you scan through your completed file, from beginning to end, rather quickly? I think I'm missing something there, too. (I know how to go from beginning to end in the blink of an eye -- just tap my heels together THREE times and ...) Nah, just joshing. The arrow keys at the top.

You can speed up the playback using the Transcription Toolbar. Look for a green triangle to the left of a slider. Moving the slider forward will increase the speed of the playback - but also makes you sound like a chipmunk.

To use it, slide the slider to speed up the playback, then click the green triangle (play button) adjacent to the slider. The regular Play button (or spacebar) will continue to playback at normal speed; you need to use the play button next to the slider to enable the faster playback.

OR if you're just referring to getting to a certain place in the recording, use the slider at the bottom of the track window to move forward or back in the recording, click on where you want to start, and then start playback.

Nedge · Post by **Nedge** » July 19th, 2018, 8:34 am

[To record in a new track under the current one, hold down the SHIFT key while pressing Record.

OR if you're just referring to getting to a certain place in the recording, use the slider at the bottom of the track window to move forward or back in the recording, click on where you want to start, and then start playback.]

Thank you, Tricia. That will help greatly.

Nan

Post by **Kitty** » July 23rd, 2018, 11:51 am

Is it possible to download Audacity and the Checker program on a Samsung tablet ? Especially for Checker, I saw on the homepage only links to download for Windows, Linux or Mac, but my tablet runs on Android as far as I know.

I specifically bought it to keep up to date with my PL jobs on my holidays in the hotels in the evening.

Now it would be good if I had the Checker as well, but if there is no possibility to run it on a tablet, then I will have to improvise for those tests.

Sonia

tovarisch · Post by **tovarisch** » July 23rd, 2018, 12:13 pm

It is possible to download them, but it is not going to do you any good -- they cannot be RUN on it. You are correct in noting the difference in platforms. There is no Audacity or Checker for Android yet.

Post by **Kitty** » July 24th, 2018, 12:10 am

tovarisch wrote: ↑July 23rd, 2018, 12:13 pm It is possible to download them, but it is not going to do you any good -- they cannot be RUN on it. You are correct in noting the difference in platforms. There is no Audacity or Checker for Android yet.

yes that's what I feared. Well the tablet is only a last-resort solution anyway. I will try to work around it then. Thanks for confirming at least, Tovarisch. I thought, better ask and confirm than taking it for granted.

Sonia

plaidsicle · Post by **plaidsicle** » August 24th, 2018, 2:41 pm

I just went back to edit a section I recorded some days ago and noticed that the sound is fading in and out terribly. the problem starts about 35 seconds in to the recording and seems to affect the whole rest of the file. almost every other word fades out to almost nothing, then comes back louder, quieter, louder, quieter, etc. etc. is there anything I can do to fix this and even it out, or will I just need to re-record all over again and pay attention to what the heck Audacity is doing while I record?

also, does anyone have an explanation for why this happened? I've never had it come up before, and I'm not sure what I was doing differently during that recording session.

Post by **annise** » August 24th, 2018, 3:00 pm

is it fading or are bits dropping out ? If the later I have lost bits because something ran in the background and Audacity became short on resources ?

Anne

tovarisch · Post by **tovarisch** » August 24th, 2018, 5:16 pm

plaidsicle wrote: ↑August 24th, 2018, 2:41 pm the problem starts about 35 seconds in to the recording and seems to affect the whole rest of the file.

It would help if you could post a link to that file (if you have uploaded it) or take the file as is and upload it to xx-nonproject (and then give the link here).

plaidsicle · Post by **plaidsicle** » August 25th, 2018, 5:52 am

would it be fine to upload just the audacity file? or would another format be better/smaller?

Post by **TriciaG** » August 25th, 2018, 6:20 am

plaidsicle wrote: ↑August 25th, 2018, 5:52 am would it be fine to upload just the audacity file? or would another format be better/smaller?

You cannot upload an Audacity file, because it's not a single file. Either make it MP3 or FLAC.

plaidsicle · Post by **plaidsicle** » August 25th, 2018, 12:12 pm

that's what I thought! here is an mp3 version: https://librivox.org/uploads/xx-nonproject/rhethoryke_04_cox_volumeissues.mp3
I didn't get far with my edits, so it's generally a mess. but just about right after the intro/disclaimer things, it starts cutting out weirdly.

annise, I think it very well could be something what you talked about. I might need to remember to close other programs before recording....

tovarisch · Post by **tovarisch** » August 25th, 2018, 2:04 pm

Closing what you don't need or don't intend to use should definitely help. I see that you're forced to look up certain words while recording. You can pause the recording for that, just don't forget to un-pause afterwards.

I think you could try to fix the recording using a compressor effect. It's not going to be the same quality as it didn't happen, but it will bring up the parts with diminishing levels up.