One Minute Test

[TerriNwanma]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and I'm volunteering with Colby College. Here's my One Minute Test, recorded using Audacity. Excited to hear feedback!

https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/Nwanma_OneMinuteTest.mp3

[adrianstephens]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and I'm volunteering with Colby College. Here's my One Minute Test, recorded using Audacity. Excited to hear feedback!

https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/Nwanma_OneMinuteTest.mp3

Hello TerriNwanma,
Welcome to librivox. You have a nice clear voice, I had no trouble understanding you.
It's great to have enthusiasm, as it will come across in the recordings.

Before we get there, you need to make change(s) in order to meet Librivox's technical standards.

FYI, the file name should be all lower-case. This doesn't matter for this test recording, but is a uniform standard for actual recordings.

Required: The file's format is MP3 stereo at variable kb/s. The specification we use for all MP3 recordings in Librivox is mono 128 kb/s constant bit rate. You can set this on the "save as MP3" dialog in Audacity, and it will persist the next time you do a save.

Required: The volume is way too low.
You can download the checker program (https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php?title=Checker) which you can use to check the volume against the expected range. This recording was 65 dB, and the normal range is 86-92 dB.


Advisory: There is a noticeable room echo. You can also reduce the relative room echo by speaking closer to the microphone. Or you ca reduce this by recording in a room that has a lot of soft furnishings. I hung duvets on the walls and ceiling of my shed to create an acoustically dead space for recording.

Please address at least the required technical issue(s) and upload a new version. If you quote this message in your reply, I'll get a notification and will go in and re-check.



If you haven't already, you might spend some time browsing through the LibriVox Wiki. It contains a wealth of great information that you'll find useful and informative about who does what, and various technical aspects.


Thank you for participating in Librivox,
Adrian Stephens

PS - If you're interested in developing your technique, and have the time to spare there's a whole bunch of informative YouTube videos.
Our excellent admin Phil has recorded a lot of highly accessible videos (https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php?title=Instructional_Videos).

I have also recorded a number of YouTube videos on this subject, longer (and thereby going into more detail) than Phil's.

Part 0: Introduction. https://youtu.be/pMHYycgA5VU
Part 1: Installing Audacity https://youtu.be/w_QZ15c4_10
Part 2: Setting the Volume https://youtu.be/-RoWbeJoMKk
Part 3: The Checker Program https://youtu.be/-5szxU8JE7c
Part 4: ReplayGain plugin https://youtu.be/jwmSVJIDeVM
Part 5: Performance and Volume https://youtu.be/WaekYMX519I
Part 6: Microphones looked at https://youtu.be/gcVYx3ZSrfs
Part 7: Microphones listened to https://youtu.be/607ijxEw7mU
Part 8: Noise Reduction Using Audacity https://youtu.be/KsFkmvF-9d0
Part 9: Avoiding Pops https://youtu.be/zPpz1qv0XSk
Part 10: Recording and Marking Mistakes https://youtu.be/G_ceO3YmcM8
Part 11: Editing Marked Speech https://youtu.be/la87iCO7HeI
Part 12: Recording Dramatic Works https://youtu.be/ZuRKu9s9Krw
Part 13: Introduction to the Librivox forum https://youtu.be/ukGUc_Cyr0o
Part 14: Participating in Librivox https://youtu.be/_gCcMGey04E
Part 15: Case Study (Poem) https://youtu.be/41sr_VC1Qxo
Part 16: Case Study 2 (Dramatic Reading) https://youtu.be/GBIAd469vnM
Part 17: Editing using labels https://youtu.be/eM7wcwAL84w

[TerriNwanma]

Thank you for all the guidelines and tips and I will get on this right now.

[MaryAnnSpiegel]

Terri,

I see you are claiming sections. Have you uploaded a new test so we can check that you've corrected the technical issues Adrian identified?

MaryAnn