How to Collect PlayGround Songs, Chants, Poetry, and Folksongs with a Mac
Using laptops and phones as recorders
MAKE DIGITAL FILES USING USING A MICROPHONE AND COMPUTER
Using iPhones and iPads are not the problem. It is the microphones in these devices that are a concern, and
phones seem to collect sound better than laptops. They would need an app that allows recording in an
uncompressed format like wav files. As always, mic placement is also a key, get the mic close enough to the
speaker to work well. A decent external mic for a
computer is always better than the computer mic (internal mics picks up computer operating noise).
Recommendations
1) Apple computers are sound-ready, but you will need to download sound recording software.
You may already have SoundRecorder which is a FREE on your computer
right now It lets you record sounds directly onto your hard drive. This allows you to record sound of almost
any length. You can control and adjust the sound level with two sliders for input level and volume. While
recording, SoundRecorder writes the data in a temporary file on your hard disk; once you choose to save the
sound, the temporary data is written to a final sound file. MAC
- For iPhone use Apple's built-in Voice Memo app or Audio Memos that offers control over your recordings and easy to share cost $1.00.
- For iPad
Tascam iM2 mic attachment, can be purchased for around $30 now, converts an iPad into a portable recorder, that can record in wav files. - For Laptops
Audacity is a free, opensource recording software. Use it to record podcasts too. - For iPod and the Griffin iTalk Voice Recorder to record any kind of audio files. iTalk is a full-featured recording app download $1.99
- For iPhone
- About iPod Batteries
2. DO NOT use your Mac's internal microphone. Use an external microphone. If you have a PowerPc Mac, you must use a special plaintalk microphone that plugs into the 1/8" stereo input jack. Be certain to set your Mac's sound input choice to External Mic. NOT Built-in Microphone. You can do this either from within the software package, or from your Mac's Sound Control Panel.
3) Record and save as an AIFF on your hard disk.
Digital Audio Formats
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One Minute Audio File Sizes
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