Practical Tips & Tricks (for Using "Audacity")

File/Save Project or File/Save Project As...
File/Export As WAV...; also File/Export As MP3...

Click on "Zoom Tool" (as many times as necessary) in order to see sine 
wave.
Ctrl-A = select all

Q. ...how to smoothly edit a word out of an "Audacity" recording? I would 
like to showcase some of Audacity's sound editing capabilities during my 
demos in class Thursday. I would like to do the speaker/microphone demo, 
then edit the recording: First I'll say, "I am not a smart man, Ginny." 
(Forrest Gump); then I'll edit out "not." Kids will think that's cool. Can 
you tell me how to make the edit? I vaguely remember you telling me about 
a trick to make the cut/paste w/o a popping noise -- something about 
getting the segments to line up smoothly along the rest position 
(equilibrium). WBS
A. Highlight the region in question. Hit "Z" key to move the selection 
endpoints to zero crossings (you won't really see anything happen when you 
do this). Then Edit | Cut or just hit Delete to remove the segment. PSW 
Note: [see menu bar] Look on [at] the Edit menu -- "Find Zero Crossings" 
-- you'll see that the "Z" key is the shortcut.

Highlight a region and then hit the space bar; that will play just what's
highlighted.

Also, enunciate carefully when you record. It's amazing the degree to 
which sounds overlap in normal conversational speech. If you speak a bit 
more deliberately, you'll get some gaps that may be easier to work with. 
PSW

Piano key frequencies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_key_frequencies
A4 (A440) = 440.000 Hz
C4 (Middle C) = 261.626 Hz

==
Tech Tips:

* Install LAME MP3 encoder in Audacity "plug-ins" folder (Mac) &/or 
"Plug-Ins" folder (Win-XP).

* A pair of headphones may be used as a microphone. "Earbuds" work 
especially well. Connect the headphones to the "mic in" jack; the left 
speaker is usually "hot."

[begin Step-by-Step Directions from PSW]
Do the following:

[turning on a pre-amp for "speaker-*microphone*"] <-- Note: Command 
sequence may vary from PC to PC.
Start/Control Panel/Sounds and Audio Devices; click virtual folder tab for 
"Audio"; for "Sound Recording," click "Volume" button; Options/Advanced 
Controls; for Microphone, click "Advanced" button, under "Other Controls" 
check: 1) Microphone Boost

1. Plug your headphones into the microphone input jack on your computer.

[PC or sound card "mic in" jack - plug in Sony MDR-1 headphones (or 
equivalent quality headphones); left (L) speaker works as microphone.]

2. Launch "Audacity." Make sure the "Microphone" input is selected (top 
middle of the screen; it's the default setting). Click the arrow [to the 
right of] under the microphone and choose "Monitor input" - this will let 
you see meters for the microphone in real time. You can further adjust the 
input sensitivity with the slider to the left of the input selector 
[see slider located between mic icon and drop-down input selection box].

Turn up the volume slider on the microphone (it's just to the left of the 
input selection indicator). Click "Record" button; click "Stop" button. 
Select the entire audio file (Control-A), then run "Effect/Normalize" (use 
default settings) in order to amplify the sound a bit. Normalization is 
pretty simple: It just amplifies the file so that the peaks are 3dB lower 
than the maximum possible output level.

--
Recording quality isn't going to be that good on a device intended to be 
used as a speaker; while they're mechanically similar, they're optimized 
(through the size of the moving element and the magnet) to solve different 
problems.

You're right to note that the speaker cone didn't move that much. The 
electrical voltage/current generated would be very small (a voltage in the 
range of millivolts), but then it's amplified a lot by the sound card on 
the computer. That's true of just about any microphone; the levels are low 
to begin with and are then amplified to the level needed. - PSW
[end directions]

* Select one track by clicking where it says "Mono" and the sampling rate 
at the left-hand side of the track window. Then shift-click the same 
location on the other track. With both tracks selected, choose Project | 
Mix and Render from the menu at the top to see the mixed-down waveform.

The "Mix and Render" command ["Quick Mix" in v1.2.4] will generate a new 
track to replace the ones you've selected; this will show you the waveform 
that results when you mix the files.

Note: I think "Quick Mix" was renamed "Mix and Render" in v1.3; it will do 
what you need. PSW