How to Make a Podcast With Background Music
A podcast is a recorded audio program available for download on the Internet or through a service such as ITunes. Some podcasts are released on a regular schedule. Others have an irregular release schedule or are recordings of one-off events. Podcasts can be as elaborately produced as a commercial radio show or as simple as someone speaking into a microphone. Add background music to improve the production and entertainment value of the podcast.
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Instructions
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1
Download the free open-source Audacity audio editor at Audacity.sourceforge.net/download/. Double-click the installer when it is downloaded and follow the prompts to install the software. (See Reference 1)
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Connect a headset or microphone to your computer. A headset will let you monitor the audio levels while recording. Click the Windows "Start" menu, click "Control Panel" and click "Hardware and Sound." Click "Manage Audio Devices." Click the "Recording" tab. Right click on the microphone icon and select "Set as Default Device." Click "OK" and close the Control Panel.
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Click the Windows start menu, click "All Programs," and scroll to "Audacity." Click the icon to open the program.
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Click the red "Record Button" to begin recording your podcast. The waveform of your voice is displayed in the first audio track while you record. Click the square "Stop" button when finished.
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Click "File," then "Import" and select "Audio." Navigate to the directory where your background music is stored. Double-click on the audio track. The file loads into a second audio track in Audacity. You can also open the directory where the file is stored and drag-and-drop the file into the Audacity window.
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Adjust the "+/-" slider on the left side of the audio tracks. Drag the slider to the left to lower the volume of the track or drag the slider to the right to raise the volume. Press the green "Play" button to listen to the audio mix and adjust the sliders until the levels are correct. The background music should be audible, but not overwhelm the voice track.
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Click "File," then "Export." Type a file name for the podcast and select MP3 as the file type. Click the "Options" button and choose 128 kbps. Click "OK." Click "Save." You are prompted to locate "lame_enc.dll" to encode the file as an MP3. Click "Browse" if the file is already on your system. Navigate to the file location and double click it. Click "Download" to go to the "LAME Encoder for Audacity" page. Download and install the file.
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Click "OK." Click "Save."
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