For years, I tried to figure out how I could make my own CDs. I wanted to be able to record myself or students playing the piano and burn the audio file onto a CD. I looked up information on-line, went to workshops, talked with other teachers, but still felt like I lacked the information to get started. If this describes your situation at all, take heart! It is so much easier and so much less expensive than I thought it would be.
Here’s the equipment you’ll need to get started (most of which you probably have right there next to you!)
1. a computer – desktop or laptop, PC or Mac
2. a CD burner – your computer probably came with this already included
3. CD burning software – this is probably already installed on your computer, if it came with a CD burner
4. a microphone – for starters, just use a simple computer voice mic; if you don’t have one, you can pick one up at a computer store. (Here’s a great deal on a Computer Microphone
5. Audacity software (free! look below for step-by-step instructions to install the software)
Step-by-Step Instructions to download and install the free Audacity software:
1. Go to the site: audacity.sourceforge.net
2. Click on the link: Download Audacity 1.2.4b
3. Click on the recommended download: Audacity 1.2.4 installer (.exe file, 2.4 MB) – The latest version of the free Audacity audio editor.
4. Find the mirror site location that is closest to your present location. Click on the icon in the download column of that row.
5. When given the option, choose to save the file. Select the appropriate location from your files (I have created a folder under “My Documents†that is called “Downloads†where I save everything I download off the Internet.)
6. Once you’ve finished downloading, open the file. Complete the setup wizard to install the software onto your computer.
7. Once you’ve finished, open the Audacity software. You should see a screen that looks like this: (except without the sound waves on the screen)
8. Plug your microphone into the microphone jack on the side or back of your computer. (This may also be called the input jack.)
9. Click on the red record button on your screen and begin talking or playing into the microphone.
10. Once you have finished recording, select File>Export as WAV.
11. Name your file and save it to a specified file location. (I have created a folder in My Documents called CD Burning where I save all the files that I want to burn onto a CD. You can add more specific folders as you increase the number of projects you’re recording.)
12. Open your CD burning software. (I use Easy CD Creator since that’s what came with my computer.)
13. Navigate to the file you just exported and select it as your source file. If given the option, select Music CD as the type of CD you want to burn. Add the selected file to the list of tracks to be burned to the CD.
14. Place a blank CD-R into your burn drive.
15. Click the record or burn button in your software to burn the CD.
16. Take out your CD, label it and enjoy listening to your very own recording!
Explore the Audacity website for additional downloads or instructions. I’ll post more about these in a future post as well. Remember, have fun experimenting with the different capabilities in your software! Feel free to post questions you may have in the comments section. I will help as much as I can so that you can begin recording in your studio – it’s so much fun!
Wow, you answered a ? I was going to ask before I asked it! Thanks. I am a chicken when it comes to the computer, I think your ideas might get me going. I really like your idea.
That’s great to hear Shar! Let me know how it works out for you.
And Audacity will also enable you to turn your phonograph records into CDs! What a great product! Thanks, Natalie, for reminding us of this one.
That’s great to know, Christy! I haven’t attempted that yet. Would you mind sharing a quick how-to or directing us to a site that explains how to do that?
Or, if you want to e-mail it to me, I will post it separately for others to see and use.
Thanks for sharing this!
Natalie,
Can this program transfer midi files into CD’s?
Jennifer, unfortunately, no. Audacity doesn’t currently have the capability to handle midi files. I sure wish it did!
I don’t suppose you know of a free and easy program that does? : )
Jennifer~
I checked into this and decided to address it in a post – so my answer is there! Hopefully that will help you out.
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Thank you very much for visiting my site! Could you manage to listen to my midi files? I hope to improve in creating audio files from midi files.
I like your site very much: it is really useful for music teachers and reflects your love for teaching and your great energy.
Bye!
Anna ventodimusica
Hi
Could you tell me when recording from the clavinova to the computer using audacity software,how the set up in audacity is set up?
When i open up the audacity software,there seems to be more steps involved in recording.For example the program gives you a choice in choosing line input, or micinput or auxilary ,cd player etc. which do you choose.i have already recorded and edited the songs in my clavinova(309Gp)and i want to save these recordings in audacity so that i can burn a cd .
Thanks, John
John~
Just plug the cable into the computer and then select line input. You’ll have to experiment with the level of input to determine what sounds the best. I’ve found that the input level in Audacity has to be almost zero when doing a direct line input from my clavinova to get the right sound level. Hope this helps!
Your blog is very helpful. I’ve been using one of the many mp3 recorders (http://www.sweetwater.com/c1006–Portable_Recorders) in my studio. I use the Edirol R09HR specifically. Instead of burning a cd, I have my students bring a usb drive to their lesson and then I transfer the file from the mp3 recorder to the usb drive. Depending on the size of the usb drive, the student can actually have multiple lessons to go back to if needed.
cc
Hi Natalie,
I noticed that the date on your “Record Audio CDs in Your Studio is 2005. Do you have any new information to add to your article? I read someplace that a free program called “Lame” (what ever that is)should be placed in the same directory as “Audacity.” I downloaded Audacity, but I’m having a problem understanding what to do with it in regards to transferring Clavinova files to my computer to make a CD. Any new information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Willard Crawford
Hi Natalie,
I agree with Willard. Can you find someone who can give an update? I have the lame file he talks about but still can’t do the editing with Audacity that I need to do. Another topic could be on converting files from one format to another – .wav to mp3 – mp3 to .wav and so forth.
Here’s a somewhat more recent post on recording: http://musicmattersblog.com/2006/04/17/recording-made-easy/. I don’t think I have any expertise with the Audacity software beyond what I’ve outlined in the posts, however I will try to do a post on file conversions. I may also try to do a video outlining the process of recording on the Clavinova and transferring to the computer for CD burning. Thanks for the suggestions!
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Thanks for the post Natalie. I was making a new model with a Halloween theme for our flight simulator, Digital Aircraft Modeler. I made a flying witch. I needed to figure out how to give her a creepy cackle. I ended up using Audicity. It is simple to use and did a great job. You might get a kick out of seeing the radio control flying witch in the user area model pages at http://www.digitalaircraftmodeler.com. Thanks for the good advice.