Audacity and GarageBand: Audio Production Made Easy

As part of my department’s growing interest in podcasting as a means for delivering educational content, my dean, Dr. Bill Riffee, recently asked me to investigate both Audacity and GarageBand, two popular pieces of audio production software. Both of these programs provide a relatively easy way to create audio files that can, in turn, be used for podcasting purposes. NOTE: This article does not provide instructions on how to "podcast" but gives an overview of each tool's feature set as it relates to audio production.

Audacity
As far as free audio production tools go, Audacity is the best I’ve seen on the market. I listen to a lot of educational technology podcasts, and it’s often the case that people use Audacity to create their programs. The fact that Audacity works on both PCs and MACs and is very intuitive makes it extremely popular. The record and play buttons are very large, the timeline is easy to navigate, and the audio is easy to edit.

Audacity also includes a variety of more advanced features for users wanting to go beyond simple recording and production strategies. Audacity allows you to work with a seemingly limitless number of tracks. You can record sound with a microphone or import audio files, such as music or sound effects. Audacity also includes a variety of audio effects to increase production value (noise removal, normalization, equalizer, click removal, echo, bass boost, etc.).

The one aspect of Audacity that is a bit bothersome is that you cannot export to the MP3 format without first installing the LAME MP3 Encoder (“LAME” is the name of an organization by the way, not an adjective). It would be nice if you could just download/install Audacity and not have to worry about an additional plug-in to create MP3 files, which is the one thing most people want to do with Audacity. To avoid confusion or frustration, training materials related to Audacity would just need to include the steps for downloading/installing the LAME MP3 Encoder.

In terms of using Audacity on a MAC, I found that it worked great. I did struggle with some aspects of the installation, however. The process of installing the software on a MAC was different (and a little more confusing) than the process for installing it on a PC. I found that I needed to refer back the instructions on the Audacity download site a couple times just to get the software loaded onto the machine properly. I also had some trouble at first with getting Audacity to recognize my audio input source. Once I overcame these minor hurdles, though, I was off and running. These “issues” could be easily addressed in training materials.

Once I became oriented to the software, I was able to quickly produce my audio and export a quality MP3 file. Here is what I created.

Download audio (Right click --> "Save Target As")

The above example is a three-track production. The first track is me reading the first couple of paragraphs of Phil Kegler’s (2008) article, “Gator’s offense puts up ridiculous number in wins.” The second track is the UF Marching Band playing “The Orange and the Blue” (retrieved from FightMusic.com). The third track includes football sound effects that I downloaded from SoundSnap, which is a great resource for free music loops and sound effects.

Ultimately, I created this short project with a few simple steps. First I recorded my narration using a Logitech USB headset microphone. Then I added the music and sound effects on separate tracks. Next, I arranged the items on the timeline. Then I mixed the volume levels for the three tracks. Finally, I exported the project as a high quality MP3 file (320 kbps, stereo, 44 kHz).

Given that it’s free, intuitive, and rich in features, I would recommend Audacity to anyone wanting to create audio productions on a PC or MAC.

GarageBand
As part of Apple’s iLife Suite, GarageBand is an audio production tool that comes standard on MAC computers. Think of GarageBand as being like Audacity on steroids. Like Audacity, GarageBand lets you record sound with an external microphone, work with multiple tracks, add music and sound effects, edit/mix audio, and export projects to shareable formats (such as MP3). However, GarageBand gives users much more flexibility and many more options overall.

For example, GarageBand gives you a huge number of audio effects for enhancing a track. Once you record a track or add a pre-existing audio file to a track, you can easily assign preset audio effects such as Male Radio, Female Radio, Megaphone, Gospel Choir, Ambient Vocals, and so on (the list is extremely exhaustive). Within each of these preset effects, you can also make manual adjustments to achieve the exact sound you want.

GarageBand also comes pre-loaded with a variety of jingles and sound effects to enhance your audio production. Simply navigate through the dozens of choices, click a file to preview it, and then drag the file onto the timeline.

Mixing audio is a breeze as well. You can either adjust the volume of the track overall, make fine-tune adjustments to volume within a track, or use the "ducking feature." If a track is set to "duck," its volume will automatically decrease when a non-ducked track begins to play. For example, maybe you record your voice on one track and put music on another track. You want the music to play first, but then you want the volume of the music to decrease when the speaking section begins. By setting the music track to "duck," this will cause its volume to decrease automatically when the speaking section starts. This is a quick and easy way to create a dynamic mix without having to manually make adjustments to the volume within tracks.

One of the other neat things about GarageBand is that producing media for a podcast, in particular, is made very easy. When you launch GarageBand, one of the choices you are given is “Create a Podcast.” This takes you to a timeline that is preconfigured to create this type of production. For example, by default you are given four tracks: Male Voice, Female Voice, Jingles, and Podcast. This last track is for adding pictures, URLs, and chapter markers which would appear in an “enhanced podcast.”

Once I became oriented to the interface, I was able to create an “enhanced podcast” file, which includes audio and pictures, with ease. The fact that GarageBand points new users to online video tutorials also makes the learning this software very easy. Here is what I created. NOTE: You will need QuickTime Player to view this short clip.

Download File (Right click --> "Save Target As")

This production is comprised of four tracks. The first track is me reading a couple of paragraphs I threw together about the Phillies winning the World Series. The second track is one of the jingles that comes with GarageBand. The third track is a “crowd cheering” sound effect I found at SoundSnap. The final track includes pictures of the Phillies, the city of Philadelphia, and other Philly sports teams.

Producing this short project was very straightforward. I recorded my voice using a headset microphone. I navigated through the various jingle choices and dragged my favorite one onto the timeline. I added the “crowd cheering” sound effect to its own track and dragged it to the end of the timeline. Then I used the overall volume controls to achieve a good mix. Next I added the Male Radio effect to my voice and made some fine-tune adjustments to the bass and reverb to create a more booming sound. Then I added a series of pictures to the Podcast track, and finally I exported using the AAC encoder, which is necessary for producing enhanced podcasts. This ultimately produced a high quality M4A file.

GarageBand is a great piece of software, and my above comments are really only scratching the surface of what this program can do. For those using MACs and looking to be a bit more adventurous with their audio productions, I would definitely recommend investing some time to learn this software (especially for creating media for podcasts).

References

Kegler, P. (2008, October 28). Gators' offense puts up ridiculous numbers in wins. The Independent Florida Alligator, pp. 14-15.