This is a two parts article series where I will introduce you to a free sound recording software and also in the second article, I will explain how you can use this software to make your own mp3 files.  Ultimately, the purpose of these two articles is to take you through few steps so that at the end you are able to record anything that plays in your computer and save it in mp3 format. Yes, anything that plays in your computer. The beauty is, you do not spend a penny for all this. The illustration here is specifically for windows XP and Vista. If you are already recording and converting recorded files, then you do not need to go through this.

This is the first article of the two part series.

First you need a software that you need to use for recording. The software I recommend is called Audacity. This is a free software and I have been using for quite some time and it is perfect for general use. You can go to http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/ to download the software.

Choose your operating system and click on it.  Click on the Windows link under Stable: for all users. Do not download the Beta: version since these are under testing and for advanced users. Once you click on Windows it will take you to the download page which looks like this.

Click on the Audacity 1.2.6 installer which will pop up a window where you can save the installer.

This installer numbers (version) may change over time due to new software releases. What ever the number sequence may be click on Audacity installer. You will see a pop-up as above.

Note: Pay attention to the Optional Downloads. Under here you have a link to get LAME mp3 encoder which you will need it later. Keep it in mind.

It says audacity-win-1.2.6.exe and also asking a question would you like to save?. Click on Save File button. Once you click it, the software installer will be downloaded to your hard drive. Depending on your computer configuration, files may be downloaded in to preset locations. In some configurations softwares are downloaded into desktops (which is easily visible) and in some configurations within My Document folder into a Downloads folder. So if you do not see the icon of newly downloaded Audacity installer in the desktop, it is time to hunt it down. 

Double clicking on Downloads folder will find the Audacity installer software as shown in the above image. Assuming you found your  Audacity installer icon, double click on it.

 That will pop-up another window which looks like above. It says unknown publisher but don’t get scared. It is not going to install viruses or any malicious software. Click on Run which will install the software.

This will open a Audacity set up wizard. Click on Next>.

and choose I accept the agreement and follow the instructions.

Click Next> in the next step which will bring you to inform where the software wizard is going to install the program. You can change it if you want but I usually leave it along. So here it is going to install in the program file folder.

Click next in the next step and so on until the software wizard gets to the final step which looks like above. Click Finish to finish the installation. You can either deselect Launch Audacity after installation. You will also get to choose the language you want your Audacity to display. Since there is no Sinhala I left as it is in the default which is English.

If you chose Launch Audacity option just before you click on Finish, the software automatically launches after successful installation. It shows just like above.

Before you use it, you need to do few little adjustments here.

First, click on Edit in the top menu of Audacity window. In the drop down menu choose preferences. You will see one like below and choose stereo. The default setting is mono. If you do not do this when you record songs, it will only record in mono which you do not need.

Once you do that clik OK.

Next, as you can see the default setting of input is Mic as shown below Mic Volume. Click on the downward arrow and choose Stereo Mix or Line Volume when you are recording songs. Hint: When you sing and want to record your vocals, choose input as Mic Volume.

We are not done yet. This last step is the most important one which will enable to convert your recorded file into mp3 files.

You need to get LAME MP3 encoder from here at http://lame.buanzo.com.ar/. Scroll down and you will see Lame_v3.98.2_for_Audacity_on_Windows.exe  (Remember Optional Downloads I talked about in the very beginning of this article. You can get to this page by going to Audacity download page and  under Optional Downloads, clicking on LAME MP3 encoder link. Then click on LAME download page under Windows). You need this LAME encoder so that your Audacity software knows how to convert sound files to mp3 files.

Click on the link which says LAME (version number) for Audacity on Windows.exe which is the very top one and choose Save File. Now this will save in the same place where your system saves download files. It should be in the same folder / location when you first download Audacity installer.

Double click on the Lame_v3.98.2_for_Audacity_... to launch it.

Click on Run, accept the agreement and then eventually you will come to where it saves the LAME software. As before it is going to save as a stand alone program in a separate folder which is just created as Lame for Audacity.

Since this support software is a part of Audacity I would like to move it to the same folder where Audacity is in.  So, lets change it. Click on Browse. You will see a window looks like below where you can choose your LAME plug-In needs to go.

Under program file you can see newly installed Audacity program folder and also you can see Lame for Audacity (ghost image) folder that is not yet being created. I would choose Audacity folder for this plug-in to go. Click on the plus sign next to Audacity folder to expand it’s content. Now you should see a window one like below.

Click on Plug-Ins folder to choose that folder and say OK. Now your Plug-In software should be illustrated as below.

Click Next>. It will confirm the destination in the next window. Click Install and Finish in the next window.

Congratulation!!!

Now you are ready for some fun. Please follow the instructions on the  "Create mp3 files for free - Part 2" to have real fun creating your own mp3 files.

Shantha