Record with Audacity - so it'll work

Audacity is a popular program for editing music and sound recordings. This practical tip explains how you can record directly in the free software.

Record with Audacity: preparation

You can download Audacity from CHIP for free. In order to be able to record with the program, you also need a microphone or a headset.

1. First you need to connect the microphone to your computer. Then start Audacity and, if necessary, open the project for which you want to record.
2. In the lower area of ​​the menu bar you will see a microphone symbol, next to which there is a selection field.
3. The microphone that you use as the standard microphone is normally selected in this.
4. If this is not the case or if you want to record with a different microphone, you can simply click the field and select the appropriate device.
5. In a separate practical tip, we will show you what you can do if Audacity does not recognize the desired microphone.
6. In addition to the microphone selection, you can set whether you want to record in mono or stereo. Even if you have a mono microphone, you must select "Stereo" in order to have both left and right sound later.

Record with Audacity

Once you've selected your microphone, the actual recording process is fairly simple.

1. Click on the "Record button", which is marked by the red dot, to start and stop the recording.
2. At the top of the menu bar you can now see the volume level of the recording. If possible, make sure that the level remains in the green range.
3. If the level is permanently overdriven, you can reduce the recording volume in the menu bar.