Web Poetry Corner - Recording Poetry

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To record your poems, you must first download a free recorder program called Audacity. You will also need a cheap microphone to plug into your computer, which can be purchased online or in any computer store. In addition, until the end of the month of April, the first recording from each poet will be posted free of charge. After that, additional poems will cost $5 apiece. We were able to cut our costs considerably by having you do the recording at home rather than online, which would have required considerable programming on our part and a lot of server space.

Instructions for Downloading and Using Audacity

First click HERE to go to the Audacity Web site, or if you have some version of Microsoft Windows, simply click HERE to begin the download immediately. Once you have begun your download, you will be shown this window:

Unless you wish to save the installation program, simply click on the RUN button. When it is completely downloaded, the installation will automatically begin. Just accept the default settings at each step.

Once you have downloaded and installed Audacity, it works very much like an ordinary tape recorder. With microphone in hand, begin recording your poem. You will probably not like the results of your first attempt. The volume may be too low, you might have been speaking too fast or too slowly, you were nervous when you tried it, etc. However, you can try as many times as it takes you to get it right. The program has many editing capabilities as well. Once you have what you want, name the file, export it and send it to us as an email attachment as a WAV or MPEG file. There is an additional program called Lame which you can download from the Audacity site that will allow you to export your sound recording to an MPEG file...a stabndard format playable in almost any sound playback program. As advertised, during the month of April, your first recording will be posted for free. After that, an PayPal icon will be pasted into your home page so that you can purchase as many more recordings as you wish.

If you have any questions or if you need more detailed instructions, write us at willy@dreamagic.com and we will help you every way we can.

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