Making a Semi- Professional Radio Show on Your Home Computer
Let’s Get Started! What You Need:
• A computer with: • iTunes- to organize your songs • Garage Band- to create the show • Phone with Voice Memos app- to record your voice • Thumb Drive or an internet connec on to share the completed show.
*The so ware used in this tutorial are GarageBand v. 6.0.5 and iTunes 12.6.2.20. Using iTunes to Organize Your Music- Step 1
• Import your music onto your computer from your cd’s into iTunes • You will need enough music to last your en re show • Create a new Playlist from the top menu. Name it a er your show and play date. (ex. CC 4.15.20). It will help keep you organized if you create more than one show Using iTunes to Organize Your Music- Step 2
• Drag your show’s songs into the playlist.
iTunes will keep track of your total me of your songs at the top of the screen. Once you have your songs collected in your playlist folder, reorder them by clicking and dragging up and down the list. iTunes Playlist- completed Using GarageBand to Create Your Show- Step 1 Start a New Project. Click on Voice. Then click on Choose. GarageBand- Step 2 In the “Save As” text box enter the name of your show and tentative air date. It will help keep you organized as you create more shows. Click on “Create.” GarageBand Step 3- This is the workspace to create your show. By default, it will give you two tracks labeled “Male Basic” and “Female Basic” on the left. Take off those effects by clicking on the track and then click on “No Effects” on the right. GarageBand Step 4- From iTunes, click and hold on the irst song. Drag and drop into GarageBand’s irst track. GarageBand Step 5- Slide the song over to the right if you want it to be the irst thing you hear at the beginning of the show. If you want to do a ID without music in the background you can leave space for your voice.
Click on the note symbol to change the markings from measures to me. GarageBand Step 6-Back in iTunes, click and drag the second song into the GarageBand’s second track. Position it at the end of the irst track by click and dragging the song to the right. GarageBand Step 7- Alternate between the the two tracks , adding a song at a time. Listen to the songs and transitions by clicking on the triangle at the bottom. It will begin playing wherever the red line is located.
Use the back bu on to move quickly to the beginning of the show
Don’t forget to save your show as you go! Don’t learn the hard way!
The red line can be moved by clicking and sliding on the Use the slider at the bo om to white triangle at the top or by move through the show quickly. clicking on the top me bar. GarageBand- Step 8 The end of the last song needs to line up with the length of your show. This is what it looks like for a two hour show.
If your show normally airs between 7am-6pm, it must include instrumental music for the first 6 minutes at the top of the 7am, 8am, 10am, 2pm, and 4pm hours. This is highly helpful for switching to NPR headlines & for our on-air repor ng staff to go on-air with informa on without compromising your pre-recorded show Using Your Phone to Create Your Vocals • Print out your playlist from iTunes. • Prepare a script for your breaks including Back-Announcing Songs, Show Name/DJ Name. • Indicate that this is a pre-recorded show • Now.. The fun part. Go sit in your closet and record your vocal parts. You’ll get a recording that sounds more like the KVMR studios than if you use the computer’s mic in a room with sound bouncing around. • You can change the name of the recordings to be more descrip ve. Using your iPhone to record your voiceovers.
How to Record a Voice Memo: Open the Voice Memos app. To record, tap or click the red circle record bu on. To stop, tap the stop bu on. When you tap the stop bu on, your memo is saved automa cally with your current loca on as the tle.
How to Send Your Memo to Your Computer: Tap a memo in the list, tap the icon with three blue dots, then tap Share. Send the file to your computer using AirDrop, Messages, Mail, or other tools. Open it with iTunes. Now it’s ready to move it to your show already in progress in GarageBand. Adding your Vocals to Your Show in Garage Band • Return to your project • Create a new track for your vocal recordings
• Drag your phone recordings onto the new track using the me markings to aid in placement. • Adjust the volume of the backing instruments by clicking on the arrow in the controls on the right. By default the volume is set at 0.0 dB. By clicking on the line you can create points that will allow you to adjust the volume up and down. Playback the adjusted area un l it’s the right mix . Save the project as you go. Adding your Vocals to Your Show in Garage Band Click on the volume level line (white) to create markers. The markers (dots) can be moved sideways as well as up and down. They can be deleted by clicking on them and hi ng delete.
Music Track Volume Markers Sta on ID
In this example, the volume of the music in the background is lowered when the vocal begins and raised at the end using the markers. You can also use this technique to blend songs together. If you make a mistake, you can undo your last ac on by typing command-Z. Sharing your Semi-professional Show
• In GarageBand, click on the “Share” drop down menu at the top. Click on “Export Song to Disc.” Using the “Custom” dropdown menu set the MP3 decoder as shown below. Click on Export
Default AIFF file which can be easily converted to a WAV file. Using older versions of iTunes to Convert Your Show to WAV • In iTunes, add your AIFF file of your finished show.
Click on the show’s name to highlight it. At the top menu click on File>Convert>Create WAV Version. This is the format to submit your show in. The WAV version will be placed into iTunes. Using newer versions of iTunes to Convert Your Show to WAV • Using the “Share” dropdown menu, go to “Export Song to Disc”
In this newer version, iTunes has simplified the process of conver ng to WAVE (WAV). Click on the bu on and make sure to choose (uncompressed 16-bit) for the best quality for our purposes. Give your show a descrip ve name to make it easier for others to differen ate between shows. Before Sharing Your Show
• Checklist before you share your show: • Is your exactly the correct length? • Are the volume levels consistent throughout the show? • Did you leave room at the beginning of your show as required? • Is the show’s name easily understood? Submitting Your Show
• The finished show is approximately one gigabyte in size for a two hour show. • If you have a good internet connec on, a ach it to an email • If your connec on is not great, drag your show into your thumb drive folder and make arrangements to deliver it .
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