Week 4 / Seachtain 4

This week’s topics were sound recording and podcasting!

[IMAGE]: Musician/artist/Twitterer Amanda Palmer, on a stage and standing on a green crate, with arms outstretched and holding a white flower in her right hand. Image source: NPR. 

I’ve never actively followed any regular podcasts, but actually thinking about it I realise that there are quite a few that have resonated with me over the years. The main one I’d associate with would be TED Talks. The above image is taken from one of my favourite TED Talks, by Amanda Palmer (which you can listen to or watch here). I also really enjoyed this particular podcast that came out this week on NPR. There’s definitely something off about the sound on the presenter’s mic in this one – like she’s talking into a steel bucket. Seemingly Neko was given a better mic during the interview.

I’ve had a vague smattering of knowledge about microphones for the past couple of years, having helped some friends of mine record demos for their bands. I really enjoyed getting to grips with the different types of recorder that are out there. My dream microphone at the moment would be a Zoom H-1 or H-2 or this Rode as it would attach to the DSLR I use for video.

I have a little bit of experience with Audacity as a means of shortening audio files, taking away bits of silence from the beginning or end of a track, or slowing down voice recording so it’s a little easier to understand what someone is saying. Obviously that accounts to about 0.001% of what Audacity can do. The super thing is that they’ve got an opensource translation centre on their website, and an Irish version of the programme is available.

For my own podcast, I decided I’d recite a poem. As my blog is as bilingual as I can make it, I picked a poem that I’ve previously translated into Irish. As such, I’ve recorded myself reading “From Scratch” by Paula Meehan, who is one of my all-time favourite poets and current Ireland Chair of Poetry. I’ve had a SoundCloud account forever without uploading anything, so this will be a fantastic excuse to put something up.

I recorded myself a few times with a borrowed iPhone 6, as my own Nokia Lumia apparently can’t handle a voice recording app. I did way too many takes, to make sure I got it (and of course I’ve ended up using the first take for each language – the Irish version is at the bottom of this post).

The shape of my voice!

The bumpy bits are me breathing

Taking out a click I apparently do with my mouth ALL THE TIME

Noise reduction effect

Noise removal

Saving my file

I dutifully reduced the noise in my recording, which sort of makes it sound like I’m not breathing, but also definitely removes any sort of buzzing there was.

Title image from: “How Do You Get People To Pay For Music?” NPR. May 17, 2013. Accessed February 25, 2016. http://www.npr.org/2013/07/05/181868750/how-do-you-get-people-to-pay-for-music.

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Seachtain 4: Podchraoltaí

Is iad ábhair na seachtaine seo ná taifead fuaime agus podchraoltaí!

[ÍOMHÁ]: Ceoltóir/ealaíontóir/Tweeteoir Amanda Palmer ar stáitse, ina seasamh ar chliathbhosca glas. Tá a lámha sínte amach, le bláth bán ina lámh dheis. Foinse: NPR. 

Ní leantóir podchraoladh mé de ghnáth, ach nuair a dhéanaim machnamh air tá sé soiléir go bhfuil roinnt podchraolta a bhfuil tionchar acu ar m’intinn. Is é an tsraith is mó a bhfuil spéis agam inti ná TED Talks. Tógadh an íomhá seo thuas ó TED Talk amháin a thug Amanda Palmer, agus is féidir leat cluas a thabhairt dó anseo (ach molaim duit breathnú ar an bhfíseán). Anuas air sin, bhain mé an-taitneamh as an bpodchraoladh seo a d’fhoilsigh NPR an tseachtain beag seo. Tá rud éigin cearr le micreafón an láithreora, tá sé cosúil le hí a bheith ag caint i mbuicéad stáin. Is dócha gur tugadh micreafón níos fearr do Neko i rith an agallaimh (buíochas le Dia).

Bhí blúire beag eolais agam faoi mhicreafóin cheana féin, mar chabhraigh mé le roinnt cairde písín ceoil a thaifead, míle bliain ó shin. Bhain mé sult as níos mó eolais a fháil ar na rudaí sin le linn léacht na seachtaine seo. Is iad na micreafóin is mó a thaitníonn liom ná Zoom H-1 agus Zoom H-2, nó an Rode seo mar bheinn in ann é a chur leis an gceamara a úsáidim chun físeáin a dhéanamh.

Tá taithí beag agam le hAudacity cheana féin freisin, agus mé ag gearradh roinnt comhad nó ag iarradh an ciúnás a thabhairt amach ó dheireadh amhráin, nó ag iarradh taifid a dhéanamh níos moille agus mé i mbun trascríobh a dhéanamh orthu. Is dócha gurb ionann é sin agus thart ar 0.001% d’fhéadarachtaí Audacity. Tá rud éigin eile ag baint le hAudacity freisin, agus is é sin an t-ionad aistriúcháin (foinse oscailte) atá acu, agus tá leagan Gaeilge de ar fáil.

Do mo phodchraoladh féin, shocraigh mé dán a rá. Is dócha go bhfuilim ag iarradh mo bhlag a dhéanamh go dátheangach, agus mar sin phioc mé dán a bhfuil aistriúchán déanta agam air cheana féin. Mar sin, táim ag léamh “From Scratch” le Paula Meehan, agus thug mise “Ón mBonn Aníos” air. Cruthaigh mé cuntas SoundCloud thart ar 2011 ach níor uaslódáil mé aon rud ariamh. Seo an t-am!

Tá téacs an dáin ar fáil anseo, ar an mblag a bhaineann leis an modúl eile atá á dhéanamh agam i mbliana.