Ear-buds, Audacity, and NOT overdubbing?

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ChrisGreaves
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Ear-buds, Audacity, and NOT overdubbing?

Post by ChrisGreaves »

I am pursuing this in the Audacity forums, too.

I am given a set of 20 tracks, piano, played for people like me who can/do not read music :blush:
My job is to sing the words from the score at or close to the tempo of the piano piece.
I think to playback the piano piece in Audacity and record my voice on an adjacent track.
Untitled.png
In Audacity we can see the stereo piano tracks, and then my efforts at recording my voice; this example was generated with my $1.50 gas-store earbuds plugged into the laptop.

Earbuds do not have a microphone; I think that earbuds-with-microphone (curved stem) are known as a headset.

My logic runs like this: When I plug the three-segment earbud jack into the Acer Pressario laptop, the mechanical action uncouples the audio channels completely, so that audio is sent to the ear buds, but since both input and output channels have been disconnected, there is no input signal. And that is why my voice track is silent.

Is this simple bit of logic correct?

In my dreams I thought that a $1.50 set of earbuds, being only an output device, would stop the laptop speakers from producing sound, but allow the laptop microphone to take in my dulcet tones?

At this time I am questioning my logic; I suspect that the Audacity crowd will have a solution in terms of Win10 and Audacity 3.1.3.

I will add that I suspect, but cannot prove, that a set of earbuds with only two segments might NOT cut off the microphone.
I can phone my young friend Bernard and ask him to bring me a headset (earbuds and microphone) when he comes back to Bonavista tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks, Chris
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Ted Myers
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Re: Ear-buds, Audacity, and NOT overdubbing?

Post by Ted Myers »

Here is my Modus Operandi.
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TM.png
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This is how I record music playing on my Laptop.
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To record my voice, I change 'Stereo Mix' to Microphone (Realtek(R) Audio) then enter Preferences: Recording and set as my image.
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With sound activated recording enabled, click the red record button, recordng will start when you speak or sing and stop when you do.
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I set the record level 70 -80 for pc recording and maximum for voice.
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If it wasn't for bad luck I'd have NO luck at all.
Windows 11 Home 23H2 Laptop

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: Ear-buds, Audacity, and NOT overdubbing?

Post by ChrisGreaves »

Ted Myers wrote:
15 Sep 2022, 14:25
Here is my Modus Operandi.
Ted, this not only works :clapping: but it is simple to implement :clapping: :clapping: and I could understand it :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:
and get it to work on my first attempt. :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:
Untitled.png
In this faked voice, I played back the audio(piano) and purposely spoke out of synchronization to make my voice wave form separate (in tempo) from the piano.
Then I closed the stereo piano track, saved the voice mono, end exited Audacity.

I reloaded audacity and imported and played back my moronic voice text, then imported the piano and played them back together.

I have since been told that the editor will accept an overdubbed track as long as I really am synchronous with the piano.
Thanks to you I can now submit two tracks (per exercise) - one of my voice only, they can do with it what they will, and one overdubbed (that is, using the laptop mic and speakers au naturel without ear buds or anything), and they can choose to dub, or take me as I am.
thanks Thanks THANKS again.
Cheers, Chris
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Ted Myers
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Re: Ear-buds, Audacity, and NOT overdubbing?

Post by Ted Myers »

:cheers:
If it wasn't for bad luck I'd have NO luck at all.
Windows 11 Home 23H2 Laptop