Life Story Audio Recording 

By no means do we claim to be techno experts, however, we are pleased to pass along some basic information on equipment and/or resources that have worked well for us professionaly and that we recommend with confidence to our family and friends

​RECORDING DIRECTLY ONTO A COMPUTER, LAPTOP, OR TABLET


  • In our own personal historian service, we record all of our interviews directly onto a Mac laptop using GarageBand, an Apple recording software program. This software is user-friendly and allows easy editing, adding background music, and converting the recording for an MP3 player or burning to a CD. GarageBand is also available for iPad and iPhone for a minimal monthly subscription.
  • Don’t have a Mac? No worries – numerous other recording/editing software programs are available for Windows or Android devices. Some of these software programs are free, such as Audacity or Wavepad.  If you Google “free digital software” you’ll be presented with a number of web sites that provide reviews of several options including product specifications. You may find that you already have recording software as part of a package included with your PC, Mac, or other device. This is the simplest and most budget-friendly option.

RECORDING WITH A DIGITAL AUDIO RECORDER

  • A digital recorder is another option for recording the interviews. In our personal historian service we use an Olympus DS-4000. It’s an older model, but provides a good quality recording, allows for several folders and files, allows indexing, and accepts a memory card for longer recordings. 
  • The Sony ICD-UX533 is a more reasonably priced digital recorder with all the bells and whistles you’ll need (but not too many), is user friendly, and has great reviews from people who use it. There are a number of websites where you can read reviews of various recorder models and compare prices. We use  www.thewirecutter.com. Their recommendations are backed by weeks or months of research and testing, including interviews and data from the best editorial and user sources around, and the help of engineers, scientists, and experts. We have not been disappointed with their recommendations. They have saved us hours and hours of time doing our own gadget research, and love that their product recommends and details are designed with the average consumer in mind.
  • A reasonably priced hand-size digital recorder can produce good-quality sound when using an external microphone. If you search on Google, you’ll find many options to choose from, ranging from $20 to thousands of dollars. Unless you are planning to create a studio-quality recording, a modestly priced hand-held recorder, such as the Sony ICD UX533, will produce good quality. 
  • In general, a digital recorder allows you to easily transfer the recording (digital file) to a laptop, computer, or tablet. You can then edit the material and convert for an MP3 player, audio CD, or even DVDs so you can easily give or send copies to your loved ones.
  • Most digital recorders come with accompanying software for your PC or Mac that allows you to edit the recording. “Oops, didn’t mean to say that” – you can easily take it out.

BASICS TO LOOK FOR IN A DIGITAL RECORDER

  • Microphone jack. Most recorders have an external microphone jack, but there are a few older or economy models that do not. So just make sure it has this option before you purchase.  
  • USB connection. Check that the recorder has a USB connection and software for your computer (check for PC or Mac compatibility depending on what type of computer you have). This is critical or you will not be able to transfer and convert your files for a CD or MP3 player.
  • Editing software. Check that it comes with editing software for your computer. (Again, most do.) This editing software allows you to remove unwanted material, and/or insert afterthoughts.
  • Recording signal. Look for a recording display signal – this generally displays as a pulse on the recorder’s display panel. This signal should allow you to easily see that you ARE actually recording. It should also show the volume of the recording so you know you’re capturing all of your storyteller’s words.
  • Memory card slot. A recorder that records to a memory card (flash card) allows for larger files and thus longer recordings or higher-quality recording.
  • Note: we recommend that you do not audio record your interviews on a smartphone. From our experience, even with a decent microphone, the end product is low quality and often difficult to understand.
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View our guide.

USING AN EXTERNAL MICROPHONE 

  • Whether you’re using a laptop or handheld recorder to collect your stories, always use an external microphone! We cannot stress this enough. We highly recommend using an external microphone vs. the built-in microphone on your device (computer, tablet, or recorder) – even an inexpensive microphone will improve the quality of the recording significantly.
  • Once again, you’ll find that microphones can range in price from $20 to thousands. We use a Blue Yeti microphone in our personal historian work. Blue also offers Snowball, a less expensive model that still produces a high-quality recording, includes setting options for recording one individual (cardioid) or a group (omni), and provides sensitivity controls to eliminate unwanted noise. Both offer USB connections to record directly onto your laptop/tablet. 
  • With our digital recorder, we use Audio-Technica ATR-3350, a lavalier (lapel) microphone. It is inexpensive, however has produced high quality with our digital recorder, allows for clear voice recording and eliminates or softens unwanted background noises.

​BASICS TO LOOK FOR IN A MICROPHONE

  • When looking to purchase a microphone, first consider whether you will be recording the stories for a high-quality audio, or mainly to capture stories for transcribing into written work. Any microphone will have a few features that are useful for you to pay attention to. We’ve noted a few.
  • Mic Sensitivity. A sensitive mic can capture subtle sounds without adding a lot of noise. Look for the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). An S/N rating of 60 dB or higher will produce quality recording.
  • Connectivity. The mic should have the appropriate connection for your recording device or computer – generally a USB connection for your laptop or computer, or a stereo plug for a hand-held digital recorder or device.
  • Lavalier (lapel) microphones.You’ll need one for both the storyteller and listener and a splitter (unless your recording device has two mic jacks). Make sure the cords are at least two meters in length so you can sit a comfortable distance apart. If not, consider an extension wire.
  • Plug-and-play. Whichever mic you select, make sure it is a plug-and-play connection – that it does not need a driver and will work with any recording software and recording device. (Most do.)
  • Cardioid and omni. More expensive microphones will allow you to adjust the mic’s sensitivity and/or direction of reception (cardioid for one direction or omni for a group). This is helpful for excluding unwanted noises such as traffic or nearby voices, but it is not essential. If you are mainly recording to transcribe into written work later, a simple microphone will suffice.
  • Mic stand. If using a tabletop microphone, you’ll need a mic stand – a tiny camera tripod works well for tiny mics.

AUDIO RECORDING TIPS

  • If using a tabletop microphone, set the microphone no more than 3 feet away from the storyteller on a stable surface.
  • Tapping fingers, shuffling feet, rustling papers, shaking the table etc., will all be picked up by the microphone, especially a tabletop mic. Plan ahead for these details as much as possible. (A lapel mic is more forgiving)
  • Hearing aids can interfere with a lapel microphone – in this case you’ll need to use a tabletop mic.
  • Test your recording equipment on location.
  • Check your battery level and bring spare batteries or charger.
  • Consider a second recorder for backup.
  • Bring your equipment manual.
  • Bring a pen and paper.
  • Have a watch or clock clearly visible.
  • Immediately make a BACKUP COPY after each recording. The only thing worse than not recording a loved one’s life stories is recording them and then accidently deleting them, or having your computer crash. If recording on a hand-held recorder, back up the recording to your computer immediately, and then back up your computer. I back up my original from my computer to an External Hard Drive and a Flash USB Drive just to make sure. You can also back up your files on the web to sites like Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive, or other file storage sites. 
  • ​Once on your computer or device, the digital recording can easily be inserted into a slideshow of photos. For example, you can make a digital audio recording in your mother’s own voice telling the story of her life, and then add it into the background of a photo slideshow of her life. We’ve seen this done by a number of our customers – a remarkable tribute.
  • Digital recording makes for easy transcription at a later date. We prefer a real person do our transcribing because it allows us to identify any need for clarification. With digital recording, replay speed, pause, forward, backward, and markers make transcribing easy even for the beginner. Express Scribe, a professional transcription software, offers a decent FREE version for home or small business use. However, if doing your own transcribing is not your cup of tea, there are a number of great transcribers available for hire through an online network called Upwork (www.upwork.com) that we’ve used with great satisfaction and all at a very reasonable cost. If you’re not familiar with that website, it’s worth a visit, not only for transcribing, but also for other steps of your project that you may choose to outsource.
  • A digital recording will also allow you to use speech recognition software that will convert voice recordings to text, saving the time and effort of typing. (Be sure to proofread the transcribed text, though.) Speech Logger is a Free web app that can automatically transcribe audio files; it's user friendly and comes with high reviews.  Only catch is, it has to be used on Google Chrome. A number of speech recognition programs or apps are available for little expense, such as Nuance Dragon Naturally Speaking software or app, or Google Cloud Speech API. These programs will convert audio to text for a reasonable cost and are fairly straightforward for the average user. Cost saving tip: if you select a monthly plan with an app, you can save all of your audio recordings and transcribe them all in one month. Remember that with any speech recognition software / app you choose, punctuation and spelling have yet to be perfected, however with the time saved, they certainly provide an advantage worth considering. 
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