I adore the sound of my husband’s voice. It’s not just that I love him, though that is true. When I was first dating him, I would save the messages he left and play them over and over again.
“Hi, Meg. Give me a call.”
The stars danced. The sun wept.
That was nearing two decades ago, and the magic has mellowed. But my husband loves to read aloud to me and the rest of the family. For example, I have never first encountered Jane Austen in print–she has always entered my soul first through the voice of my husband, reading aloud.
This past year I purchased a decent USB microphone so my husband could record things. Since then I’ve had fun learning the technology. Here are some of the things I’ve gleaned:

– Good advice on tools and techniques can be found at librivox.org. Librivox is to audio recordings what Project Gutenberg is to books.
– Librivox recommends the Samson Q1 USB microphone (~$50)
– Librivox also recommends Audacity, free software for editing (producing) your recordings.
– Reduce the “pops” caused when puffs of air impact the microphone diaphragm (when you use plosives, such as ps and bs). You can use a professional pop filter ($20-80); a homemade affair with nylons, wire, and repurposed hoop ($0-10); a pencil attached vertically to the front of the mic (aerodynamic effects divert the abrupt air flow from a plosive); or position the mic off the axis of the direct blast from your mouth.

I’m beginning to dabble in the wide world of voice recording and having a blast.

Tags: Writing