Make sure the rights to the book are available, unless you are the author or the work is in the public domain. Contact the publisher and be prepared to pay for using the writer’s work. Even if the recording is for your personal use and enjoyment, the copyright law clearly states “No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, etc.”
Practice reading aloud. Reading-aloud tipsters, such as Nebraska librarians Sally Snyder and Pat Leach, emphasize reading with expression, avoiding a monotone. Yet, do not use sing-song, regular variations of pitch, either. Concentrate on bringing the words to life. Use natural pausing and emotion. Tell the story rather than read it. If there is dialogue you may have to use two or three different voices. Practice that until you are ready for the recording.
Set up the home studio. You will get great acoustics with a well-padded, small recording area. Place drapes and curtains over hard surfaces to deaden the sound. Select your recording equipment. For home recording you will probably record from a microphone to your PC hard drive via a software program such as Easy Hi-Q Recorder. It will be a simple matter to burn the finished product to CD from there.
Select your recording equipment. For home recording you will probably record from a microphone to your PC hard drive via a recording software program such as Easy Hi-Q Recorder. It will be a simple matter to burn the finished product to CD from there.
Buy a good quality microphone, specifically for the voice. About $US100, in 2010 prices, will buy a good microphone, says Cleveland, Ohio, sound engineer James Curl. He recommends a ShureSM58. “If you buy a $30 microphone it will sound like one,” says Curl.
Test the levels first and remember the voice rising in pitch only, and not volume, may bring distortion. Unlike analogue recording, any digital distortion makes the recording unusable, says Curl. He recommends another person standing by during the recording. An extra set of ears will tell you if you have gone into the “red zone” and will catch any word fluffs more easily.
Record small chunks, about three minutes at a time. If you fluff a word, or there is an outside noise, you can start again and little is lost. If you have hired a professional studio, the recording technician will guide you through this.
Burn the tracks you have made to a clean CD, with MP3 or .wav. MP3 files have lower sound quality but take up much less disc space than .wav files. This is not an issue for the spoken word as much as for music. So, MP3 is quite acceptable for the voice.