hpr-knowledge-base/hpr_transcripts/hpr0712.txt

Episode: 712
Title: HPR0712: Linux Jazz - Recording my Audio
Source: https://hub.hackerpublicradio.org/ccdn.php?filename=/eps/hpr0712/hpr0712.mp3
Transcribed: 2025-10-08 01:19:31

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Welcome to Acapobrit Radio.
This is Tony Denton, also known as Barryman, with my second podcast.
First, my thanks to Poké and Claudio M for their kind comments on my first show.
Comments of any kind are appreciated and make podcasting worthwhile.
Poké, you should definitely check out jazz music.
It's surprising just how wide the scope of it is with something for just about everyone.
Claudio M, I do listen regularly to Linux Basements and you and Chad are doing a great job there.
Keep up the good work, all of you guys.
Among other great podcasts that I regularly listen to,
I pack my music's open source musician,
and the first podcast I ever listen to deviates is Lotto Linux Links.
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In this podcast, I would like to outline how I personally record the show,
how I use Linux to record audio in support of my jazz activities,
and how Linux supports my workflow generally.
First, a bit about my setup and the gear I use.
My main microphone is a Berringer USB condenser microphone, C1U,
with a boom mic stand and a pop screen.
I also have a Sennheiser E815S that can be used as a second microphone
with either a Tuscan US100 audio interface or straight into my Zoom H4N recorder
to allow multiple inputs.
The Sennheiser, by the way, is the microphone that I use for PA in my live performances.
The response curve seems to suit solo instruments and saxophones in particular
better than other microphones I've tried, with a nice, clear, warm sound.
Sure, S58 is a great vocal mic, of course,
but since I don't sing, dance or do monologues,
I find the Sennheiser a better, slightly cheaper alternative for instrumental work.
How the audio is captured depends upon what I'm recording.
For example, for recording my voice for this podcast,
I'm using the Berringer USB mic straight into the computer,
captured in Audacity.
Incidentally, I use Klausu's config file to set up Audacity.
I find his keyboard controls and screen layout gives me a much faster workflow
when I'm editing the podcast.
I'll put the link to the config file in the show notes for anyone who's interested.
I've also used Arda to record audio, but this is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
Arda is great, because he has a steeper learning curve
and many, many more features than I required for this particular job.
Processing.
I use one of two laptops to capture and process the audio.
An ACES triply PC, 1.5805H, which has a 10.5 inch screen,
and a Sony vio VGN BX297 with a 17 inch screen.
Both machines originally came with Windows XP installed,
but have since been completely rebuilt with Ubuntu 1010.
The ACES is more than up to the job for capturing voice and instrumental recordings.
Anything more than that, however, score working is severely, for example,
and the size of the ACES screen humps the ability to view a score
and to generally move about a score effectively.
That is where this Sony comes in.
At 17 inches, the screen is ideal for viewing and navigating the musical scores,
but more about that later.
Initially, in Audacity, I will save the audio file as a wav or flak file
to preserve the maximum amount of audio data at that stage of the process.
I usually prepare a script for the whole spoken part of the show,
and this helps simplify the preparation of the published show notes.
I will typically record each segment of the script as a separate file,
again in wav or flak format, so that I can easily drop in any audio fills
or pieces into the program.
I then assemble the segments and the audio in Audacity,
adjust the fades and overlaps where necessary,
and export and mix down the file to one composite MP3 file.
For the HPR podcast, the assembly starts with the supplied HPR intro music
and ends with the outro audio.
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Music production.
Okay, so that's the setup and production of the podcast.
What about music writing, arranging and composing?
For this purpose, I use either Band-In-A-Box 2009
or Subelius 5, depending on my purpose.
Now, these two programs are Windows-based and present,
and I'm unaware of any suitable Linux equivalent,
so I have them loaded in virtual box with Windows XP.
Not a particularly satisfactory arrangement for an open source advocate, I grant you.
And while I am aware of Muse score, text, fresco-ballty and Rose Garden,
none of these are capable of producing the same authentic output as Band-In-A-Box.
Band-In-A-Box uses sampled sounds for the backing voices,
and so gives a much more realistic sound than a straightforward MIDI patch.
Listen to the following backing track.
The chord structure here is the Jazz Walls Bluesette.
Music production.
When I taught Wind Instruments at a local music centre,
I used to prepare audio CDs with backing material for students to play along with,
like the old Music Minus One thing.
We used to give two concerts a year where the students' folks used to come and listen,
so there was always a need for performance material, as well as the technical stuff.
Well, Band-In-A-Box is ideal for preparing backing tracks for this type of material.
Having selected a suitable piece for the performance, I entered the chord structure into the program,
and set the number of choruses for the performance.
Next, the type or style of backing is selected, which sets the appropriate voicing for each track.
Now Band-In-A-Box has a facility for outputting audio as a WAV or MP3 file,
also with the ability to burn the file to a CD.
The next part of the process is to prepare the written music for the various parts for students or players.
This is done in Sibelius.
It is possible to import tracks from Band-In-A-Box right into Sibelius,
and I might use the piano part for this purpose.
Then the melody in various harmony parts can be written over on the top of this part,
and the whole thing checked against the audio playback before printing out to a separate part.
This method gives me the flexibility to tailor each part to the ability of the individual student,
and I've seen me write a part for an absolute beginner based on just two or three long notes behind the rest of the ensemble.
Sibelius is great for writing the technical exercise stuff as well.
I just wish there was some equivalent software in Linux to do this kind of thing.
I would move there in a flash if I could find some.
Other activities.
The need to use multiple machines can give problems with maintaining the integrity of the work in progress,
keeping files up to date, ensuring the use of the correct version, and so on.
Well, I get over this problem through the use of Dropbox.
I keep the files that I'm currently working on in a folder or series of folders on Dropbox.
Thus, whenever I pick up a different machine, say either of my laptops or the desktop,
I can be sure that I'm working on the very latest version.
Of course, when the particular project is complete, I move the folders from Dropbox onto my large one terabyte external drive for archive storage.
I begin to get the hang of this now.
And in my next podcast, I'll explain how I use Linux software in the production of my websites and how I use it for more general purposes.
My website and blog can be found at www.tonedent.com and I'm on Twitter as Tony Denton.
My identity can name is Barryman and I'm occasionally found on IRC also as Barryman.
Thanks for listening. See you next time.
Thank you for listening to Hack with Public Radio.
HPR is sponsored by Pharaoh.net.
So head on over to CARO.NAC for all of those meetings.
Thanks for watching.
Thanks for watching.