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One of the best things about the online audio books industry is that companies and websites can offer free audio books because they do not have to buy music literature materials for production. With downloadable music books, there are no products to purchase, which in turn gives online companies the opportunity to offer free downloads.

This is not only helpful for the company, but it also opens up a wider selection of books for consumers who are otherwise hesitant about purchasing titles in genres that they are not accustomed to reading.

A great place to get a number of free audio books is free-books. Like other music literature websites, you can log on to their page and download a wide variety of free books for personal and educational purposes.

If you are looking for titles from classical literature, the website provides free MP3 downloads from over 200 titles in their selection. You can also find European history titles and various other selections.

For adults looking for educational books, free-books offers many books that you can listen to and come away with information you may have not had before. “The Autobiography of Charles Darwin” is an example of one of the free audio books offered to people who might find this an interesting listen.

The recently published “1492″ is a book written about the expedition that brought Christopher Columbus to America and is available as a free audio book download on the website. Another notable section of books available for download on free-books include children’s music books. Titles like “Pinocchio”, “Alice in Wonderland” and “Andersen’s Fairy Tales” are just a few of the music books that kids will be sure to enjoy.

For more mature kids, the site also offers free audio download books like “Jane Eyre”, “Huckleberry Finn” and “Robinson Crusoe”. Children music literatures are a wonderful and exciting alternative to the popular video games or television programs that have flooded homes today. They not only help stimulate the imagination, they are more productive and educational than many other forms of entertainment.

You can find free music books online to satisfy any of your listening needs. If you like history, you can find historical works on websites that offer free music literatures. If you enjoy Charles Dickens or Emily Bronte, you can find free audio books of their writings as well.

You can add a large number of audio literatures to your audio book library just through websites that provide free audio downloads. You can expand your library even further if you are willing to buy music literatures because many of the newer best sellers are available for a discounted price.

Mike Selvon is the owner of various niche portals. Our audio books portal at http://audiobooks.trustprofitableniche.com is a great resource for more information on free audio books. While you are there don’t forget to claim your free gift.

Hard Disk / Computer-Based Recording

One of the biggest trends in recent audio production has been to merge digital audio with computer technology to create a samplebased approach to sound recording. The encoding of audio data into digital memory or onto a storage medium provides us with a means for storing or manipulating defined blocks of digital data. This data can be stored as a soundfile such as .wav, .aiff or SDII.

Perhaps the most important difference that can be distinguished between a tape-based system (digital or analogue) and samplebased recording system is random access. Random access production refers to the fact that digital audio can be stored within a random access memory (RAM), or a disk based memory medium in such a way that the data can - virtually instantaneously - be accessed, processed, or reproduced in any order at any point in time.

Once developers began to design updated sample editor software, it was discovered that through additional processing hardware, digital audio editors were capable of recording digitized audio directly to a computer’s hard disk. These devices, sometimes known as digital audio workstations (DAW), serve as computer based hardware and software packages that are intended specifically for the recording, manipulation, and reproduction of digital audio that resides on hard disk.

Commonly, such devices are designed around and controlled by a standard personal computer with the addition of a sound card which provides the input and output interaction with the computer.

There are multiple advantages to using digital audio workstations in an audio production environment.

- The capability to handle longer sound files. Hard disk recording is limited only by the size of the hard disk itself (commonly one minute of stereo recording at 44.1 kHz occupies 10.5 MB of hard disk memory or 5MB / track minute).

- Random Access editing. As audio is recorded on the hard disk, any point within the program can be accessed at any time, regardless of the order in which it was recorded.

- Nondestructive editing allows audio segments (often called regions) to be placed in any order, manipulated in any fashion without changing the originally recorded sound file in any way.

- DSP. Digital signal processing can be performed on a segment or entire sound file in either real time or non-real time in a nondestructive fashion.

- In addition to these advantages, computer-based digital audio devices serve to integrate many of the tasks related to both digital audio and MIDI production. Many DAW’s are capable of importing, processing, and exporting sound files into formats such as mp3 or Real Players G2.

Recording Techniques

FILTERS
Also known as equalization or EQ, filters are used to increase or decrease the level in a specific range of audio frequencies. The most common filters are the simple bass and treble controls found on inexpensive stereo systems, which act on a broad range of frequencies. But other filters are designed to surgically boost or cut very narrow bands of the audio spectrum.

SHELVING FILTERS
As the simplest form of filter, shelving EQ boosts or cuts all frequencies above or below a fixed frequency. A bass shelving filter, also called a low-pass filter, boosts or cuts everything below its fixed center frequency. Likewise a treble shelving filter, also called a high-pass filter, boosts or cuts everything above its fixed center. A single control typically adjusts the amount of boost or cut.

These filters are useful for making broad changes like reducing boomy bass and wind noise. But encoders can easily be overloaded by too much bass or treble, so it’s often wisest to use these filters to cut high and low frequencies to prevent artifacts.

BANDPASS FILTERS
These filters can be used to boost or cut audio on both sides of a center frequency. Bandpass filters are commonly used as midrange filters, because they have little effect on either high or low frequencies. The familiar graphic equalizer is just a set of bandpass filters tuned to different center frequencies.

More sophisticated versions, called sweepable bandpass filters, have an additional control allowing you to change the center frequency. Bandpass filters are useful for increasing the intelligibility of a speaker without increasing hiss or background noise. A variation of the bandpass filter is the notch filter, which boosts or cuts all frequencies except those around the center frequency.

PARAMETRIC FILTERS
A parametric filter is a bandpass filter with an additional control to adjust the width of the frequency band being effected (fig. 3). These are the surgical tools of audio editing. They can be used to eliminate just the noise from an air conditioner, while having a minimal effect on the rest of the audio.

With all filters it’s important to follow the audio engineer’s first rule of EQ — cut rather than boost wherever possible. Cutting undesired sounds is always less obtrusive, and boosting too much can make a track too loud and lead to distortion and artifacts when encoding.

COMPRESSORS
A compressor’s basic function is to reduce the dynamic range of an audio recording, which is the difference between the loudest and softest sounds that pass through the recording chain. Simply put, a compressor is a processor whose output level increases at a slower rate as its input level increases.

By reducing the volume of the loudest sounds, a compressor lets you raise the level of the entire audio track, making it all sound louder than it actually is. Compression can be a big help in achieving intelligible audio tracks with a more uniform volume that will survive the encoding process.

A compressor consists of a level detector that measures the incoming signal, and an an amplifier whose gain is controlled by the level detector.

A Threshold control sets the level at which compression begins. Below the threshold, the compressor acts like a straight piece of wire. But when the input level reaches the Threshold, then the compressor begins reducing its output level by an amount determined by the Ratio control.

The Ratio control establishes the proportion of change between the input and output levels. If you set the compression Ratio to 2:1, then when the input signal gets twice as loud, the output signal will increase by only half.

If you set the Ratio to its maximum (10:1 or more), the the compressor becomes a “limiter” that locks the maximum level at the Threshold.

While a compressor can level out a recording, high levels of compression can also introduce artifacts including “pumping”, in which there is an audible up and down change in volume of a track, or “breathing”, which sounds like someone breathing as the background noise level goes up and
down.

EXPANDERS
An expander is the opposite of a compressor. As the level of the audio signal gets louder, the expander’s amplifier turns up further making loud signals even louder. An expander can be used to reduce noise in a process called downward expansion. In this case you set the Threshold just above the level of background noise. The expander will then raise the volume of everything above the Threshold, but won’t change anything below the Threshold, thereby lowering the perceived background noise.

NORMALIZING
Normalizing increases the gain of the audio file until its loudest point (or sample) is at maximum level. The overall signal level is now higher, which makes for clearer audio, and also gives the encoder more bits of data to work with and reduces encoding artifacts. The only downside of normalizing is that it increases the noise as well as the audio signal so it should be used carefully. It should be your last step before encoding, and you may not need it at all.

Stephanie Ciccarelli is the Vice President of Marketing with http://www.Voices.com, an online marketplace hosting more than 10,000 professional voice talents from around the world. Stephanie is the author of The Definitive Guide To Voice-Over Success, and The Voice-Over Script Collection.

Recording on your home computer has never been easier to do than it is today. With the speed of the modern day computer you can do some pretty neat things with your recordings. Modern technology will take you a long way toward success but you still need to understand what is going on if you want to have a great recording. It does not take all that much computer recording studio equipment to have a nice little setup.

To record on your computer you will need a few essential items. You must start out with a powerful computer that has a pretty decent soundcard. The next step is to go shopping for the software you need to actually get the sound inside your computer. You will find a decent set of headphones handy to have around and the most important thing you need is a good microphone. This article will take a look at these items and how they relate to home recording on a computer.

You cannot do much computer recording without a computer. Almost any modern day system will get the job done. The faster CPU and the more memory you have the better. Many people like to build a special computer just for recording purposes. This may be overkill if you only want to record one or two tracks at a time. Next you need to add a good soundcard or audio interface to your system.

There are many choices you can make when picking out a soundcard or external audio interface. You do not have to spend a lot of money to get a decent sound but usually the more expensive brands have some features that you may need. It is wise to search the Internet and forums to see what people are saying about the different soundcards before spending your hard earned money.

You will need to get some recording software to add to your computer recording studio equipment. There are many brands to choose from the free Audacity to programs costing a lot of money. If your recording needs are simple you can probably get by with one of the cheaper packages. On the other hand if you want to record a band you will probably need to spend a few more bucks on one of the more expensive software programs.

Add a microphone to this must have equipment list and you will almost be done. Get the best mike you can afford as the quality of this piece of equipment has much to do with the final sound of your project.

The last thing you will need to complete a basic set up is a set of headphones so you can hear what is being recording. Get a decent set but you can get by ok with a simple pair of headphones.

As you can see you do not have to spend a lot of money on computer recording studio equipment to get started recording on your home computer. Take your time and choose your equipment carefully and you will not have to go this again in 6 months when you have figured out that the cheap stuff you bought just is not getting the job done.

For more information on how to use a computer for recording try visiting http://www.create-streaming-audio.com where you will find tips, advice and resources about topics such as recording equipment for computer home studios.

Books on tape have been around for a long time. As technology advanced to accommodate varying media outlets, books on tape began to be referred to as audio books. Containing recordings of the entire contents of a book, audio tapes can be obtained on cassettes, CDs and, more recently, digital formats.

Now a multi-million dollar enterprise, audio books are
widely accepted for entertainment, as teaching aids for special needs students and for others who want to acquire particular information on a wide range of subjects while involved in other activities.

Audio books come in several formats such as unabridged (word for word), abridged (text edited out), and fully dramatized versions including complete casts, musical scores and sound effects.

As digital devices become smaller (e.g. iPods and MP3 players), more technologically advanced and more readily accepted by the masses, creators of audio books have developed techniques for downloading and retrieval of files.

This article will address the procedure for downloading an audio CD to an iPod, so audio book files can be played there.

1)Set optimal iTunes import settings to audiobooks.

2) Insert CD and wait for tracks to appear in iTunes. Do not select automatic. Select all CDs tracks, and choose Join CD Tracks from the advanced menu. Note: If the Join CD Tracks menu item is dimmed, you will have to re-sort the list by the track number.

3)Select Submit CD Track Names on advanced menu.

4)In the CD Info dialog box, complete information about the audio book.

5)Click OK, to submit. You may be prompted to Select CD Category, if so, choose Books & Spoken, and then click OK.

6)When the submission process is completed, all of the tracks on the CD should have the appropriate information attached to them. Click the Import button (top right corner) to import this disc, using the import settings you set up initially.

7)When the import finishes, eject the CD.

8)Switch to your Library, and find the newly imported track. There should be only one. Select it, and press Command-I to do a Get Info on the track, and switch to the Info tab.

9)Verify information is there. The song Name will be the same name as the album. Since the Name will be what you see on your iPod, you should add the disc sequence number. The shorter the format the better. (e.g. xx/yy xx being the disc number and yy being total number of discs. Add a leading zero to the disc number if the total number of discs will be more than one digit. This way, the tracks will sort correctly when sorted by Name.

10)Switch to the Options panel, and check both the Remember playback position and the Skip when shuffling checkboxes Remember playback position tells iTunes and the iPod to make the file bookmarkable. Skip when shuffling keeps the spoken word track out of your random music mixes.

11)Repeat this process for the each CD in the audio book, until you have imported all of the CDs.

12)Sync to your iPod, and enjoy.

In today hectic society with its emphasis on multi-tasking, audio books serve a dual purpose. They give busy people the opportunity to keep current with literary works while still maintaining their active lifestyles.

BookAudioJunction.com is a fully-stocked online audiobook mega-store containing a vast selection of downloadable audio books in over 160 categories. Visit http://www.bookaudiojunction.com today and pamper yourself to an audio book.

In today fast-paced, multi-tasking environment most people can ill afford the luxury of spending hours relaxing beside an open fire with a good book. Most neither have the time nor the inclination to spend precious hours devoted to one particular task. For this reason, audio books have taken the marketplace by storm.

Audio books are recordings of the contents of a book provided either on tape, CD or in digital format. Their popularity is increasing daily as more and more people take advantage of the high performance capabilities of combining book reading with physical activity. Wireless recording and playback devices, like iPod and MP3 have opened up a whole new, virtual world to literary works and information data never before experienced.

Unabridged (word for word), abridged (some editing done) or fully dramatized with award winning soundtracks and professionally portrayed characters, audio books are gaining more and more acceptance by busy people who want to use the time spent exercising, standing in line or commuting from one place to another more productively.

Audio books, with their capabilities of providing full text self-help guides, biographies, niche-market information and even fully scripted novels are filling a gap for many busy people, proving them with the opportunity to become pleasantly distracted from some of the more routine, tedious tasks that eat away their days.

The latest, technologically advanced concept of downloading digital files to portable devices has added tremendously to the popularity and functionality of audio books. With minimal effort and basic equipment, everyone can easily take advantage of the many perks of books on tape.

Fitness aficionados are rapidly jumping on the audio book bandwagon. In addition to offering sometimes hard to get incentive for actually beginning a fitness regime, audio books via wireless devices are so captivating in some cases that people find themselves spending a little longer on the treadmill - just so they do not have to stop listening to their favorite tapes in mid- chapter.

Conversely, audio books offer a more casual pace for reading than the printed word. Typically, most readers comprehend text at a rate of about 400 words per minute, whereas most audio is provided at about 100 words per minute. This leisurely pace of absorption appeals to many people because it allows for a more easily attained artist-listener interaction. Audio interpretation of the printed word allows listeners to develop their own visual interpretations on characters and plot, thereby increasing reader enjoyment.

Although audio books are wonderful tools for providing information or respite to on-the-go people, they also take us back to a more nostalgic time when storytelling was definitely a two-way street between orator and listener.

BookAudioJunction.com is a fully-stocked online audiobook mega-store containing a vast selection of downloadable audio books in over 160 categories. Visit http://www.bookaudiojunction.com today and pamper yourself to an audio book.

Similarities do abound of course between radio drama and pieces performed on the stage, film and television, however, the ability to move, inspire, and create solely through the collaboration of the human voice and the mind is a magnificent feat that requires the utmost discipline, insight and flawless interpretation of a voice actor.

To recognize the obvious, radio drama lacks a visual component and therefore is subject to the interpretation of the listener through sound and speech. Theatre, film, and particularly, live performances, are all visual experiences that generously communicate to their audiences through additional senses such as sight, smell, and touch while incorporating sound and speech.

As radio drama caters specifically to sound and speech, the most universally heightened of the senses, opportunities arise for a richer listening experience free from external distraction while enabling an audience member to conjure up their own visual version of the radio drama.

In radio drama, the script needs to be expertly written, accommodating the intellectual needs a listener. The voice actors role is to breathe life into the script and the producers role is to observe all Foley elements as are required to enhance the performance while providing additional mental stimulation for the audience. I liken this parallel to the intellectual experience and satisfaction that reading quality literature brings.

Performers of radio dramas are indeed actors. There is no question about it. It is simply a different application that provides its own unique set of challenges and adventures. In order to perform a voice-acting role, a person needs to be first and foremost an actor at heart.

In fact, many people use physical gestures and dialog with each other in sessions similarly to how actors feed off of each others energy on stage, film or television. There is a real chemistry that comes across when voice actors have synergy with their cast mates, quite comparable to the same electricity that face-to-face acting brings.

Now that we’ve looked at radio dramas in general, let’s explore marketing audio dramas and increasing the number of listeners for a radio drama.

Independent producers and groups have an enormous opportunity to reach new listeners on a global scale by means of podcasting. Using podcasting as a means to attract new listeners is fundamental to the success and continued discovery of this art form through popular and new media.

There are several independent radio theatre troupes around the globe that have sought to expand their listener base through podcasting and have affiliated themselves with websites that facilitate the spreading of their message, including organizations such as LibriVox, a group of people dedicated to recording audiobooks and making audio dramas more accessible to the public.

Submitting an established radio drama to podcast directories is also a brilliant way to increase the circulation, mind-share (and ear-share) as well as awareness for the craft. One popular radio drama I discovered this year, The Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd, leveraged the celebrity status of one of their cast members, June Foray, to boost its appeal and gain a larger audience.

Voice actors who perform audio dramas ally themselves with Voices to help promote their work and gain a wider reach concerning new listeners and even new members of their radio drama clubs. For instance, there is the Amateur Voice Acting Group (AVAG) in San Diego, California established by David Johnson.

When he launched his voice-acting group, the VOX Daily voice actor blog was there to help with promoting David’s organization to other talent in the San Diego area through Voices.

A membership to an online voiceover marketplace is without question one of the best investments and outlets for voice professionals in the radio drama field. Each voice actor is encouraged to upload a sample of their voice and list their work or voluntary experience. Many voice talent have started out as narrators for audiobooks produced for the blind as a steppingstone in their careers.

Stephanie Ciccarelli is the Vice President of Marketing with http://www.Voices.com, an online marketplace hosting more than 8,000 professional voice talents from around the world. Stephanie is the author of The Definitive Guide To Voice-Over Success, and The Voice-Over Script Collection.

No I am not giving you a piece of my mind, do not worry! I really mean “Listen up”, that is, to increase the number of times you listen to books. How you may ask? Let’s take a look at the “why” of listening to books before I tell you how to do it.

Many adults have a major problem and that is time. Most of us are busy with work, business, family, kids and more. If we have a choice we would want to sit down, relax and read a good book but we simply do not have our own personal time set aside to do it due to our various obligations and commitments.

However, it should not be use as an excuse to stop enriching our knowledge through books nor forgo deserving breaks from our daily routines. One secret why successful people are busy and yet can accomplish so much is the way they manage their time.

Successful, busy people are constantly looking for ways to make the most use of their “dead time” — such as the time they spend commuting, working out in the gym, doing house chores, running errands, jogging, gardening etc

If you have been struggling to find time to enrich your knowledge from business management gurus, biographies of notable people and other best selling non fiction titles, you can give audio books a try.

All you need is an mp3 player. You will be amazed at how entertaining and fulfilling they really can be when you can make use of your commuting time to enrich your knowledge at work or in school.

With the growing trends in mp3 and digital technologies where most household have fast internet access, you can easily find someone walking along the street with a headset on their ears.

If you are an avid reader, you will quickly realize the power of acquiring knowledge via audio books! Any regular Joe who reads about 10 printed books a year will most likely be able to listen to many more audio books in the same period!

Many successful business people are self-motivated individuals who strive to improve and create better opportunities for themselves. It is not unusual for them to be early adopters of audio books. In the past, audio books were available in the form of audio tapes. With technological advancements, audio books are made available as audio CDs, downloadable files from the Internet and even podcasts.

Some individuals even study a foreign language from audio books. It is less stressful and less tedious as compared to enrolling in a course with boring textbooks because you can get into the “lecture room” anytime you want at your convenience and do away with all the commuting to and fro a physical language school.
You can be a knowledge learner like them. A good way for you to get started listening to audio books is to visit Merlion Audio which offers you one of the largest selections of downloadable audiobooks and spoken word material anywhere on the Internet - and it’s growing daily!

You can find everything from the latest best-selling audio books from major publishers such as the BBC, Brilliance, Harper-Collins, Simon & Schuster and Time Warner through to innovative audio theatre productions from around the world. Titles by any best selling authors and top business gurus like Jack Welch, Peter Drucker, Zig Ziglar, Jack Canfield, Robert Kiyosaki and Robert G. Allen are good audio books you can start with.

Audio books will provide a new way of learning for busy individuals and professionals who want to enrich their knowledge in a multi-tasking environment. This is an increasingly popular mode of knowledge acquisition. Are you ahead of the pack?

To check out how you can listen to some of the #1 best seller books, visit http://www.merlionaudio.com
If you are interested in becoming an affiliate, we offer attractive commissions, you can visit http://www.merlionaudio.com