I'd like to copy my composition to a CD to be used as an accompaniment to live vocals. I noticed there is a record button on the menu but I haven't been able to figure it out. How does this work?
Well, it doesn't work the way you think it does. It's for recording
to NWC (from a MIDI keyboard or similar device), not
from NWC.
The easiest way to convert an NWC file to a CD playable in an audio CD player is:
- Export your NWC file as a MIDI file (File/Export)
- Go to http://solmire.com/ (http://solmire.com/). Press the [choose file] button and browse to your MIDI file. Choose your sound font (my personal favorite is Fluid R3), check the "full length" radio button, and press the [upload MIDI and convert to MP3] button.
- Download the resulting MP3 file to your own computer. You have one hour after the conversion is complete.
- Burn the MP3 file to a CD using your CD burner software.
Hope this helps....
Bill
Thanks this is great news!
An alternative, where you use the sound quality (MIDI or whatever) which is available on you PC/Laptop,
all on your own PC/Laptop, no time constraints:
* Install (free) AUDACITY, plus (free) plug-ins including LAME (which allows you to convert Audacity's output to MP3),
* Start AUDACITY recording
* Start your song (in NWC, or whatever) - - this may require some trial and error till you've got the levels, etc., right.
(* Save as AUDACITY project, if that's the way you work.)
* Snip-off unnecessary silences at beginning and end
* Export to MP3.
* Burn to CD / DVD.
I would suggest that if you want to burn to CD, export to mp3 doesn't make a lot of sense.
Why not, Rick? Admittedly, WAV files sound slightly better (to some of us; I've found that most people are unable to tell the difference, and are mildly amazed that I can). But since you're starting from a MIDI file, sound quality isn't that great anyway, and IMHO the huge difference in size between WAV files and MP3 files is determinate in this case. Of course, if you know a way to burn a disc directly from Audacity, it would save a step....but I don't think there is one.
Rick may be thinking about those old dinosaur type CD players that don't understand MP3...
I think Rick's point is that in order to create mp3 files from Audacity, you have to download and install the separate LAME MP3 encoder plug-in, which are extra steps in the process (despite the loss in quality that you describe). The documentation for Audacity clearly mentions burning audio CDs from WAV or AIFF files.
File size is irrelevant. CD Quality is uncompressed, 44,100 kHz, 16 bit stereo. It makes little sense to pass it through a lossy format like mp3. The visual analogy would be to print a document to file and pass it through JPEG before sending it to the printer. You are probably correct that few would notice.
Of course, when I wrote "burn to CD", I meant produce a disc in CD Audio format. If you want to burn data disc on CD media, mp3 might make a great deal of sense.
Right. But you only have to do that once.
And right again. And the CDs will be higher quality, as both you and Rick (and I, earlier) pointed out. I work with WAV files whenever possible, and I CAN tell the difference. But for the OP's purposes, MP3s may well be sufficient. Most of us among the virtuosi are audiophiles, but not everyone else is, and the difference in file size required for WAV files vs. MP3 files can loom rather large for people with large audio collections and limited space. That's the point I was trying to make. Not that MP3 files are
usually preferable - they usually aren't. But that they
sometimes are. So a blanket statement that they "don't make a lot of sense" doesn't, itself, make a whole lot of sense.
Which is why I made no such "blanket statement." In the context of saving audio from Audacity, I wrote:
Audacity has better options. I have highlighted what I think is the best option for "burning to CD" in the attachment. Your Audacity installation may have different options.