Simplest way to record an audiobook for my kid?
June 30, 2023 12:22 PM Subscribe
When I was little, my dad recorded bedtime reading for me since he was away a lot. He used his dictaphone. I want to do this for my kid. What's the simplest way in 2023?
I want to record myself reading the book.
I won't be able to do it all in one sitting, so I want to be able to keep adding, seamlessly, to the recording (presumably this will require me to listen to the file, then start recording at the point after the prior reading stopped.
I want the result to be a file that is as simple and small as possible for her to keep on her phone and listen to when she wants to. It would keep her position in the book when she pauses; but also permit rewinding (as I expect she'll fall asleep to it and want to rewind often.)
I have a reasonably up to date iPhone, and a laptop Mac.
I am willing to pay for the right tool.
What's my best bet?
I want to record myself reading the book.
I won't be able to do it all in one sitting, so I want to be able to keep adding, seamlessly, to the recording (presumably this will require me to listen to the file, then start recording at the point after the prior reading stopped.
I want the result to be a file that is as simple and small as possible for her to keep on her phone and listen to when she wants to. It would keep her position in the book when she pauses; but also permit rewinding (as I expect she'll fall asleep to it and want to rewind often.)
I have a reasonably up to date iPhone, and a laptop Mac.
I am willing to pay for the right tool.
What's my best bet?
I recently worked on a beta app called lilokwi that is meant to be a repository of audio keepsakes and memories. this seems like the perfect use case for that.
posted by violetk at 12:26 PM on June 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by violetk at 12:26 PM on June 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: if it matters, as far as microphones, I have:
1. a pair of apple earbuds which I think have some sort of microphone utility in them
2. an actual microphone that we use for singing and I believe has some sort of bluetooth element
posted by fingersandtoes at 12:27 PM on June 30, 2023
1. a pair of apple earbuds which I think have some sort of microphone utility in them
2. an actual microphone that we use for singing and I believe has some sort of bluetooth element
posted by fingersandtoes at 12:27 PM on June 30, 2023
I'm not sure if this would work as a solution for your needs but I have been using the TonieBox and a Creative Tonie.
The TonieBox has an app where you can record stories and songs on your CreativeTonie. I chose a Creative Tonie that looked like my son. I record all my stories when I have free time on his Creative Tonie. He then puts the Creative Tonie figurine on his TonieBox whenever he wants to hear my voice or stories or songs. It picks up where he left off before. It has a forward and backward function and he can use it with headphones. It has a long time before it charges so he can carry it around and it is soft and squishy.
posted by ichimunki at 12:35 PM on June 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
The TonieBox has an app where you can record stories and songs on your CreativeTonie. I chose a Creative Tonie that looked like my son. I record all my stories when I have free time on his Creative Tonie. He then puts the Creative Tonie figurine on his TonieBox whenever he wants to hear my voice or stories or songs. It picks up where he left off before. It has a forward and backward function and he can use it with headphones. It has a long time before it charges so he can carry it around and it is soft and squishy.
posted by ichimunki at 12:35 PM on June 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
Librivox has a Newbie Guide to Recording audiobooks. It instructs you on how to use Audacity, which IMO isn't simple. But the documentation might be good enough and the end goal similar enough to make it worth mentioning here.
posted by Wobbuffet at 2:03 PM on June 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Wobbuffet at 2:03 PM on June 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
I just wanted to add that my dad recorded all (a lot?) my books on tape, a bell for page turning included, when I was really little, because we went on epic road trips (with trailer attached) and neither parent could read in the car without being sick.
It is such a sweet "core" memory (as the kids say), both the actual recordings and knowing he did it. So, thank you from your future adult children.
posted by atomicstone at 2:10 PM on June 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
It is such a sweet "core" memory (as the kids say), both the actual recordings and knowing he did it. So, thank you from your future adult children.
posted by atomicstone at 2:10 PM on June 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
It would keep her position in the book when she pauses; but also permit rewinding (as I expect she'll fall asleep to it and want to rewind often.)
To make this work on a single mp3 file (or multiples), you should change the media type to audiobook. You can do that in iTunes and MediaMonkey and MP3tag. Most any mp3 tagging software should have this option.
You don’t need to listen to the last file if you just put a bookmark where you stop. You can use a post it in a physical book or a highlight in an ebook to mark the sentence. You could also read the last sentence again at the start of the new file. That way you have two versions to FB pose from when combining.
posted by soelo at 2:43 PM on June 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
To make this work on a single mp3 file (or multiples), you should change the media type to audiobook. You can do that in iTunes and MediaMonkey and MP3tag. Most any mp3 tagging software should have this option.
You don’t need to listen to the last file if you just put a bookmark where you stop. You can use a post it in a physical book or a highlight in an ebook to mark the sentence. You could also read the last sentence again at the start of the new file. That way you have two versions to FB pose from when combining.
posted by soelo at 2:43 PM on June 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: For starters, you want an app on the kids phone that's made for audiobooks. Any regular music player can play mp3s, but they're not equipped to do things like adding bookmarks, or skipping around within long files-- mostly regular music players want to skip to next or previous track, but an audiobook listener wants to jump back 10 seconds or 1 minute, and audiobook apps do that.
But I don't use an iPhone for this so I don't know what's best. I have used "MP3 Books" a time or two and that met the above need. ($5 to remove ads.)
Recording: In addition to that microphone mentioned, you want to make record in a place that damps sounds. A lot of people just get into a closet. Don't remove the clothes except the ones that're in your way-- the clothes absorb sound and remove the sort of backscatter of noise that you get from a room with hard walls everywhere. Another cheap solution is a basic isolation box. Here's a good example of one. It's not built of tough stuff, just a cardboard box and some sound-absorbing foam. It weights nothing, and you can probably make it collapse smaller if you are clever enough. Mic goes in there and you project into it while speaking in a quiet room.
Audacity: Record in Mono, and record the book as a single long file, unless you have the ambition to make separate chapter files. The audiobook player will handle either. Audacity doesn't "save as" mp3; it saves as its own project files and "exports" as mp3. Back up your project file every so often.
I would record each session as its own project, but stay on top of organizing them and give them filenames that will easily sort themselves in order on your Mac. Edit each one by giving it a complete listen while wearing headphones, pausing (spacebar) after each section to note the timestamp, and noting the times of things you want to trim out, like an interruption from someone entering the room, or if you start giggling or tripping over your tongue. After you've heard the whole thing, then go back and edit.
You can, at least, teach yourself Audacity, and find tutorials on Youtube etc. while you're still assembling your recording setup. Also, try recording in the living room, recording in a bedroom (big soft bed absorbs sound), a closet (physically awkward but best sound so far), and give those recordings a listen through your headphones, and you'll hear how room noise affects things. You already kinda know about this intuitively, especially in the Zoom era, but identifying cheap and easy methods for quieter recordings can really improve things.
posted by Sunburnt at 7:02 PM on June 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
But I don't use an iPhone for this so I don't know what's best. I have used "MP3 Books" a time or two and that met the above need. ($5 to remove ads.)
Recording: In addition to that microphone mentioned, you want to make record in a place that damps sounds. A lot of people just get into a closet. Don't remove the clothes except the ones that're in your way-- the clothes absorb sound and remove the sort of backscatter of noise that you get from a room with hard walls everywhere. Another cheap solution is a basic isolation box. Here's a good example of one. It's not built of tough stuff, just a cardboard box and some sound-absorbing foam. It weights nothing, and you can probably make it collapse smaller if you are clever enough. Mic goes in there and you project into it while speaking in a quiet room.
Audacity: Record in Mono, and record the book as a single long file, unless you have the ambition to make separate chapter files. The audiobook player will handle either. Audacity doesn't "save as" mp3; it saves as its own project files and "exports" as mp3. Back up your project file every so often.
I would record each session as its own project, but stay on top of organizing them and give them filenames that will easily sort themselves in order on your Mac. Edit each one by giving it a complete listen while wearing headphones, pausing (spacebar) after each section to note the timestamp, and noting the times of things you want to trim out, like an interruption from someone entering the room, or if you start giggling or tripping over your tongue. After you've heard the whole thing, then go back and edit.
You can, at least, teach yourself Audacity, and find tutorials on Youtube etc. while you're still assembling your recording setup. Also, try recording in the living room, recording in a bedroom (big soft bed absorbs sound), a closet (physically awkward but best sound so far), and give those recordings a listen through your headphones, and you'll hear how room noise affects things. You already kinda know about this intuitively, especially in the Zoom era, but identifying cheap and easy methods for quieter recordings can really improve things.
posted by Sunburnt at 7:02 PM on June 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
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You'll probably want a microphone better than what the iPhone or Mac can provide, if you want it to sound good.
I'm not sure about specific apps, but suspect the mic will be the harder part of this to get right. I used to like audio tapes for this kind of thing, but of course those are long gone.
posted by Alensin at 12:25 PM on June 30, 2023 [1 favorite]