Week 5 - Mixing It Up

There are three things that make or break a party: the people, the music, and, of course, the drinks, but people don't always realize that what really makes or breaks the party is the music. Without the right music, the alcohol and people go to waste. If there is no music, or it isn't good, then no one wants to dance with anyone and so you stuck standing there just talking while the alcohol goes to waste. This is why it is important to know how to mix music, so you can have a successful party. A free, simple program that has everything you need to make you mixes is Audacity, but before mixing the music, you have to know the logistics.

There are 2 common types of formats: WAV and MP3. There is no difference in sound between these two, but the difference is a WAV file is uncompressed audio and MP3 is compressed audio. Lossy Compression: CD’s contain uncompressed audio although your brain cannot process all of the different sounds so MP3 compresses the audio by taking the frequencies from the song and throwing away the frequencies the average human can’t hear so there is no difference in the sound, to humans.

Another important thing to know is how to figure out the file size to ensure your files are not to big for the cd or other storage device. Here is how you figure it out: 

1) Convert the minutes to seconds. Exp: 8 minutes and 42 seconds à 522 seconds

Note: Stereo sound uses 2 channels or 16 bit DAC (Digital Audio Conversion

2) Figure out the 16-bit number. Exp: Total 16-bit sampled: 522*44100*2=46,040,400

3) Now figure out the 8-bit by multiplying it by 2. Exp: Total 8-bit bytes = 92,080,800 (87.8 MB)

For more information about Audacity or how to use it check out some videos. I recommend beginning here:

Happy Partying and Stay Safe!
Momma