How to get quicktime player to record computer audio

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You can use QuickTime player to easily record yourself. Whether you want to record a conversation or interview, or as a way to practice reading a speech or giving a presentation. QuickTime allows you to easily use your computer's built-in microphone or an external one to record. You can then edit and save your recording for listening.

1. 1

   Download and install QuickTime. If you’re on a Windows computer you can download and install QuickTime from Apple's website. [1]

   • If you have a Mac computer, QuickTime will automatically be on your computer in your Applications folder.
   • If for some reason you don’t have QuickTime on your Mac, you can download it from Apple as well.

2. 2

   Open QuickTime. You can find the QuickTime Player in your "Applications" folder on your Mac. Or you can click the "Launchpad" button and then open the "Other" folder to find QuickTime Player on Mac. On Windows, it will be in your "Programs" folder inside the "QuickTime" folder.

   • Once you open QuickTime, you may see a start-up window appear. Close this window out.

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3. 3

   Choose "New Audio Recording" from the top "File" drop-down list. There are a few options for starting a new audio recording with QuickTime. [2]

   • Right click on the app icon in the Dock if you are on a Mac. You will see "New Audio Recording" as an option. Click this option to open the audio recording box.
   • Alternatively, you can go up to "File" > "New Audio Recording".
   • On a Windows, Choose "File" > "New Audio Recording".

4. 4

   Make sure your microphone is connected. Click the dropdown arrow next to your red record button to pull up more options. The dropdown will show you which microphone you are currently recording with. [3]

   • You can use your internal microphone if your computer has one. Make sure "Built-In Microphone: Internal microphone" is checked.
   • If you have another microphone plugged into your computer, you can click the other "Built-In Input" option to record with your external microphone.

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1. 1

   Make sure you’re in a quiet place. Whether you’re using your computer’s microphone or an external one, you want to be in a quiet room with little to no external noise.

   • Go into a quiet room that isn’t too open or large to get a crisper sound when recording.
   • Large, open rooms can cause an echo which will distort the quality of your sound. Rooms with too much noise can cause ambient noise or feedback to get picked up by your microphone.

2. 2

   Adjust the recording quality. QuickTime will have an option in your dropdown list to adjust the quality level of your recording. You can set your recording to either "Medium" or "High".

   • Click the drop arrow next to the recording button to access your quality options. You will find these options below your microphone options.
   • Choosing a higher quality will give you better sounding audio, but will make your file larger.

3. 3

   Set your recording volume. Adjust the slider beneath your recording button to change the recording volume.

   • The higher you set the recording volume the more noise your microphone will pick up. If you are in a smaller, quiet room, you may only need to drag the slider about halfway up, or a little past.
   • If you bring the slider too high, the microphone will pick up on quieter noises and can cause distortion feedback or a humming noise. Sometimes you have to bring the slider down to the minimum for the best sound. Do a quick test to make sure the level is good for you before your final recording.

4. 4

   Click the red Record Button to begin recording. Once you are ready to record your audio, click on the red dot to begin. QuickTime will start recording. [4]

   • It’s a good idea to give yourself a few seconds before speaking so you have room to trim if you need to.
   • QuickTime will begin to record and you will see a counter of how long your recording is.
   • There will also be two bars that flash, depicting your volume levels. You want these input levels to stay around the middle of the bar as much as possible. Too low and the audio won’t get picked up. too high and it might get distorted.
   • If you find that your input volume is fluctuating too much on either spectrum, adjust your distance to the microphone.

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1. 1

   Click the Stop Button to end your recording. When you're done recording, click the square gray Stop Button in the center.

   • Once you click the Stop Button, you will see a Play button as well as both Fast Forward and Rewind buttons.
   • Above these buttons will be a time tracker and it will show how long your recording is.

2. 2

   Edit your recording. Before saving your recording for export, you can listen to it and make any trims you may need.

   • Click the Play Button to listen to your recording.
   • If you are satisfied with the sound, you can also edit your recording to trim out any parts you don’t need. [5]
   • Go to "Edit" > "Trim" to bring up your trimming options. You will now have a yellow bar which you can use to quickly cut any parts at the beginning or end of your recording that you may not need. Or to just take a smaller sample of what you recorded.
   • Once you’ve made adjustments, click the Trim Button to save your edits.

3. 3

   Listen to the recording again. After you make your edits, give your recording one more listen to make sure that you’ve kept what you want.

   • Your recording will now only play the parts you kept inside of the markers on your yellow trim box.

4. 4

   Save your recording. Go to "File" > "Save" to save your audio recording to M4A format.

   • Here you will be able to give your recording a title and choose which location on your computer to save the file to. The default QuickTime output folder is your desktop.

5. 5

   Export your recording. Once you’ve saved your recording you can also export it.

   • You can export your audio file to iTunes to have the file saved in your music library for easy access later. This is helpful if you need to listen to it on a mobile device or add it into another software like iMovie.
   • Listen to it again. After you’ve saved and exported your file. Locate it either in your saved location or through iTunes. Give it one more listen to make sure everything saved correctly.

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• It’s a good idea to do a test recording before your real recording to make sure that everything sounds good and that your microphone is connected.

• You can use the audio recordings to explain a presentation, record a paper, or as a way to practice speaking.

• Note that no image will be shown in the audio recordings.

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