Today you will record your own voice over a piece of background music. Download the track now, because you will open it in AudioMass in step 3.
Download the background track (an MP3, thirty seconds of calm music). It opens in a new tab: save it with the download button or the three dots (⋮) in the player. If you still have your clip from last lesson, you can use that instead.
When you hear a voice and music at the same time, the problem is almost never that the voice is too quiet. The problem is that the music underneath it is too loud.
| What you hear | What is actually wrong | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Cannot make out the words | Music competing with the voice | Bring the music down under the voice, not the voice up |
| Voice sounds harsh or crackly | Recorded too close to the microphone, or shouting | Record it again a hand's width back from the microphone, in a normal speaking voice |
| The music drowns your first word | The voice starts on a loud part of the music | Drag your voice a second to the right, or turn the music down further |
Turn the music down, not the voice up. In AudioMass, the music and your voice each sit on their own channel, which is a separate row with its own volume. Each channel's volume only goes up to 100%, so the way to make room for your voice is to bring the music down.
Record a short line in your own voice and put it over the music. Keep it to one or two sentences, such as a title, an introduction or a line that sets the scene.
Open AudioMass at audiomass.co. Make sure it ends in .co, because audiomass.com is a different site.
Plan your words and say them out loud once. Deciding what to say while you record usually leads to thirty seconds of “um”.
Now balance your voice and the music, so your voice is clear and the music can still be heard underneath it.
Now export your mix, and then listen to the file you exported rather than the version in the editor.
Unlock the full learning experience
You're previewing this lesson. Get full access to this lesson and hundreds more — each one ready to teach, with interactive activities, printable resources and pupil progress tracking built in.
This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2026. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.