Audacity and mobile phone.

[MLoosemore]

I don't know whether anybody else has experienced this but I thought it worth highlighting.

I decided to record a few tracks this afternoon and fired up Audacity on my laptop... To try and keep myself in time I thought it would be a good idea to use a metronome which I had on my mobile phone. So far so good.

I popped the phone on the laptop keyboard next to the mouse pad and started the 'Metronome Beats' app. Pressed record in Audacity and did track one. Stopped the recording and knowing that pressing record would start a second track, I did it but track one carried on recording...

The only way I could get a second track was to generate one and record into it. This was annoying so I checked and reinstalled Audacity in case I had managed to destroy it somehow because there is no setting to tell it to carry on in the same track.

Nothing worked until I casually moved the phone away from the laptop and then everything worked perfectly again.

So for what it's worth it appears that mobile phones interfere with laptops and confuse the h*** out of them. Another symptom (not related to Audacity) was that I couldn't select only one file (the sheet music) to open. The PC decided to open dozens at the same time.

Clearly a case of technology overload 🙂

 

[sushidushi]

That is very helpful to know. If I ever try to record anything, I'd almost certainly use Audacity with a mobile phone metronome (or perhaps iReal B, an app with lots of chord symbols and backing tracks to songs, which is probably excellent to those who have some idea of what they're doing).

 

[Chris]

You don't need to record anything. 'Audcity' has a built in click track that will give you more than any app can. Click on 'Track' click on create clicktrack, set up just what you need in the pop up down menu. eg tempo, beats per bar, subdivisions, number of bars, etc etc etc..

Chris

 

[sushidushi]

As I didn't quite say before, if I ever try to record anything, I'd almost certainly use the click track facility on Audacity...🙂

 

[Spyder]

That is very helpful to know. If I ever try to record anything, I'd almost certainly use Audacity with a mobile phone metronome (or perhaps iReal B, an app with lots of chord symbols and backing tracks to songs, which is probably excellent to those who have some idea of what they're doing).

Yes, I bought ireal the other day and its fantastic for backing tracks, all for free. I have it playing on my ipad through my hifi and its like having my own band behind me. Also helps me concentrate on my timing.

 

[sushidushi]

It made me realise that I have absolutely no sense of timing whatsoever, so my iReal B is in hibernation 😱

 

[Spyder]

I must admit that years of playing in orchestras (before I took up the sax) has helped me with my timing. My problem is after years of being in orchestras following sheet music and being conducted I find improvising very difficult.

 

[sushidushi]

I "improvise" even when I'm trying to read music. I really wish I'd started rather earlier.

And I still hanker after a clarinet, which would only sound even worse.