Posting/storing sound files, mp3s / recording
  • musicamatthews
    Posts: 33
    So here is my struggle:

    I have created a Google account and dump all of the MP3s/voicing parts for my choir for each weekend into my Google drive. This has not seemed to work and the constant complining of, "Where do I find this" "What folder is it in" "How do I get to this subfolder" is getting frustrating.

    So....what does everyone use (if anything at all) to store files electronically such that all choir members will have access and, well, more ease of use/navigation of such files? I considered getting the school IT professional involved and creating a login page for choir members to view such material but don't even know where to begin. Does anyone use a login page and if so, how did you format yours?

    Also, I have been recording the parts on my Samsung tablet but was wondering if there was an easier way or maybe a better App that I don't know about.

    Sorry for the plethora of questions in advance!

    Mike
    musicamatthews@gmail.com
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,451
    There is no solution that is so easy that people won't be able to figure out a way to make it too hard for themselves. ("People who claim something is fool-proof seriously underestimate the ingenuity of fools.")

    I might try private YouTube videos and then emailing people a list of links.
    Thanked by 1matthewj
  • barreltone
    Posts: 32
    Similarly, you can email your choir the links they need in Google Drive.

    To answer your question, I use a combination of Google Drive, Google Sites, Youtube, SoundCloud, and email to get my choir these types of files. I almost always email direct links to files or to a page where the files are linked/embedded.
    Thanked by 2Adam Wood CHGiffen
  • mrcoppermrcopper
    Posts: 653
    Soundcloud is pretty good; if your needs are not too extreme it's free. You can make recordings 'private' to your group if you need to. I don't believe listeners need to make an account (not sure about this).

    Google wants to grab everyone's email and rule their lives, so I avoid it when possible.

    Dropbox is another option, less user friendly but more capacious, and I believe your chorus members can access your droppings without having to create an account.
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,451
    your chorus members can access your droppings

    I'm not sure which list to add this to...
    Thanked by 3mrcopper MarkThompson ronkrisman
  • barreltone
    Posts: 32
    I don't believe listeners need to make an account (not sure about this).


    No, they don't. You could embed on any web page and listeners can stream from there (or download if you allow in settings).
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    If you want to make it super simple, you could try this:

    • upload the mp3 files somewhere publicly accessible (FTP, Dropbox, GDrive, etc...)
    • Put together a web page or PDF with headings for each piece, sub headings for each voice part, then direct links under those sub-headings
  • kevinfkevinf
    Posts: 1,183
    I use box.net. i have an account that I upload the files to. I have a library of folders for each piece. All the choir folks have a link. They go in, find the piece, listen or download their part. Quite simple. The link does not allow them to make changes to the account, bu they can access the parts to each piece. Quite simple and my library is really good, with over 400 pieces.
  • Steve QSteve Q
    Posts: 119
    I also use SoundCloud.com. Pretty easy, free, private, downloadable, easily linkable from emails and/or a web site. (Free space is limited but has been more than adequate for me.)
  • Carl DCarl D
    Posts: 992
    I've done a fair bit of this, but I confess that I've created the website structure by hand because I'm comfortable with it and wasn't up to trying to convince other software to do what I want.

    In my experience, the keys have been:
    * Have an index which closely matches the structure that people expect. Whatever kind of sheet you give your singers, have it go with that.
    * For many people, downloading a file and playing it via other software can be too daunting. I produced practice CDs to try to address this problem, but another great addition is to be able to play the music directly on the web page.

    Ideally, people would be totally comfortable with having you send stuff as a podcast and have it be automatic -- but many people will never get to that stage. So you have to be quite practical in your tradeoffs.

    Examples:
    * 2013 Colloquium recording page
    * The last schola-prep packages that I did at my previous church
  • francis
    Posts: 10,668
    Just sing their part to them over the phone.
  • Marc Cerisier
    Posts: 517
    Just sing their part to them over the phone.


    This was actually very effective for one cantor I had--I would sing the psalm into his voicemail, and he'd listen to that over and over to learn it.
  • musicamatthews
    Posts: 33
    Some great ideas here, many thanks! How does everyone usually record their mp3s? Any specific apps that you use or maybe you don't use a tablet at all...?
  • Carl DCarl D
    Posts: 992
    I use a Zoom H2, or record into Audacity on my PC. I have a small mixer and Shire mic, but you don't need that much. As long as you have an external mic (even headset) it will probably be ok.
  • aria
    Posts: 85
    I use VoiceRecord Pro for iPhone and easily send the files to Dropbox from the app. It's not studio quality but it works just fine for our purposes. The free version is great and it's $2.99 to remove the ads (which I finally upgraded for b/c the ads are "conveniently" located very near the record button and I kept clicking ads instead of hitting record).

    By the way, for Dropbox, you can make a folder public so choir members don't need to log in. The only bad thing is that the Dropbox URLs are very long. One solution is to use www.tinyurl.com to create a shorter (and easier to remember) URL.
  • quilisma
    Posts: 136
    Have just switched to Dropbox, from previously using UbuntuOne, which is closing down. It's very easy to save and share and I don't even need to pass through the internet - everything's integrated into my File Browser.

    For each Mass, where we sing, I prepare an html page with the running order and links to recordings/scores (either from the net or my own area). I mail this out to the choir members. Seems to work ok.
  • hymndescants.org
    Posts: 28
    Soundcloud is one (as mentioned above).

    Box.com is another freebie - you can share either folders or documents, and comments can be made on individual files.

    both have HTML5 players, so playback is seamless on mobile.
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    I use a Zoom H2, or record into Audacity on my PC. I have a small mixer and Shire mic, but you don't need that much.


    image
    Thanked by 3Spriggo Adam Wood francis
  • francis
    Posts: 10,668
    This does it all.

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    300 x 300 - 18K
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