When you need to create a sound file, whether a music clip or a voice file, you will have to had access to a software that allows you to save the input from your sound card. Most computers come with standard software to do that already, like the Sound Recorder in Windows machines. But if you want to do some edition to your files, like make changes in the volume, file size, or file format you may need more sophisticated programs for sound edition. Audacity is one of those programs that will work on MAC, PCs, and Linux operated machines.

Audacity tips for MAC users

You'll need to install LAME (there's a link to the plugin in the Audacity webpage) in order to use Audacity to create MP3 files.

To make small files in MP3 format, set the Preferences in Audacity in the following way:

(a) Quality: Default Sample Rate: 22K; Default Sample Format: 16-bit

(b) File Formats: MP3 Export Setup: select 32 as the Bit Rate