Now that you have experienced the basics of recording and sharing audio, it’s time to dig a little deeper and explore how to use audio recordings to tell a coherent story.
The authors of [The YouShow](http://youshow.trubox.ca/about/schedule/unit-4-part-1/) wrote this about audio:
> Some things to notice when listening to audio are the pacing (think of how they are equivalent of paragraphs in sound), the use of background music, the varying of volume, sound effects, ambient/environmental sounds, the introduction of radio “bumpers” to remind us of the show, introduction and exits. Try to tune into the layering of sounds, how audio can create a sense of place by being more than just a recording, but a deliberate stacking of audio layers.
What sets some podcasts apart from others is the degree of production that goes into the final product. For some insight into how high quality podcasts are produced, listen to [this episode](https://transom.org/2012/dissecting-joanne-rosser-papermaker/) from HowSound (16m 17s), a podcast about producing podcasts.
With that information in mind, while you listen to audio content on the radio or in a podcast, pay attention to the techniques that the producers used to tell their story.
Here is an example of how the absence of sound can provide a significant emotional cue in an audio recording. [Pay attention at around the 3-minute mark.](https://create.twu.ca/orientation/ted-radio-hour-audio-demo/)
For some of the best examples of audio storytelling, check out a few episodes of [The Truth podcast](http://www.thetruthpodcast.com/). The episodes are short (~20min or less) and are described as ‘movies for your ears’. Listen in a quiet place where you will be able to become immersed in the soundscapes of the story. For best results, use headphones.
Sometimes sounds can be used to completely change the character of video, as below.
Star Wars, but all of the light saber sounds are Owen Wilson saying "wow" pic.twitter.com/t5Yll0AV4h
— Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) July 14, 2017
#####Audacity
Audacity is a free and open-source audio editing program that allows you to create your own layered audio tracks with either recorded or ‘found’ sounds.
For the next few activities, you will need to have Audacity downloaded and installed on your computer.
You can download and install Audacity from http://www.audacityteam.org/download/.
Once you have installed Audacity and created a new project, you will need to install the LAME encoder to allow you to export your files to MP3 format. [Instructions are here.](https://trinitywestern.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/KB/ArticleDet?ID=33356)
Alan Levine ([@cogdog](https://twitter.com/cogdog) from The You Show) has created a couple of video tutorials on how to get started with creating and editing audio using Audacity. You can find a [14 min screencast here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXfVKSx7WtY), or a [40 minute presentation recording here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTw9ZwL0CTA).
Practice recording and exporting audio with Audacity, then, when you are ready, try the ‘Sound Effects Story’.
#####A note about GarageBand
If you are using a Mac computer, you likely have access to GarageBand, which will work quite nicely for these activities, but we will focus these instructions on Audacity.