In about 1997 I purchased my first minidisk player and converted most of my vinyl collection to disk (in real time). I soon found I didn't like the way the disks we organized so once again recorded my music onto minidisk to make it better organized. I didn't take me long to realize that continual re-recording of vinyls in real time was a real pain. So I downloaded GOLDWAVE to digitize music onto computer - which allowed me to organized my music into CDs - which were easy to record as a batch onto minidisk. It then became a simpler operation to re-organize my minidisks.

It wasn't long before I started processing my music files to do tricks like:
- Set the tempo
- Clean up minor noises such as "pops" and "clicks".
- Trimming the music so that I had the right amount of silence before and after.
- In bad cases to carry out major music surgery for worn out records.

All along I was wishing that I could completely bypass the minidisk and take my computer to the dance. For a short time in 2004 I switched to an iPod, and then in 2005 I purchased a laptop to transport music to the dance.

MY PHILOSPHIES ABOUT MUSIC FILES

(1) Master files in WAV format, user files as MP3 format.

I suppose this comes from my work with river level information. We keep the original of original data, not the processed data. On request for supply of aggregated data we transform it as required by whatever model requires the data. In that way we ensure that any re-validation of data is included in the end product. For instance, if we need daily flow data we derive it from the original data, rather than keep spreadsheets of daily flow data.

I treat music files the same, I keep an archive of the original music in a format which is as close to possible to original, and transport the music in smaller MP3 files to the dance. This means more data storage, but that is not a problem with external hard drives anyway.

MP3 files use a data compression technique to reduce file size. And data compression means that something is lost in the process. Whilst the human ear cannot hear the difference between WAV and MP3, there is still something lost, and the losses are carried through to any further processing done to the file. If at any stage one needs to reprocess the music file, the bits of music have further bits taken out of it. After several generations of reprocessing those losses could be significant. WAV files do not suffer from losses of quality.

WAV files should be your master and used for editting - MP3 files should be the copies you take to the dance.

(2) Stereo versus Mono

I often get asked "why bother, as many of our records are mono anyway, and we don't play the music as stereo at the dance anyway?" Fair enough! But whilst I cannot say with any certainty that I'll EVER need to use the music in stereo - you cannot guarantee me that I'll NEVER need to use the stereo version. Once you have your music as mono it stays mono, whilst stereo music can still be used on mono equipment. Sure it takes double the hard disk space, but hard disk space is cheap. Furthermore there are many old television shows that fans are now watching in a new light from their original viewing simply because the original producers had the foresight to film them in colour even though there were not many colour TVs at the time.

(3) Main storage on external hard drive

There are three certainties in life: (1) death, (2) taxes and (3) your computer will fail at some time. I never leave important computer files on the internal hard disk of my computer. My computer information is a more important asset than my computer so I leave it on an external hard disk. So when (not if) there is a computer failure your data is safe and can be simply transported to a new computer. Also most external HDDs are independent of the computer operating system and will work happily on either Windows or Macintosh computers.

(4) Silence

You need silence at the right time.

You would probably need the music to start straight away after pressing the "play" button. So trim the start of your music file so that there is no more than 0.5 seconds silence at the start.

At the other end you will probably need about 3 seconds of silence at the end of the tune. This is primarily needed if you wish to record the music onto minidisk which requires a short time gap to reset the track counter.

(5) Volume

It can be really annoying to change the volume control of your amplifier with each record. At the other end of the scale you don't want the distortion that is caused by clipping of an over-modulated sound signal. The ideal volume setting is when the loudest part of the music is at 100% of the total available volume. And that is the function of the maximize function of your music software.

(6) Adaptability

One of the key elements of my digital music journey is to be able to quickly change from one music transport media to another. As I have already my music as electronic files stored it is a rather quick process to change computers. As for large functions with multiple callers - only one computer is required with each caller bringing a USB drive or CD of their music favourites.

SOFTWARE FOR DIGITISING MUSIC:

GOLDWAVE - Windows only. You can download and use it for free - but it operates a toll system which allows 150 commands per session. When the limit is reached, a toll message will appear whenever you use a control in the Device Controls window. Exiting and restarting GoldWave will let you use another 150 commands without interruption. This toll can be removed by registering at a cost of $US40. But for $US40 you get a good value program. Available at http://www.goldwave.com/

AUDACITY - A platform free program which will work on Windows and MAC and Linux. Comes free but I've not used it myself. Available at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

SOFTWARE FOR PLAYING MUSIC:

ITUNES - Windows and MAC. Cost - free. Basically the same front end as used on iPod so is very user friendly. Supports play lists, doesn't have variable tempo adjustment. I adjust my music tempo at the recording stage anyway - so that is no disadvantage to me.

Digital Music Magician - Windows. $US149. Designed especially for callers - specifications look impressive but have had no personal experience with it. (I wonder if Nev is getting commission to have his face used in their advertising.)

SqView - Windows - Available from Thomas Bernhed. Works well although it takes a bit of setting up to use it to its full potential. It is free but you have to request it directly from Thomas - he likes to keep track of who has a copy. He can be contacted at t.bernhed@telia.com

Ceder Square Dance System - Windows - Available from Vic and Debbie Ceder at http://www.ceder.net/ for $US200. Designed especially for callers - specifications look impressive but have had no personal experience with it.

Your choice should be based upon your needs. Some callers want a complete system that will also keep the choreo available so would go for something like "Digital Music Magician" or "Ceder Square Dance System". Some callers just want a simple music player and are happy with iTunes. I think the most important factor should be that you are capable of playing music from a visiting caller with music on a memory device or CD disk.

CREATING MUSIC FILES FROM VINYL

How to get started? Hanhursts have a complete set of instructions available on their website at:
http://www.dosado.com/images/Vinyl2MP3.doc in WORD format
http://www.dosado.com/images/Vinyl2MP3.pdf in PDF format

I don't recommend you follow their instructions completely and recommend the following changes:

(1) Under "Quick Start Insructions", (3), They have "Set Channel = Mono".
I recommend "Set Channel = Stereo". Your Hilton may be mono but it should be fed with the best possible music.

(2) Remove all reference to recording from a Hilton. You really need to get the best music master possible. Use a proper Hi-Fi or DJ turntable.

If your turntable only has "Phono Out" note that you cannot go directly from turntable directly to your computer. The sequence of connections will be:
Turntable to "Phono In" on HiFi Amp to "Line In" on Computer.

If your turntable has "Line Out" you can plug it directly into "Line In" on your computer. There are several modern Hi Fi turntables available now which are quite good for this purpose. But don't use a Hilton turntable to record from. Your Hilton is great for taking to club but it is lousy for recording. The quality of the signal out of the Hilton is poor and is likely to include a "rumble" caused by the gearbox used to drive the platter.

Hanhursts also have instructions for adjusting tempo on their website at www.dosado.com/music on the right hand side of the screen about halfway down just underneath "Digital Music Index".

Another useful tool to have is a metronome or tempo or BPM meter such that you can check and set the tempo of your music masters. There are several different types of meters, but make sure it has a resolution of 1 BPM. I have seen meters that only have a resolution of 5 BPM - which is not good enough. I also recommend getting one with "Tap Tempo" option, you simply tap a finger on a button in rhythm to the beat of the music.

I use a software one available from Richard Reel's website at http://www.all8.com/tools/bpm.htm I like this one because it is easy to use and gives a "moving average" which smooths out the variations in your tapping.


YOU'VE GOT A HOME COMPUTER AND WILL GET A LAPTOP ONE DAY?

In my opening paragraph I said ". Along the way I anticipated that I would eventually use a computer - so I took steps to make the changeover easier whilst I was still using minidisk". All the steps about getting the music digitised, cleaned up and tempo step can be used to make useful masters even for CDs, minidisks and iPods. And it makes it easier to change when changeover day came. When I used minidisk I simply copied from CD masters I use to have rather than re-recording from records. When I changed to iPod I simply converted all my music to mp3 and then onto the iPod. And when I got my laptop I simply loaded all the mp3 files into the laptop. If you have any inclination of that you might one day use digital music - start now - if you don't have a computer at home - get your grandchildren to do it for you.

SUMMARY OF STEPS

(1) Connect a good quality turntable to auxiliary inputs of computer.

(2) Start GOLDWAVE or similar program.

(3) Record music from turntable and create a WAV file

(4) Process the music file for:
- Tempo
- Basic noise removal of pops and clicks.
- Maximize volume.
- Trim silence at start, add silence at end.

(5) Save master file in music archives as WAV format

(6) Create a working copy as MP3 format for field use on your media of choice. (Either mp3 file, CD disk, iPod or Minidisk)

Don't be afraid

It's not really rocket science. Modern computers are really easy to use and master. But if you are having trouble and don't know where to turn, ask your grandchildren to do it for you.