Basic music terminology

Basic Music Terminology ...

There is some terminology that you probably need to be aware of as you learn to use music on your computer or any digital device...

·        MP3* - a file format used for compressing audio files to roughly 1/12th their original size.

·        RIPPING - Basically this is the function of  ”copying” your files  – in this case a music album and individual song tracks onto your computer’s hard drive (this is also known as encoding)

·        MEDIA PLAYER - an application that is used to play all types of media (music, video radio, etc.). Windows Media Player, iTunes, VLC. RealPlayer and QuickTime are all examples of media players.

·        BURN – Basically this is the function of ”pasting” your file – in this case music – onto the CD and or DVD. 

*Note: When we save to MP3 format, you typically won’t notice any reduction in sound quality, but , if you want to ensure you have the highest quality you should import the music again from the original source with the original format, and then make a copy and convert the copy to mp3 formatting. 

HOW TO PLAY MUSIC CDS ON THE COMPUTER

Why not listen to your favorite music while you work - it's easy once your computer is on and when you have speakers:

• Put your favorite music CD, label side up, in the CD-ROM drive and close the drive
• When auto play is enabled (which is pretty standard) the CD will start playing the first track (using your default media player, such as Windows or VLC Media Player )
• If the CD doesn’t start playing automatically, open the Start menu. Choose Programs, then Accessories, then Entertainment and Click CD Player. Click the Play button on the CD Player window (a single right-pointing arrow in the top row)
• You can use the Pause, Stop, Skip to Next Track and Go Back to Last Track buttons to control what you listen to.
• Choose Edit Playlist from the Disc menu to program a particular sequence of tracks
• Minimize the CD Player window if you plan to listen to the entire CD while working and you can bring it up anytime from your taskbar

In the system tray (right side of the monitor) you can quickly control the music volume with the speaker icon - just left click on it to slide volume up & down, and by checking the speaker icon or box - you can toggle between MUTE to turn music off for that phone call and then again to turn it back on...

Why not save/rip the entire CD to your computer so next time you simply access your “music list” just as you do with a word document.. it’s there ready for you to listen to

When I download music from the Internet (such as iTunes) or from my CD’s, I always download (save/rip) it in mp3 format so that I can use it on my mp3 player and just as importantly, so that I can use the music in projects that I might create, such as in Power Point Slide shows, Picasa & Windows Movie Maker projects)

WHAT IS A MEDIA PLAYER?

Basically it is “application software” that we use to play and manage all of our music and video files. By manage, it means that we can format music & video files to various formats; rip and burn our music & video files (so that you can transfer them to & from CD and or DVD) and many offer “visual effects” so when we listen to the music there are various patterns that will flash on our monitors (similar to screen savers).

Microsoft Operating Systems include a media player “Windows Media Player” and many people use iTunes Media Player so that they can synchronize their various iPod devices…

But personally – my favorite is VLC Media Player – which is also free… VLC works on most Operating systems including Windows 98 thru to Windows 7); and it can be installed and run from a flash drive and portable hard drive. I also think it’s one of the easiest media players to use to convert music and video formats and you can take screenshots of video’s you are watching which is a feature many people like… to download go to:

www.vlcmediaplayer.org or www.videolan.org

There are many others and it helps to check out these out at some of the “freeware” websites, such as:

www.download.cnet.com
www.freewarefiles.com
www.freeware-guide.com
www.gofree.com

Media Player for audio & video - VLC

For years, most of us have been using “Windows Media Player” because it is built into our computer operating systems.. But what's included isn't always the best choice..

Most tech guru’s feel that the best free media player to use, whether you have Windows XP, Windows Vista or the new Windows 7 Operating Systems is: “VLC”

VLC is a highly recommended media player which plays lots of audio and video formats and be used for streaming protocols. It is easy to use; it's a very small program that doesn’t take up much disk space; doesn’t slow down your computer in anyway and of course it’s free… to download go to:

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

COPY (OR MOVE) FILES AND FOLDERS TO A CD or DVD

1. Insert a blank, writable CD/DVD into the CD/DVD burner.
2. Click the files or folders you want to copy (or move) to the CD/DVD. To select more than one file, hold down the CTRL key while you click the files you want.
   Under File and Folder Tasks, click Copy (or Move) this file, Copy (or Move) this folder, or Copy (or Move) the selected items.
3. In the Copy (or Move) Items dialog box, click the CD/DVD burner drive, and then click Copy (or Move).
4. Open My Computer and double-click the CD/DVD recording drive. Windows will display a temporary area where the files are held before they are copied to the CD.
5. Verify that the files and folders that you intend to copy to the CD/DVD appear under Files Ready to be Written to the CD/DVD.
6. Under CD/DVD Writing Tasks, click Write these files to CD/DVD.
7. Windows displays the CD/DVD Writing Wizard.
8. Follow the steps clearly outlined in the wizard.

Notes:

• For Audio Files - Music - we recommend using CD-R's
• Do not try to copy more files to the CD/DVD than it will hold. Check the CD/DVD packaging to see the capacity of each CD/DVD.
• For photo or Video files too large to fit on a CD, you can copy files to a recordable DVD.
• Windows XP does not support copying to a DVD, so you have to use DVD authoring software (such as Windows Media Player, Picasa 3, Roxio or others).
• Windows 7 has DVD maker software built in
• Make sure you have enough disk space on your hard disk to store the temporary files that are created during the CD/DVDwriting process. For a standard CD, Windows reserves up to 700 megabytes (MB) of the available free space. For a high-capacity CD, Windows reserves up to 1 gigabyte (GB) of the available free space
• After you copy files or folders to the CD, you can view the CD to confirm that the files have been copied.

WHAT ARE PLUG INS….

PLUG-INS are small computer bits of software, typically free, that let you view a document, interact with an image, listen to music or watch a video. When you have the right PLUG-IN software application, you can view different information formats in your browser window on your computer, so that you can listen to your favorite song, see animations and videos and read documents that are secured in PDF format. Example: if you want to play a game that uses Shockwave and you don't have it on your computer you'll be prompted to install it. Once installed, you usually have to restart your browser or even your operating system to make a plug-in active. What popular PLUG-INS do:

Real Player - Popular sound and video player

Flash Player - Used for animations and games

Shockwave Player - Used for 3d animations and games

Cortona - Used for viewing and interacting with virtual environments

Acrobat - This is a reader, that is needed to look at PDF files

QuickTime - used for high quality video

Windows Media Player - Microsoft's media player - plays sound and video

iPIX - Used for viewing 3D Picture Bubbles

VLC Media Player - Some say this is the best media player for windows plays sound & video

Tips about "burning" CD's - DVD's

HOW DO I KNOW MY COMPUTER CAN BURN CD'S?
Fortunately, these days virtually all computers bought new include a drive that is able to both read and write (or burn) both CD and DVD media. If you’re not sure if your computer or laptop has a CD burner then there are two ways to check.

• Look thru your computer owner's guide to learn if you have a CD burner or not OR
• Go online to your computer manufacturer website - put in your model - and it will give you the specifics of whar is on your computer/laptop - or you can email them with the model # and serial #; they will e-mail you back an answer.

HOW DO I BURN FILES ON A CD?
Burning files on a CD is like saving files on a flash drive or portable hard drive. There are two ways to save files on a CD. Follow these steps:

• Highlight what it is you want to "burn/copy" onto the CD-DVD
• Once highlighted choose "copy" (anyone of 5 ways-from edit menu, icon, action key, CTRL+C, right click-choose copy)
• Put CD-R or CD-RW in your CD burner tray
• Go to the folder that has the file you want to save on the CD on it
• Right click - menu appears, choose drive your CD is on
• Now say Paste again one of he 5 ways
• You will have an extra step - whatever you have copied is being held in a temporar folder to be sure you have everything you want "burned/copied" onto the CD - once eveything is there and ready
• Now choose "Write these files to CD" - you can do it now or later - but you must choose this option

OR

If/when you are burning to a CD or DVD using a program such as Windows Media Player, Picasa, Movie Maker, Roxio or others, on the top menu bar it will have an action"BURN" choose thar option and it will walk you thru the steps noted above

You're done!!!!

TO MAKE SURE FILES ARE SAVED ON THE CD

• Go to the drive on My Computer that has your CD/DVD on it.
• Now double click on the drive with your CD and/or DVD in it - it will open and show you what is on the CD/DVD