First, you’re going to need to have the Anchor app downloaded. So head to either your app store and search up Anchor and download it. After you open the app, you will be prompted to log-in. (NOTE: You must log-in with the same method you created your account with. So if you created your account with Google, then you must log in with Google. However, if you created your account with email, you must log in with email too. You cannot log in through Google or else your initial progress will not show up!)

After you have logged in, click on the middle icon with the plus symbol. Now, there will be a record button on the bottom of the page. Once you are ready with a script, simply hit that button and start talking. To end the recording, tap that button again. DON’T worry if you mess up somewhere! If you mess up, just keep going. In Chapter 7, we will learn how to edit the podcast. 

WINDOWS

With a Windows computer, we recommend using Audacity to record your voice. So first, you need to download the software. This is the link: https://www.fosshub.com/Audacity.html. Make sure you download the “Windows Installer.” After the download finishes, open it up and you will see a fairly daunting template. But don’t worry, many of these settings you will not need to use for your podcast. 

But first, you must locate the volume controls for both your microphone and speakers. These are usually directly under the pause, play, stop, rewind, forward, and record buttons. Make sure that the volumes are all halfway or further. 

Once you are ready to begin recording, click the red circle which is the record button and begin talking. To end the recording, press the STOP button. Do not ever hit the PAUSE button. When I was just getting started with Audacity, I kept hitting the PAUSE button, and when you do, many of the editing features will disappear, and it will just be a mess. 

Once again, DON’T worry if you mess up somewhere! If you mess up, just keep going. In Chapter 7, we will learn how to edit the podcast. 

MACBOOK

With a MacBook, we recommend using Garageband to record your podcast. To begin, make sure you have the software downloaded in your applications. If you don’t have it yet, you must download it from the App Store. You can find it with this link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/garageband/id682658836?mt=12. 

After the download is finished, open it up. Now, you should see a screen that prompts you to choose a project. For podcasts, we want to choose the “Empty Project” template. Don’t choose “Voice”, because that’s for singing. Once you open up an empty project, choose the track type as a microphone and click create. Now, there are still a few settings that we need to change before we begin recording. 

Because Garageband is made for musicians, the metronome and the beats are automatically implemented into the project. So, on the top of the bar, you will see 2 buttons which are highlighted in purple. Click on both buttons once and you should see it become gray. Once you do so, locate the top time stamp, and you should find an arrow down option there. Click on that drop down and select “Time.” 

Now you are ready for recording. I find Garageband to be my favorite recorder, but other people may disagree. To begin recording your voice, click on the red button on the top and begin speaking. After you are done, click on that same red button and you should see your recording highlighted in light blue. 

As always, do not worry about messing up. In the next chapter, we will learn how to edit the sound clip we just recorded.