In the February 2014 issue of AccessWorld, Deborah Kendrick reviewed the book Tweeting Blind, by Jonathan Mosen. In that article, Deborah mentioned Mosen's many years of audio experience, and listed a few of the ways he has contributed those talents to the blind community over the years. Almost exactly one year later, we return to review another product from Mosen Consulting, this time an audio tutorial. Coming in at just less than four hours in length, the audiobook, Become an Amadeus Pro Maestro, clearly lays out the steps for performing many essential audio editing tasks on the Mac. Although there are several audio editors available for OS X including the free Audacity program, and the $299 SoundForge suite of programs, HairerSoft's Amadeus Pro is the option many blind Mac users prefer. Priced at just under $60, Amadeus Pro provides a robust set of editing tools for the more advanced audio engineer, while offering a clean, simple interface for the less experienced audio enthusiast. The developers of the product are aware of the needs of the blind community, and work to keep the program accessible with the Apple VoiceOver screen reader.
Basic Audio Editing Concepts Explained
In a friendly, simple style, Mosen begins by giving the student a basic overview of some audio fundamentals. He defines terms such as sampling rate, bit depth, and file encoding in a way that will provide the knowledge to create and save good audio without bogging the listener down in potentially overwhelming details. While new concepts are introduced and thoroughly explained, Mosen is careful not to break the flow of the tutorial by constantly rehashing old explanations. For this reason, it is probably a good idea for the new student to work through the tutorial from start to finish the first time through, and then revisit sections of particular interest later. It is also important to note that anyone working through the tutorial should have prior knowledge of how to use the VoiceOver screen reader. Having said that, Mosen sprinkles many examples of how he personally works with the Mac in general and VoiceOver in particular throughout each chapter. It is quite possible that the listener will pick up some valuable tips for working with the Mac as a side benefit of working through this tutorial.
Moving Forward with Amadeus Pro
When following the tutorial, it is not necessary or even practical to copy Mosen's examples in exact detail, and sample files are not provided. Tasks such as making recordings, editing mistakes, and adding effects to "sweeten up" the project are demonstrated in a light-hearted and even humorous manner. Each reader will want to approach each chapter in a way that makes sense to him or her. Making simple recordings and adding touches to give the finished product a professional sound can be easily accomplished by listening to the examples provided in each lesson and then creating your own masterpiece. Whether it is editing a previously recorded Skype conversation, mixing spoken audio and music together, or getting rid of the hiss from an old cassette tape, each task is demonstrated in a way that should give the listener a good idea of how to proceed with his or her own project.
The Finer Points of Using Amadeus Pro
While Amadeus Pro works great in a single-track environment, it is also a very powerful multitrack recording and editing program.
Here is an example of a single-track recording: Hook up a microphone, hit the record button, and start talking. Every sound that gets captured is recorded on one track. If there is a train going by in the background as you speak into the microphone, there is no way to get rid of that train when you go back and edit the final product because there is only one audio recording and it includes both your voice and the train sound.
Here is an example of a multitrack recording: You are using Skype to interview someone for a podcast. You and your interview subject both have really good recording equipment, and you each agree to record the two ends of the conversation separately. When the interview is over, the interview subject sends you her file. Using Amadeus Pro, you can bring both files together in a multitrack environment. You can edit each track individually or both at once. You can isolate each track in order to focus on the audio you are currently editing and not have to listen to the other track at the same time. If your interview subject happens to be talking when that loud train goes by on your end, your track can easily be muted until the train has passed. Mosen goes into quite a bit of detail about how to work in a multitrack environment with Amadeus Pro. He demonstrates working with individual tracks, and tells the listener how to "bounce" several tracks down to one track that can be edited later. Although he mentions that it is possible to edit across multiple tracks at the same time, he does not give any detail at all about how to do this. Serious audiophiles who work with multitrack projects will want to do a bit more research in order to learn more about this aspect of working with the program.
Many people will want to convert old records and cassette tapes to digital format, and Mosen demonstrates the power of Amadeus Pro where this task is concerned as well. He mentions other features of the program including the ability to process many files at once. For example, you might want to convert 10 WAV files to the smaller-sized MP3 format, trim silence from the beginning and end of each file, and bring the levels of all ten files to approximately the same volume. Throughout each explanation, Mosen is careful to recommend the help documentation available from within Amadeus Pro, and encourages students to network with other users of the program via the Internet.
Final Thoughts
At this point, many readers might be asking themselves why they should purchase an audio tutorial on how to use Amadeus Pro rather than simply reading the user manual and exploring the program. While some might prefer this approach, it is important to keep in mind that Amadeus Pro is a very powerful program with a lot of features. Mosen's audio tutorial highlights many of these features, and provides suggested resources for further exploration in many cases. Also, there are some suggested settings that will make Amadeus Pro work better with VoiceOver. Finally, Mosen points out some inconsistencies with VoiceOver and Amadeus Pro, and provides work-arounds when they are needed.
If you are someone who enjoys audio tutorials with lots of clear, concise examples of how to complete a task, Become an Amadeus Pro Maestro might be just the reference you are looking for. After working through the tutorial, check out the various resources related to Amadeus Pro that are available from the AppleVis website.
Product Information
Name: Become an Amadeus Pro Maestro
Author: Jonathan Mosen
Available from: Mosen Consulting
Formats: MP3 and DAISY Audio
Length: Approximately 4 hours
Price:
MP3 Version: $24.95
DAISY Version: $24.95
Both MP3 and DAISY Version: $35
