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Discussion Groups / English Usage / March 2010Sounds and scripts needed
Hi, I am looking for any English sound files (.mp3) recorded by native speakers and their scripts. I downloaded mp3 files and scripts from SpotLight (www.spotlightradio.net).It). It is excellent but uses slower speed, half the normal speaking speed. Now I am looking for anything like that but with normal speed of speaking. Scripts are also necessary. I need it for my private use only. I would be very grateful if anyone could help me in finding such site. Regards Eve >Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >I would be very grateful if anyone could help me >in finding such site. Windows Media Player has a speed control (certainly version 11 does), and it doesn't change the pitch.  Signatureian >>I am looking for any English sound files (.mp3) >>recorded by native speakers and their scripts. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >>I would be very grateful if anyone could help me >>in finding such site. > Windows Media Player has a speed control (certainly version 11 does), > and it doesn't change the pitch. Thank you very much. I'll try the WMP but I am not quite sure whether the difference between the normal speech and those at www.spotlightradio.net is connected with the speed only. As fas as I remember (from pronunciation lessons) sound are pronounced differently when you speak slow and when you speak normally. Especially weak forms depend on speed. Regards Eve >>>I am looking for any English sound files (.mp3) >>>recorded by native speakers and their scripts. [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >pronounced differently when you speak slow and when you >speak normally. Especially weak forms depend on speed. As a test, I downloaded this MP3 file: <http://www.spotlightradio.net/listen/seafarers-life-at-sea/> Interesting! In WMP, it sounds 'fairly natural' when played at about x1.6, with the possible exception of the speakers with the American accents. Occasionally, they definitely sound as if they are reading 'word by word', rather than speaking fluently and running the words together. But, essentially, I think that the pronunciation of the slow speech is not too unnatural. SignatureIan >>>>I am looking for any English sound files (.mp3) >>>>recorded by native speakers and their scripts. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >>>>I would be very grateful if anyone could help me >>>>in finding such site. >>> Windows Media Player has a speed control (certainly version 11 does), >>>and it doesn't change the pitch. >>Thank you very much. I'll try the WMP but I am not quite sure >>whether the difference between the normal speech and those >>at www.spotlightradio.net is connected with the speed only. >>As fas as I remember (from pronunciation lessons) sound are >>pronounced differently when you speak slow and when you >>speak normally. Especially weak forms depend on speed. > As a test, I downloaded this MP3 file: > <http://www.spotlightradio.net/listen/seafarers-life-at-sea/> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > But, essentially, I think that the pronunciation of the slow speech is > not too unnatural. Thanks once again. That's a very good news. Telling about differences I meant the "running the words together" in fact, but I wasn't able to express it properly. :-) Best regards Eve >>>>>I am looking for any English sound files (.mp3) >>>>>recorded by native speakers and their scripts. [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] >Telling about differences I meant the "running the words together" >in fact, but I wasn't able to express it properly. :-) Noted. Please let us know how successful you are with WMP. Until now, I've never really found a genuine use for the speed control! SignatureIan >>>>>>I am looking for any English sound files (.mp3) >>>>>>recorded by native speakers and their scripts. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >>>>>>I would be very grateful if anyone could help me >>>>>>in finding such site. >>>>> Windows Media Player has a speed control (certainly version 11 >>>>>does), and it doesn't change the pitch. >>>>Thank you very much. I'll try the WMP but I am not quite sure >>>>whether the difference between the normal speech and those >>>>at www.spotlightradio.net is connected with the speed only. >>>>As fas as I remember (from pronunciation lessons) sound are >>>>pronounced differently when you speak slow and when you >>>>speak normally. Especially weak forms depend on speed. >>> As a test, I downloaded this MP3 file: >>> <http://www.spotlightradio.net/listen/seafarers-life-at-sea/> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >>>But, essentially, I think that the pronunciation of the slow speech is >>>unnatural. >>Thanks once again. >>That's a very good news. >>Telling about differences I meant the "running the words together" >>in fact, but I wasn't able to express it properly. :-) > Noted. Please let us know how successful you are with WMP. Until now, > I've never really found a genuine use for the speed control! I will. However I prefer listening to the mp3 files using my mp3 equipment with earphones or laudspeakers in my car. I don't know whether it would possible to save the sound in mp3 format at about x1.6 or so. Best regards Eve >>>>>>>I am looking for any English sound files (.mp3) >>>>>>>recorded by native speakers and their scripts. [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] >with earphones or laudspeakers in my car. I don't know whether it would >possible to save the sound in mp3 format at about x1.6 or so. Ummmmm.... That's an interesting challenge! I'll see what I can do, but I suspect that I'll have to make enquiries (possibly in alt.comp.freeware). SignatureIan >I will. However I prefer listening to the mp3 files using my mp3 equipment >with earphones or laudspeakers in my car. I don't know whether it would >possible to save the sound in mp3 format at about x1.6 or so. This is actually rather easier than dynamically shifting it during playback. Sox (for command-line and batch scripts) or Audacity (for a full GUI application) are probably your best bets. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audacity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoX More details if you need them, but I don't use Windows so won't be able to advise on that side of things. Roger Ian and Roger, I used to use Audacity years ago. I have to go back to it, probably in much newer version. I haven't heard about Sox. I'll have to read about it in the Internet. I am interested in freeware tools first of all. :-) Thanks a lot. Best regards. Eve >Ian and Roger, > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >Internet. >I am interested in freeware tools first of all. :-) Ah ha! Audacity does indeed do the job. I've done a quick test. I feel that the end result is maybe not quite as smooth as when you use WMP simply to play the audio at increased speed. At times, the voices seem rather 'synthesised'. However, I suspect that other methods will produce very similar results. If you're already familiar with Audacity, I would certainly use it. The procedure is: Open Audacity, and open the audio file. 'Edit', 'Select', 'All'. 'Effects', 'Change Tempo' (not 'Change Speed'). 'Percent Change' - Set at approximately 65. [Unfortunately, 'Preview' lets you hear only a couple of seconds at the beginning of the audio, so you really have to do the conversion before you can assess the result.] 'OK' After the conversion has finished, 'Export As WAV' (or 'Export As MP3'). [PS: I'm also playing with Wavepad Sound Editor. This is something which I had forgotten that I had. It seems to have the same functions as 'GoldWave' (payware), which I've had for many years.] SignatureIan >[PS: I'm also playing with Wavepad Sound Editor. This is something >which I had forgotten that I had. It seems to have the same functions >as 'GoldWave' (payware), which I've had for many years.] PPS: Yes. Wavepad Sound Editor works well. It has the advantage of having a 100% preview, so you can set the speed correctly before the final conversion. <http://download.cnet.com/WavePad-Sound-Editor/3000-2170_4-10276212.html> SignatureIan > I've done a quick test. I feel that the end result is maybe not quite > as smooth as when you use WMP simply to play the audio at increased > speed. At times, the voices seem rather 'synthesised'. If WMP gives better results then you could use Total Recorder, or similar, to record the output of WMP. SignatureRay UK I'll try all your suggestions and I let you know what I manage to get. At the moment I am not very familiar with any of the programs but I'll try hard. :-) Best regards Eve I have WMP ver. 11.0.6002.18111 on laptop with Vista Business and I have just installed WMP ver. 11.0.5721.5146 on desktop with XP Pro. Unfortunately I don't know how to change speed on none of them. Could you tell me please how to do it? Besides, the Total Recorder mentioned by muska is a part of WMP or a separate program? Best regards Eve >I have WMP ver. 11.0.6002.18111 on laptop >with Vista Business and I have just installed [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >Besides, the Total Recorder mentioned by muska >is a part of WMP or a separate program? To find the speed control, open WMP, and select the 'Full Mode' (when you have the File, View, Tools and Help on the bar at the top). On the left, near the bottom, there should be two small arrow buttons (< and >). If you click on these, you cycle through a range of options (Quiet Mode, SRS WOW Effects, Video Settings, Color Chooser, etc). Keep going until you reach 'Play Speed Settings'. Total Recorder isn't part of WMP. It's a program like Audacity. What Musika is suggesting is that you could play the audio using WMP and, at the same time, record it using Total Player. If you already have Audacity, you could do exactly the same with Audacity. However, Audacity will do everything itself - open the audio file, change the speed, and save to another file - all without actually playing the file. In principle, the quality should be slightly better (although I doubt if this will really concern you). SignatureIan >>I have WMP ver. 11.0.6002.18111 on laptop >>with Vista Business and I have just installed [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >>Besides, the Total Recorder mentioned by muska >>is a part of WMP or a separate program? > To find the speed control, open WMP, and select the 'Full Mode' (when > you have the File, View, Tools and Help on the bar at the top). [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > playing the file. In principle, the quality should be slightly better > (although I doubt if this will really concern you). The problem is that in ver.11 of WMP I don't have menu with File, View, etc. My computer at work is equipped with WMP ver. 9.0. It has such menu but not exactly the same as you described. I set Full Mode in View. Then I chose View -> Improvement -> Setting speed of playing. (The above are my translations from Polish into English because I use a Polish version of Windows). After this I was able to increase and decrease the speed. It was quite good but I realise that it is not all. If I understand you well, I would have still to use Total Recorder. Besides, probably it wouldn't be easy to get back to ver. 9 of WMP on my home computer or laptop. The Wavepad Sound Editor is payware with freeware trial for 14 days only. Considering this all I am going to concentrate on Audacity now. Thank you very much once more. Best regards Eve > The problem is that in ver.11 of WMP I don't have menu with File, > View, etc. Right click on the black bar at the top and choose "Classic Menu". SignatureRay UK >> The problem is that in ver.11 of WMP I don't have menu with File, >> View, etc. > Right click on the black bar at the top and choose "Classic Menu". Oh, yes. Thank you very much. Best regards Eve >>>I have WMP ver. 11.0.6002.18111 on laptop >>>with Vista Business and I have just installed [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >The problem is that in ver.11 of WMP I don't have menu with File, View, >etc. I think that they are hiding from you! My version is 11.0.5721.5145, and it certainly does have them. However, I think you may need to select 'View' (try right-clicking on various parts of the screen to get the File - View - Play - Tools - Help menu), and then select 'Classic Menus'. > My computer at work is equipped with WMP ver. 9.0. It has such menu >but not exactly the same as you described. I set Full Mode in View. >Then I chose View -> Improvement -> Setting speed of playing. >(The above are my translations from Polish into English because I use >a Polish version of Windows). I'm sure that your WMP is exactly the same as mine. I can also access the speed control exactly as you describe. [For 'Improvement', the English version says 'Enhancements'.] >After this I was able to increase and decrease the speed. It was quite good >but I realise that it is not all. If I understand you well, I would >have still to use >Total Recorder. No. I don't think that WMP allows you to save the 'high-speed' audio. You will also need a recorder program to record the audio passing through your audio card. > Besides, probably it wouldn't be easy to get back to ver. 9 >of WMP on my home computer or laptop. >The Wavepad Sound Editor is payware with freeware trial for 14 days only. Yes, I checked the latest version, and I saw that it was trialware. :o(( I think I have an earlier version which was free. However, Audacity should work just as well (and that certainly IS free). The only disadvantage is that it does not have a full-length preview of the modified audio. >Considering this all I am going to concentrate on Audacity now. Personally, I would simply use Audacity to do the whole speed change process. >Thank you very much once more. >Best regards >Eve Good luck! SignatureIan >>>> I have WMP ver. 11.0.6002.18111 on laptop >>>> with Vista Business and I have just installed [quoted text clipped - 71 lines] > > Good luck! The latest (beta) version of Audacity allows you to change the preview length. It's under: EDIT -> PREFERENCES -> PLAYBACK SignatureRay UK >> My computer at work is equipped with WMP ver. 9.0. It has such menu >>but not exactly the same as you described. I set Full Mode in View. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >>have still to use >>Total Recorder. > No. I don't think that WMP allows you to save the 'high-speed' audio. > You will also need a recorder program to record the audio passing > through your audio card. That's what I said. At least I thought I did. Is really my English so bad? Best regards Eve >>> My computer at work is equipped with WMP ver. 9.0. It has such menu >>>but not exactly the same as you described. I set Full Mode in View. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >That's what I said. At least I thought I did. >Is really my English so bad? Nooooo ...... Your English is fine. Maybe I should have said "YES, I don't think ......." I was merely making the comment that, while WMP DOES allow you to save a file which is playing (using the 'Save As'), I don't think that there is any way of actually saving any of the 'improvements' which you have made to the audio (or video). So yes, you WILL have to save the improvements by recording what WMP is playing. SignatureIan >>>> My computer at work is equipped with WMP ver. 9.0. It has such menu >>>>but not exactly the same as you described. I set Full Mode in View. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >>>You will also need a recorder program to record the audio passing >>>through your audio card. >>That's what I said. At least I thought I did. >>Is really my English so bad? > Nooooo ...... > Your English is fine. Maybe I should have said "YES, I don't think [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > to the audio (or video). So yes, you WILL have to save the improvements > by recording what WMP is playing. Thanks. I try to be precise in English to avoid any misunderstanding. Best regards Ewa I found the Audacity I already had on my computer. It was version 1.2.3. I followed Ian's procedure (2010-03-10 20:58) and it worked very well. It'd be better to be able to preview more than a couple of seconds so I 'll look for the latest version (beta) that, according to Musika, lets change the preview lenght. Thanks you all for everything. Best regards Eve >I found the Audacity I already had on my computer. >It was version 1.2.3. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >Thanks you all for everything. I'm pleased it works OK. My version is 1.3.5.0 (which is think is/was a beta version), and it doesn't have the option of a longer preview (should that be 'pre-hear'?). It must be in the latest beta version (1.3.11), which I'll be trying later. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ I've had a quick look, but I don't see it in the list of changes. SignatureIan >>I found the Audacity I already had on my computer. >>It was version 1.2.3. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >> >>Thanks you all for everything. > I'm pleased it works OK. My version is 1.3.5.0 (which is think is/was a > beta version), and it doesn't have the option of a longer preview [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > I've had a quick look, but I don't see it in the list of changes. I have just installed version 1.3.11 (beta). In Edit -> Preferences -> Playback I can set the lenght of preview in seconds. I put 60 sec and it works very well. The version looks funny because the menu of the program has been translated into Polish partially only. :-) But for me it is OK. Best regards Eve |
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