Two ways to do it
1. Record straight into abcVoiceover
abcVoiceover works in a phone's web browser. Sign in, open a script, add a voice to the cast and press Record in browser. Allow the microphone when the phone asks, read your passage, press Stop Recording, listen back and press Use this recording. It's saved as WAV for you, so there's nothing to convert. This is the simplest way, and the one to try first.
2. Record in a voice memo app
If you'd rather record first and upload later, any voice recorder app works, but most don't save WAV files. The iPhone's Voice Memos app saves M4A files, even on its lossless setting, and Android recorder apps vary: some offer WAV in their settings, many save M4A or MP3. abcVoiceover only accepts WAV, so convert the file before uploading it.
Where to hold the phone
- Find the microphone. On most phones the main one is on the bottom edge. Don't cover it with your fingers or a case.
- About 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 inches) away, slightly below your mouth and to the side, so your breath doesn't hit it directly.
- Keep it still. Prop it on a stack of books or a stand rather than holding it. Hands make rustling and tapping sounds, and the distance drifts.
- Turn on Do Not Disturb, or airplane mode if you're using a voice memo app, so a notification sound or buzz doesn't land in the middle of the take.
Find a quiet, soft room
Phones record everything around them, so the room matters even more than with a microphone. A small room full of soft things is ideal: a bedroom with the curtains closed, or standing in front of a wardrobe full of clothes. A parked car with the engine off is a surprisingly good booth, because it's small and padded. Avoid kitchens, bathrooms and anywhere with a fan, a fridge or traffic outside.
Don't use Bluetooth earbuds
It's tempting to record through the earbuds you're wearing, but when a Bluetooth headset's microphone is in use, most switch to a call mode that sounds muffled and narrow. Take them out, or switch them off, so the phone records with its own microphone.
Recording the sample
- Read a few natural sentences, 5 to 15 seconds in all, in the tone you want every line to have. The voice sample guide has passages to read.
- Leave a moment of quiet before you start, so the first word isn't cut off.
- Listen back with headphones, not the phone's speaker, which hides hiss and echo.
- If you hear the room, a tap or a rustle, record it again. It only takes a few seconds.
Checklist
- Phone propped up 15 to 20 cm away, microphone uncovered.
- Do Not Disturb on, earbuds disconnected.
- A small, soft, quiet room.
- 5 to 15 seconds of natural speech, in the right tone.
- Recorded in the browser, or converted to WAV before uploading.