Alternatives
to Digital Audio
by Hans
Dekker
Digital audio
alternatives
You should
be able to find several
indispensable facts about digital
audio in the following
paragraphs. If there's at least
one fact you didn't know
before,imagine the difference it
might make.
Although
MP3 is the most popular format
for encoding music, it is by no
means the only one. There are two
basic methods for compressing
audio – lossless and lossy,
and for each of these methods
there are many
formats.
Lossless
compression means that none of
the audio data is removed during
compression. Lossy compression
means that audio data is
permanently removed from the
audio file.
Tip!
Real music management agencies
will never, ever ask you for
money up front. Managers make
commission on their clients'
earnings, and experienced
managers understand that an
unknown artist doesn't have much
money.
Lossy
compression results in smaller
files, but there is no way to
rebuild the audio data to its
original format. MP3 is an
example of lossy
compression.
Tip!
Be able to transpose: Say you are
playing a piece from the sheet
music you can now read but you
think it sounds too high or too
low, or just not right. Well now
you can move it into a new key
and play at a better
singing.
Lossy
Compression
Formats
There are
many alternatives to MP3 when it
comes to encoding audio files.
Microsoft reportedly developed
the WMA format to avoid the
licensing costs associated with
MP3.
WMA files
can be played with the Windows
Media Player that is included
with the Windows operating system
as well as many other audio
players. It features similar
encoding rates to MP3 and similar
file sizes.
Tip!
Become a learning magnet. Listen
closely to all music you hear and
ask yourself; "How was that
done?"
AAC
(Advanced Audio Coding) is the
format preferred by Apple and is
used for its popular iTunes and
iPod products. AAC files can be
smaller than MP3 files because it
uses more efficient encoding
technology. A 96 kpbs AAC file is
similar in sound quality to a 128
kbps MP3 file.
Hopefully
the information presented so far
has been applicable. You might
also want to consider the
following:
Ogg Vorbis
is another type of lossy
compression and uses .OGG as the
file extension. It is an
open-source product and unlike
MP3, there are no patent
restrictions on its
use.
Lossless
Compression
For the
audio purist who insists on the
best quality sound possible,
lossless compression offers CD
quality sound. The tradeoff isl
arger files sizes – while
MP3 can compress audio in the
range of 80% - 90%, lossless
compression typically compresses
Popular lossless formats include
FLAC, Monkey’s Audio, and
SHN (Shorten). These formats are
supported by many audio players
and are popular for archiving the
CD file by half.
Tip!
Utilize music beat resources that
are available to
you.
It never
hurts to be well-informed with
the latest on digital audio.
Compare what you've learned here
to future articles so that you
can stay alert to changes in the
area of digital audio.
Shoot for
the stars with your singing.
You'll be using your voice as a
musical instrument in no time!
Go
here
for more information on how to
start your singing
adventure.
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opportunity.
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Play
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Playing
the guitar is a great
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feel a strong urge to
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guitar, here's a quick
self-test to determine
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About the
author:
Hans is
editor of the Audio Howto Section
of the Selected Audio Review
Guide
These music
articles are presented by Bob
Pardue, the owner of
Music
Playground.
Have some fun and learn to read
music FREE by visiting
www.largemart.com/read-music
today...
Disclaimer: Although we
have made every effort to provide
solid and accurate information
about alternatives to digital
audio on these pages, Bob Pardue
or Music Playground accepts no
responsibility or does the site
insure or imply any degree of
expertise about singing. Degrees
of success with these music ideas
varies greatly dependent upon the
talent, attitudes, attributes and
ambition of each individual
person.
Please
thoroughly check out any
information you find on this site
before assuming the accuracy of
this article about digital audio
choices.
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