How to Discover Audio with SoundCloud

Use the OS X SoundCloud app to find great audio to share with your friends

Share, listen and rave about all kinds of audio with SoundCloud.

There are plenty of ways to share audio online, but one place stands out as a service for the rest of us and not just professionals. SoundCloud was launched in 2008 by a sound designer and artist, with the aim of enabling musicians to share sounds and recordings with one another.

Since then, the site has evolved into a platform for sharing everything from quickfire audio recordings through to full songs and podcasts. Co-creator Alex Ljung has likened it to the audio equivalent of Flickr -- a platform for cooperation, inspiration and social sharing, rather than the more commercially oriented iTunes.

The SoundCloud website offers a way to follow people and listen to audio, but it's not a particularly focussed experience. This is why in our tutorial we introduce you to SoundCloud through the OS X desktop app. As shown in our walkthrough, you get to understand the basics of SoundCloud: you can find your friends from Facebook, follow famous musicians and podcasts, search for and listen to myriad audio recordings, and build lists of favorites. It's also possible to record your own sounds live and upload them, should the mood strike.

Once you're familiar with the app and get into the service, it's worth exploring the website, which provides many more options and opportunities for development and experimentation. However, even if you subsequently end up regularly using the website to share audio, the OS X app is still worth having installed, because it remains great for basic playback.
 
Like many social networks, SoundCloud is free to use, although paid accounts also exist, which provide more hosting space and distribution options. For this tutorial, a free account will do.

What You'll Need:

>> OSX 10.6.8+,the SoundCloud app, a web connection, ears

1. Log in or sign up

On first launching the SoundCloud app, you'll be asked to log in or sign up. In either case, you can use an email address and password and/or connect using a Facebook account; the latter option will make it easier to find friends later.

2. Find people

If you're new to the service, select Incoming. You'll see a "people" link; click this (or use ç+2) to open the People to follow window. The number next to a waveform icon shows how many sounds that person is sharing. Click Follow buttons to follow people.

3. Listen to audio

Click the refresh button in SoundCloud's toolbar and the Incoming list will reload, listing sounds from people you follow. Double-click any entry to start playing it. At the foot of the window are playback controls and the sound's waveform; click within to jump to any part.

4. Search SoundCloud

Although you can find people as shown in Step 2, the results are quite general. For more focussed searches, use the search field at the top-right, or click tags in the right-hand sidebar, to find more sounds. Recent searches are stored in the left-hand sidebar, for easy access.

5. Create Playlists

There are two ways to create lists of sounds you like. First, "Like" any sound by clicking the (right) sidebar button, and this adds it to your "Likes" list; or, drag items to a playlist in the left-hand sidebar. A playlist can be renamed by double-clicking it and typing a new name.

6. Record a sound

Although you can't upload existing audio files with SoundCloud for OS X, you can record something live and share it on the service. To start, select Share Your Sounds, and click Rec. A timer and waveform will be shown. Click Stop when done.

7. Upload your recording

Preview your recording by pressing play. To keep it, click Save, add some details (an image, its title), and define whether it's private (in which case, you add email addresses to share it with) or public. If you've signed in with Facebook, this will provide a share checkbox.

8. Use the website

For more advanced tasks, sign into soundcloud.com. Here, you can manage your Dashboard, and upload and share files. (Various formats are supported, including MP3 and AIFF.) With the free account, you get two hours of storage, although you can pay for more.

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Original Page: http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_discover_audio_soundcloud

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Regards,

Derik Chan