Story Studio

Recording an interview or podcast with your smartphone can be a good option if you follow a few recommended practices.

Choose a good location

• Find a quiet space. Avoid areas with background noise like fans, traffic, or other people talking.

• Reduce echo. Rooms with carpets, rugs, pillows, clothing, or soft furniture help absorb sound. Closets can be excellent recording studios. Avoid large empty rooms with bare walls or hard surfaces.

This short video from NPR (National Public Radio) has some great suggestions for getting the best recording quality out of the spaces you have access to.

Choose a recording app

• iPhone:

  • Apple’s Voice Memos app is easy to use and allows for high quality recording. Refer to Apple’s Voice Memos User Guide for instructions.

• Android:

  • Download a recording app like Smart Voice Recorder from the Google Play Store.

  • Follow the app instructions to start and stop recording.

Use an external microphone if possible

• External microphones improve quality. Use a wired or Bluetooth microphone designed for smartphones.

• No external mic? Hold the phone 5-6 inches away from your mouth to avoid distortion.

Position the phone properly

• Avoid holding the phone. Place your phone on a table to reduce handling noise. Use a phone stand or prop it up to keep it steady. If two or more people are speaking, do your best to position the phone as close to both speakers as possible.

• Don’t cover the microphone. Make sure you don’t accidentally block the phone’s built-in mic with your hands.

Record in high quality

• Check your app settings.

  • On iPhone, Voice Memos automatically records in high quality, but you can check your settings by going to Settings > Voice Memos > Audio Quality and changing it to "Lossless".

  • On Android, most apps have settings where you can choose a higher bitrate (128 kbps or higher) for better sound. Bitrate is the amount of audio information transferred per second, so the higher the bitrate, the higher the quality. Keep in mind that this also means larger file sizes.

Keep your phone in “Do Not Disturb” mode

• You don’t want notifications or calls interrupting your recording. Before you start, adjust the Do Not Disturb settings on your phone:

  • iPhone: How to turn Do Not Disturb on or off on your iPhone

  • Android: Limit interruptions with Do Not Disturb on Android

Save and back up your recording

• iPhone: After recording in Voice Memos, you can share a recording with Google Drive, Box, or just Save to Files

• Android: Most apps will have a Share or Save option. Make sure you backup the file to a cloud service or email it to yourself.

Edit your recording

• You can edit directly on your phone using free apps like GarageBand (for iPhone) or BandLab (for iPhone and Android)

• For more advanced editing, consider transferring the audio file to a computer and using software like Audacity or Adobe Audition. Both of these applications are available on the media editing stations at the Story Studio in Roesch Library.