How to record your poem using BPM
When it comes to recording your voice, there are many tips and tricks for gaining the best results.
You may have noticed the instructions on recording with BPM on our Create with Us page. If the steps seems complicated, don’t worry! You don’t have to be technical at ALL to participate with No Simple Disruption.
Let’s talk about timing. When recording, it is helpful for your poem to follow a timing guide. This guide track can be listened to in headphones in order for you to hear the speed. The goal here is to record your voice, not the guide track. That way, your voice will best be accessed for a collaborative creative project.
Why this is important: In the creation of the musical piece, rhythm is often the first layer. If your poem has rhythmic compatibility, this will lead to a more successful finished piece.
Spoken word artist Elizabeth Acevedo
For those new to working with BPM, the acronym (in music) stands for Beats Per Minute. “Think about the second hand of a clock ticking. There are 60 seconds in a minute, so the second hand is ticking at 60 beats per minute. If you tap your foot along with the second hand ticking you will feel that this would be a pretty slow song,” explains The Online Metronome. “Some popular songs that have a tempo of 60 bpm are ‘Inside Out’ by Britney Spears, ‘Culo’ by Pitbull, and ‘Super Rich Kids’ by Frank Ocean. The BPM of a piece of music is also called the tempo. A piece of music's tempo can vary from extremely slow (20 bpm) to very fast (200+ bpm).”
We suggest that you work with a click track or guide tracks, “a metronome produced by a computer or app and set at a predetermined tempo (or speed). It is heard by the drummer and other musicians through headphones, or more commonly nowadays, in-ear monitors.” You can learn more about guide tracks in this article.
Guide Track suggestions:
• Listen to a favorite instrumental song
• Create a beat in garage band or other music production apps
• Reach out to a production friend for help
• The collaborative sound work that is created from your poem will not include the sound of the Guide Track
You can find click track and metronome apps in the Apple App store and Google Play. Here is a list of the best metronome apps of 2022. Spoiler: The review chose the Metronome by Soundbrenner app as the best option — and it’s free!
Garageband, which comes with Mac computers, includes a click track as part of its programming. If you are comfortable working with audio software, you can record your poem and export it as a WAV, MP4, or MP3 file. (An MP3 is the simplest file to send my email.)
Another option is Audacity, a free, open source, cross-platform audio software.
If using Garageband, Audacity, or a similar audio program is not for you, try this DIY system:
• Plug headphones into your computer
• Play your guide track in your headphones
• Press Record on the Voice Memo app in your phone
• Once you are feeling the speed of your Guide Track, start speaking to record your voice.
We’re looking forward to hearing your poems! Contact us with any questions at nosimpledisruption@gmail.com.