How to Record your Voice

With Microsoft's Sound Recorder, available on all versions of Windows, you can record, edit, and play back your voice. Sound like a chipmunk, a cave troll, or Darth Vader (thirst for world domination optional)! It will also let you link phrases together, add music, or insert your comments into a document. We'll show you how.

Part One: Windows 7

1. Open Sound Recorder. Click the Start button. In the search box, enter sound recorder, and in the list of results click Sound Recorder.
   
   
   
2. 2
   Start recording. In the Sound Recorder window, click Start Recording, the button with the red dot.
   
   
   
3. 3
   Sing, say, or voice whatever you want recorded. The green bar will move back and forth to let you know it's capturing the recording.
   
   
   
4. 4
   Stop recording. Click the Stop Recording button (the black square) to stop recording. This will automatically bring up the option to save the recording.
   
   
   
5. 5
   Save the recording. Make sure to save it to a location where you can easily find it again later.
   
   
   
   • If you’re not quite ready to save, click Cancel. In the Save As dialog box, click the Resume Recording button. When you’re done, click Stop Recording, and save the file.

 

Windows Vista

1. Open Sound Recorder. Click on the Start button, click All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Sound Recorder.
2. 2
   Start recording. To start recording, click on the Record button (the one with the red circle).
   
   
   
3. 3
   Stop recording. Click the Stop Recording button (the black square) to stop recording. This will automatically bring up the option to save the recording.
4. 4
   Save the recording. Make sure to save it to a location where you can easily find it again later. If you’re not quite ready to save, click Cancel. In the Save As dialog box, click the Resume Recording button. When you’re done, click Stop Recording, and save the file.
5. 5
   Open the recording with a media-player program. Windows Media Player, iTunes, RealPlayer, or any similar program should work.

Windows XP

1. 1
   Open Sound Recorder. Click on the Start button, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Entertainment, and then click Sound Recorder.
2. 2
   Start recording. To start recording, click on the Record button (the one with the red circle).
   
   
   
3. 3
   Stop recording. When you're done recording, click on the Stop button. It's the one with the black rectangle next to the Record button.
4. 4
   Listen to your recording. Click on the Play button with the single black arrow to play the recording back.
5. 5
   Rewind or Fast Forward. The double black arrows let rewind (the left-pointing arrows), or fast forward (the right-pointing arrows. Just like a tape deck or CD player.
6. 6
   Edit the recording. Experiment with the options listed under Edit and Effects.
7. 7
   Save your finished recording. From the File menu, select Save or Save as..., put it where you can find it easily, and go record some more!