Overclock Your Audio Learning (Blog)

[Savage]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Overclock Your Audio Learning

[ExploringTheMatrix]

Any recommendations on how speed up audio if you're listening via iPod? I'd rather not have to do all my listening on the computer.

[JohnK]

The software equivalent of this for reading is: RapidReader: Speed Reading On-Demand

[Calculusaurus]

I sometimes use Adobe Audition ($expensive$) or Audicity (free) to speed up audio programs. It takes quite a few clicks to do, but it's worth it in the end. If an informational audio program is any slower than 2x speed, my ADD kicks in, I get bored, and I switch to music.

here's how: Ask Lifehacker: Speed up MP3s? - Lifehacker

Originally Posted by ExploringTheMatrix

Any recommendations on how speed up audio if you're listening via iPod? I'd rather not have to do all my listening on the computer.

I just use the above method. I think if you use rockbox for your ipod then you can go up to 2x speed...

*edit* nvm, rockbox doesn't support it. but the default ipod setup should let you increase speed as long as you're listening to a proprietary AAC audiobook file that you downloaded from itunes.. or something :/

[Andrew Russell]

My god how I would love to be able to do this in university lectures!

I constantly feel like I need to be up there coaching "come on! go go go! we've got that point! on to the next one! pickup the pace!".

I don't think 4x would be nearly fast enough for some of them.


Perhaps if slip some caffeine pills in...

[blackwater]

Russel: I get that as well

I think the advice is great and I have no doubts that it works. One thing I'm a littel sceptical of, though, is that while your mind will easily absorb all of the ideas, you'll only end up implementing some of them into practice. With university lectures and litterature there's no problem but with self-help material, doesn't it risk turning you into a self help addict? I mean, sometimes it is beneficial to stay with a self-help idea, considering its posssibilites, before moving on to the next.

[Chinese Dragon]

Thanks for the article. This will definitely save time. I can't believe you can listen at 4.1x, you must have practiced lots.

[seeker5]

Has anyone successfully gotten it to work on the iPod? I'm curious if anyone has implemented the suggestions in this thread for the iPod.

[Niki]

Originally Posted by seeker5

Has anyone successfully gotten it to work on the iPod? I'm curious if anyone has implemented the suggestions in this thread for the iPod.

I'm using audacity to make audio faster. If you want to listen on your ipod, i'm sure audacity can export it to a for the ipod readable audio format.

Another thing you can do that reduces time alot is cutting out speaking pauzes within an audiobook. If Steve doesnt mind I will shorten one of his podcasts using audacity. Dont worry because it stays very listenable. I once had an idea to begin an online store with speeded-up pauze-cutted audio tapes. But I diddnt had any content.

[smartile]

Nice post. I wasn't aware that audio speeds could be adjusted manually.

I am curious how the speed of someone's voice affects learning for different people. Since the speed of somone's voice is an auditory sub-modality, it may affect people in different ways. In my case an increase in the speed of someone's voice accelerates the rate at which I produce pictures in my minds-eye. The faster I produce these pictures, the more I can download and the more information I can learn. I wonder how this works for others?

If the voice speed is too fast then I loose the detail and it becomes a fuzzy picture. If I have control over the speed then I can get the detail I need by slowing the audio down.

I wonder how the pitch of the audio at the higher speed affects peoples learning ability?

Food For Thought,

Stephen Martile — Personal Development with NLP

[MercuryLime]

This post has been my favorite of the past few weeks. I listen to lots of audio, and I'm constantly trying to save time, so at least this will give me the illusion that I'm doing something about it (but I think it will actually help!).

[Niki]

I'm going to post how to easly and freely(as in free beer) Overclock your audio books.

The software required is wavosaur: an amazingly small executable audio editing program for windows, and Audacity an amazing free audio editor that is open source and cross platform.



STEP 1
Open Wavosaur and open your audio project.
Click tools --) Silence remover --) Custom
Insert the level: -25.00
Insert the duration: 0.25
Press OK
Save the file as a WAV

Step 2
Open your WAV with Audacity.
Press CTRL + A or select the whole audio track manualy with your mouse.
Click Effect --) Change tempo
insert the Percent change:100 (you can make it slower or faster, as you like it yourself)
Press OK
File --) Export

Select the desired audio codec (mp3, ogg, ...)
If you have selected mp3, you should have a binary of lame downloaded to your pc and you have to know its location. In order to do that download it here, extract the ZIP archive and put the file under "my documents" (or where you like it)
When exporting to mp3 Audacity wil prompt to ask for the "\lame_enc.dll" file. Just locate it on your pc and it will export to mp3

Have fun.

[Niki]

You can add Theta brainwaves or Classical music to make listening more pleasant and easy.

[qed]

This technique works well especially for naturally slow speakers.

[Savage]

The reason I don't use Audacity to change the tempo of audio books is because so many of the personal development programs I review include real-time exercises that should be done at 1x speed, and pausing the program isn't ideal. So I need to adjust the playback rate on the fly as I go through each track.

An example would be if the speaker includes a visualization or meditation exercise. Often these aren't separate tracks but are inserted throughout each track. For example, the PhotoReading audio course has real-time guided exercises on almost every CD.

If I was listening to different types of audio books such as fiction, Audacity would be my tool of choice.

[Niki]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

The reason I don't use Audacity to change the tempo of audio books is because so many of the personal development programs I review include real-time exercises that should be done at 1x speed, and pausing the program isn't ideal. So I need to adjust the playback rate on the fly as I go through each track.

An example would be if the speaker includes a visualization or meditation exercise. Often these aren't separate tracks but are inserted throughout each track. For example, the PhotoReading audio course has real-time guided exercises on almost every CD.

If I was listening to different types of audio books such as fiction, Audacity would be my tool of choice.

That's true, it would be great if somebody would start a company who's goal is to provide overclocked audiobooks with normal speed real-time exercises. Maybe an idea for somebody here on the forum.

[Dive Bomb]

On another note I am listening to podcast #8 right now at a slower rate of 0.8 in windows media player. It totally changes the atmosphere of the podcast, giving it more of a calm, cool, and it sounds like you're smiling throughout the whole podcast.

Maybe slowing down audio that is too fast can have a beneficial effect too.

[Niki]

Another thing you can do with Steve's overclicking technique is using it with instructional video's. I'm watching introduction lessons of Asp.net from the learnvisualstudio.net website, and I'm really happy I can speed up the video's so I dont feel like I'm wasting my time. Actually when I set the speed back to 1, that's the normal speed, it feels like I'm watching slow motion. So right now I'm really used of watching it at a speed of 2 (doubled) and I want to speed things more up because I have 3 hours video left to watch. I have basic VisualBasic experience and within say 1.2 hours I'm going to have basic asp.net experience thanks to Steve. Thanks ! It really came upon my path when I needed it. I really need to get my ideas into action. And I love doing it in a speeded up way !! I have to say that learning @ faster speeds is much more fun then slowmo learning.

Greetings and much of overclocking fun for all the audio/video overclockers in the world !!

[Dylan]

FYI - If you subscribe to Audible.com, unfortunately their books cannot be played back at a faster speed. After reading Steve's post (thanks Steve!), I wrote to Audible, and here was their reply:

"At this time, speeding up the playback is not an option. However, it is an option we are working on...

The reason why it cannot be done at this moment is that the Audible book file is not a standard audio file (like mp3). A "key", to play the .aa file, has to be added to all software and devices to play the Audible book file. Since it behaves differently from mp3/wma files, utilities that can increase the playback speed of mp3/wma files will not work with Audible book files."

I'm currently listening to Al Gore's "The Assault on Reason." A fine book, by the way, but it would be very nice to have the playback speed cranked.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Dylan

FYI - If you subscribe to Audible.com, unfortunately their books cannot be played back at a faster speed.

I assume you are talking about their download service?

I'm thinking of subscribing to their CD delivery service so I can then listen to their audiobooks through my iPod.

[GC Man]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post in this forum. Nice to meet you.

I don't seems to find the "Play Speed Settings" in my Windows Media Player 9. Anyone has similar problem, or could it be due to the file format? I've tested on both MP3 and WMA audio files.

Thanks for your advise.

GC

[Radek Pilich]

Originally Posted by Niki

I'm going to post how to easly and freely(as in free beer) Overclock your audio books.

The software required is wavosaur: an amazingly small executable audio editing program for windows, and Audacity an amazing free audio editor that is open source and cross platform.



STEP 1
Open Wavosaur and open your audio project.
Click tools --) Silence remover --) Custom
Insert the level: -25.00
Insert the duration: 0.25
Press OK
Save the file as a WAV

Step 2
Open your WAV with Audacity.
Press CTRL + A or select the whole audio track manualy with your mouse.
Click Effect --) Change tempo
insert the Percent change:100 (you can make it slower or faster, as you like it yourself)
Press OK
File --) Export

Select the desired audio codec (mp3, ogg, ...)
If you have selected mp3, you should have a binary of lame downloaded to your pc and you have to know its location. In order to do that download it here, extract the ZIP archive and put the file under "my documents" (or where you like it)
When exporting to mp3 Audacity wil prompt to ask for the "\lame_enc.dll" file. Just locate it on your pc and it will export to mp3

Have fun.

Hey Niki, thanks a lot. I bet this is what Paul Scheele does in his Genius Code program. I find this kind of speeding up audio with the removal of silence between words much better than simply speeding up the whole recording.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by GC Man

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post in this forum. Nice to meet you.

I don't seems to find the "Play Speed Settings" in my Windows Media Player 9. Anyone has similar problem, or could it be due to the file format? I've tested on both MP3 and WMA audio files.

Thanks for your advise.

GC

Many that functionality isn't available in version 9. I'm using version 11. The upgrade is free.

[GC Man]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Many that functionality isn't available in version 9. I'm using version 11. The upgrade is free.

Thanks. It works in version 11 on my WinXP notebook. My Win2k notebook is running version 9. Looks like it's time to upgrade to newer version.

[Algernon]

Originally Posted by GC Man

I don't seems to find the "Play Speed Settings" in my Windows Media Player 9. Anyone has similar problem, or could it be due to the file format? I've tested on both MP3 and WMA audio files.

In Windows Media Player 9, go to the View menu, then Enhancements -> Play Speed Settings.

[GC Man]

Originally Posted by Algernon

In Windows Media Player 9, go to the View menu, then Enhancements -> Play Speed Settings.

Thanks. Did that, but "Play Speed Settings" is not there.
Anyway, I've ended up using Wavosaur and Audacity suggested by Niki instead.
The effect is awesome. I was so focus listening to an audio that I didn't have time to fall asleep.

[Dylan]

Originally Posted by seeker5

I assume you are talking about their download service?

I'm thinking of subscribing to their CD delivery service so I can then listen to their audiobooks through my iPod.

seeker5
Good question! I don't know. However, Audible wrote back to me within a day, so if you ask them, I'm sure you'll get the official response pretty quickly.

[bugmenot]

For my timestretching needs for a long time I just used BSPlayer with chronotron. 2xAV wasn't good enough, nor were any of the many other speed/tempo/pitch adjuster WinAMP plugins.
Switched to a combination of BSPlayer , Adapt-x and StudioTime (from acondigital) , resulting in better time scaling quality with lower CPU usage.
Then ended up with The KMplayer (not to be confused with KMplayer for KDE) resulting in an even lower CPU usage, VLC-like portability, but lower audio quality, though still plenty good enough for watching stuff @ 3x speed, the max speed it plays most files.
Rarely also use GOMPlayer that goes up to 4x speed but isn't as portable.
For analog media, trusty old JVC S-VHS VCR /w Dynamic Drum.

[WilliWibald]

Thanks Steve. That really changed my way of using my PD-Material. So often I knew I should listen to a specific tape again but it was just a too high time investment to convince me of really doing it. But now it's so much easier. The boredom is really gone, when I listen to the stuff I already know but kind of need to repeat.
THANK YOU

[Alex2007]

Thanks for recommending audacity

It can accept the VST plug-ins

Cool proggy and Free!