How to encode MP3 song files
Written by Dan Monk
 

Who This Article Is For

This article is for anyone who has their music recorded on their pc and want to take the wave file and make it into a mp3 file. Whether to save space on your hard drive or to distribute your songs on the Web, this article should help you out. It assumes you already have your audio files stored on your hardrive in a wav format. If you don't you may want to read Recording music on your pc before this article.

A brief explanation of the mp3 format.
Today if you want your music on the net you have to have it in the mp3 audio format. But before we get to transferring music from an outside source to the computer here's a brief explanation of what an mp3 is. The name mp3 is an abbreviation for MPEG Audio Layer 3. MPEG stands for the Motion Picture Experts Group. These people have developed video compression systems which includes such formats as DSS, HDTV and DVD. MPEG Audio Layer 3 or mp3 is an offshoot of the video compression technology. Mpeg II was originally intended to be used for HDTV.

In 1987 the Fraunhofer IIS lab together with the University of Erlangen began work on developing MPEG Audio Layer III. They based their compression algorithm on what they call perceptual modeling, which consists of three things:

Sometimes, one sound will mask another.
We hear some sounds better than others.
There are some sounds we can't hear.

By eliminating these sounds from the original song file the mp3 format is able to shrink the file to about a tenth of it's original size. For instance, if a person is operating a chainsaw and whistling at the same time you probably wouldn't be able to hear the whistling. Also, the average human can't hear sounds above 18khz. So their is no need to encode them in a sound file. Of course the argument can and has been made the sounds we don't hear add body and color to music.

So does the sound quality of the music suffer? I would say yes, but the difference is not worth arguing about. And the size savings is well worth it. Remember, we're talking about putting songs on the net for others to download. Which would you rather download, a 3 minute wave file which is about 30 meg or a 3 minute mp3 which is about 3 meg.

Bit rate considerations The bit rate is the average number of bits used in one second of audio. A higher bit rate will result in a higher quality audio file. Since the more bits that are used then that much more of the sound(s) can be represented. A higher bit rate will also create a larger file. For instance, the song I used for this article is ten seconds long with a file size of 1.8 meg. I encoded it to a mp3 file using a bit rate of 128 which produced a file size of 171 kb and again using a bit rate of 96 for a file size of 128 kb. The difference in quality while not significant is still noticeable. If you have limited bandwidth and/or disk space the size difference may be worth it.

Commonly, songs encoded at 128 bits and above are referred to as 'cd quality' while songs recorded at 96 receive the tag, 'near cd quality'. In truth a mp3 encoded at 128 bits is not "cd quality", but considering the size savings it's close enough. For music I would not use bit rates lower than 96 unless space was at a premium. And then I would encode the song in mono. If you are concerned about quality you can use higher bit rates, just be aware the resulting file size will be bigger.

MP3 encoders
There are a lot of mp3 encoders out there. In general you can put mp3 encoders in 3 catagories;
 

Standalone encoders
These programs are small and fast, dedicated to one thing - encoding mp3's from a wave file. They will also play mp3's of course.

Multi Function programs.
The swiss army knife of encoders. Also called Jukeboxes, they have a variety of options: playlists, net mp3 search, radio stations, etc.

Audio Editors
These are programs whose primary purpose is to edit audio data files. As the mp3 format becomes increasingly popular many editors are adding the ability to mix to the mp3 format.

Which mp3 encoder you get is entirely up to you. I use dbPowerAmp an have been very happy with it. There are many programs to choose from, but there are several things to look for. How easy is it to use? Does it support a large selection of bit rates? And most importantly does it color the sound to a large degree?

Just like audio programs mp3 encoders will add some color to your songs. In theory they should all sound the same since they are all digital. But because there are several different algorithms and varying methods of coding them the results are not always the same. It is not a big difference but still something you should be aware of.


MP3 sites where you can upload your songs.
There are several sites that I recommend. some are better than others. Mp3.com used to be the place to put your songs. But is has become a very commercial site, more for established signed bands. There are much better places now for the independent music artist. Soundclick is one, Nowhere Radio another and IUMA should also be on your list of sites to check into.

What to look for in a mp3 site.
First of all I'd like to make it clear that every site that allows you to upload mp3s is in business to make money. And they do that by selling ads. This is a good thing. It's like radio only with an unlimited play list. You may prefer how one site displays ads over another sites design, that's your choice. Which leads to another consideration.

How easy is it to find your site? There should be a search box at the least. Most sites also have music categorized. It is usually up to you to place your music into the proper category. If you have a variety of song styles you will need a place that offers you the option of putting individual songs into their own category.

Hopefully this article has given you enough information to get you started. The internet has given musicians a chance to be heard by millions, something that has never happened before. I hope you take advantage of it.





(c) 1999, Dan E. Monk, All rights reserved. Reprinted here by permission.

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