Is it possible to compress a song without hurting its quality? We use all the time. For example, a GIF file is a compressed image. So is a JPG file. We create to compress text. So we are familiar with compression algorithms for images and words and we know they work. To make a good compression algorithm for sound, a technique called perceptual noise shaping is used. It is "perceptual" partly because the MP3 format uses characteristics of the to design the compression algorithm. For example:
- There are certain sounds that the human ear cannot hear.
- There are certain sounds that the human ear hears much better than others.
- If there are two sounds playing simultaneously, we hear the louder one but cannot hear the softer one.
Using facts like these, certain parts of a song can be eliminated without significantly hurting the quality of the song for the listener. Compressing the rest of the song with well-known compression techniques shrinks the song considerably -- by a factor of 10 at least. (If you would like to learn more about the specific compression algorithms, see the links at the end this article.) When you are done creating an MP3 file, what you have is a "near CD quality" song. The MP3 version of the song does not sound exactly the same as the original CD song because some of it has been removed, but it's very close.
From this description, you can see that MP3 is nothing magical. It is simply a file format that compresses a song into a smaller size so it is easier to move around on the Internet and store.
Downloading and Listening
If you would like to download and then listen to MP3 files on your computer, then you need:
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A computer
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A and for the computer (If your computer has speakers, it has a sound card.)
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An Internet connection (If you are browsing the Web to read this article, then you have an Internet connection and it is working fine.)
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An MP3 player (a software application you can download from the Web in 10 minutes)
If you have recently purchased a new computer, chances are it already has software that can play MP3 files installed on its hard disk. The easiest way to find out if you already have an MP3 player installed is to download an MP3 file and try to double-click on it. If it plays, you are set. If not, you need to download a player, which is very easy to do.
There are literally thousands of sites on the Web where you can download MP3 files. Here are three of the biggest:
Go to one of these sites, find a song and download it to your hard disk (most MP3 sites let you either listen to the song as a streaming file or download it -- you want to download). Most songs range between 2 and 4 MB, so it will take 10 to 15 minutes unless you have a high-speed Internet connection. Once the song has finished downloading, try to double-click on the file and see what happens. If your computer plays it, then you are set. If you find that you cannot play it, then you need to download an MP3 player. There are dozens of players available, and most of them are free or shareware (shareware is extremely inexpensive). One of the most popular is WinAmp, which you can download from . For a complete list of all of the available players, check out . Once you download and install a player, double-click on the MP3 file that you downloaded and it will play.
Taking the Files With You
Many people who start collecting MP3 files find that they want to listen to them in all kinds of places. Small, answer this need. These players are like portable cassette players except that they are smaller.
These players plug into your computer's or to transfer the data, and a software application lets you transfer your MP3s into the player by simply dragging the files. See for details.
Creating Your Own
If you have a CD collection and would like to convert songs from your CDs into MP3 files, you can use ripper and encoder software to do just that. A ripper copies the song's file from the CD onto your hard disk. The encoder compresses the song into the MP3 format. By encoding songs, you can play them on your computer or take them with you on your MP3 player.
is a popular ripper/encoder that you can use to do the job. contains an extensive list of other rippers and encoders.
Writing MP3s to CDs
If you have a in your computer, there are two ways to save your MP3 files on a CD:
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You can write the MP3 files themselves onto a data CD in order to save them and clear some space on your hard disk. You can then listen to the files on any computer.
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You can convert (decode) your MP3 files into full-size CD tracks and then save them to an audio CD. This allows you to listen to your MP3 files on any CD player.
WinAmp has a plug-in that creates full-size WAV files from MP3 files, and some of the encoders will also decode. Once you have the full-size CD tracks, then the software that comes with your will let you create an audio CD easily.
The is an excellent source of information on getting data and music onto a CD.