I just learned a great tool to help with oral history transcriptions. Several months ago I was asked to transcribe an oral history for someone. So I figured out how to transfer the audio cassette to mp3 using my mp3 player, and I used that file to transcribe from. But the entire time I was transcribing I was wishing there was a way to slow down the audio so I could keep up with it better.
There is a way. My niece wanted me to listen to a song she liked in fast speed. I have to admit that I really didn't care what the song sounded like speeded up, but I immediately latched onto the idea that if you can speed it up then you can slow it down. Yep, Window's Media Player does both.
At the upper right hand corner of the window, beside the minimize and close buttons, there is a little arrow pointing down. Under that menu is a menu for 'play' and under that is a selection called 'play speed'. You can slow it down or speed it up as much as you like. I can't wait to start another transcription and try it out. Now if I could find a cassette player that doesn't transfer a lot of noise to the mp3 I'll be doing good.
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Or contact me, I transcribe professionally, formerly for the White House, U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Congress, among many others. RichardLBoyd@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI'm a student who had to transcribe several oral histories, but I hired two services to do it for me. I can't remember the name of the first one I tried. Quality was great but I found a cheaper service and had the majority of them transcribed there (omegatranscripts.com).
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